Okay, let me be real with you \u2014 the first time someone hit me with \u201cTell me about yourself\u201d in a job interview, I panicked. Picture this: fresh out of college, wearing a stiff blazer I\u2019d borrowed from my sister (two sizes too big, obviously), sweating like I\u2019d just run a 5K in July. The hiring manager smiled and asked that question, and I\u2026 proceeded to recite my entire resume. From my high school debate team to my part-time gig at Target. Her polite nodding turned into clock-checking by minute three. Spoiler: I didn\u2019t get the job.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the thing \u2014 after bombing that interview, I became obsessed with cracking this question. I asked my uncle, who hires for a tech startup in Austin, what actually<\/em> works. I practiced on my dog (shoutout to Buddy, the world\u2019s most patient golden retriever). Even helped my neighbor Landon prep for his HVAC technician interviews at our local Starbucks. Turns out, \u201cTell me about yourself\u201d isn\u2019t about your life story \u2014 it\u2019s a spotlight<\/em>. They\u2019re saying, \u201cShow me why you fit here, and make it quick.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I learned the hard way<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Start with the present, not your birth certificate<\/strong> Connect dots between your past and their problem<\/strong> End with flavor<\/strong> But wait \u2014 the biggest mistake I see?<\/strong> Treating this like a memorized script. Once, I over-rehearsed and accidentally told a hiring manager at a nonprofit that I was \u201cpassionate about blockchain scalability.\u201d They were rescuing shelter dogs. Facepalm.<\/em><\/p>\n What works<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Honestly? The game-changer for me was reframing the question in my head. Now, when I hear \u201cTell me about yourself,\u201d I think: \u201cOh, you want the highlight reel<\/em>?\u201d You\u2019re not oversharing \u2014 you\u2019re curating. Like picking the best photos for your Instagram grid, but way less cringe.<\/p>\n Last thing: Practice saying it out loud while making eye contact with your bathroom mirror. You\u2019ll feel ridiculous, but it works. Ask my husband, who walked in on me mid-practice and now threatens to play the recording at family Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve got this. And if you blank? Pause, smile, and say, \u201cCan I circle back to that?\u201d (Works 60% of the time, every time.) Now go own that question like a garage sale find that\u2019s somehow still in style.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Okay, let me be real with you \u2014 the first time someone hit me with \u201cTell me about yourself\u201d in a job interview, I panicked. Picture this: fresh out of college, wearing a stiff blazer I\u2019d borrowed from my sister (two sizes too big, obviously), sweating like I\u2019d just run a 5K in July. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreateai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nEarly on, I\u2019d begin with \u201cWell, I grew up in Ohio\u2026\u201d \u2014 no. Stop. Your kindergarten soccer trophies don\u2019t matter here. Instead, think elevator pitch: \u201cI\u2019m a marketing specialist with five years of experience building social media campaigns for local businesses.\u201d Boom. Orientation complete.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nThat Target job? It taught me how to handle frantic holiday shoppers \u2014 which became gold when I later applied for customer success roles. But you don\u2019t say, \u201cI worked retail.\u201d You say, \u201cMy background in fast-paced retail environments sharpened my ability to troubleshoot under pressure \u2014 something I noticed your support team handles daily.\u201d Mic drop.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nWrap it up with something human. My go-to: \u201cOutside work, you\u2019ll find me experimenting with sourdough baking \u2014 though my last loaf could\u2019ve doubled as a hockey puck.\u201d Laughs break tension. Shows you\u2019re not a robot. (Unless you\u2019re interviewing at Tesla. Then maybe lean into the robot thing.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n