Answering the Difficult Question

Answering the Difficult Question

By: Emily Larrabee

“So, who are you? Tell me about yourself.”, the most universal question asked during career fairs and interviews. They may even ask you to walk them through your resume. Seems easy to talk about yourself and your resume, but how do you talk about yourself in a way that makes the company want to hire you? Here are some tips to help you figure out how to answer this simple, yet difficult question.

Figure out your own personal brand.

Before getting to the career fair or interview, figure out what you want recruiters or interviewers to know about you. Do you want them to know about all your leadership skills or do you want them to know about the internships you have completed? Which ever you choose, make sure you give examples based on experiences you have had (clubs, jobs, internships). 

2. Tell a story.

Connect your key points to your past. You want to add some emotional appeal so that the recruiter or the interviewer can relate to you! For example, you could say “I have always been interested in Political Science. I used to come home everyday and my dad and I would read Political Science Quarterly together. I was an assistant for the Mayor during his campaign during the year 2012. Also, I was the President of Student Council at my high school”. This shows that you truly are interested in political science and that you have some experience in the field. 

3. Keep it short.

When explaining yourself, make sure you do not tell them your WHOLE life story. Little stories are perfect but stay away from telling them EVERYTHING about yourself. They do not have time for that. Find 2 or 3 key points from each section of your resume you want to emphasize and really bring those to life. 

4. What do you want from them? 

Once you are finished explaining your resume and who you are, tell them what you are looking for. Is it an internship or a job? Also tell them why you want this job/ internship. Showing them the passion you have for the job/ internship opening shows how passionate you could be in the workplace. 

With career fairs and interviews going on, the best advice I can give is to be confident. If you can show them that you are passionate about the company and have confidence in your own abilities, then answering the question “who are you?”, will be a piece of cake.