how to answer “tell me about yourself” when the interviewer has my resume right in front of them

by Alison Green on September 3, 2024

A reader writes:

I had a bad interview which made me realize I needed to work on my interviewing skills. The interviewer asked me the classic “Tell me about yourself,” but then noted that she had a copy of my resume in front of her so no need to walk her through every step of the way. I did my pitch, kept it professional, kept it under 2 minutes, and connected it to why I was applying for the job.

Still, I’m thrown off by what is expected of me when they ask that question but specifically say they have my resume in front of them. Do they want me to highlight stuff from my resume or not?

I’ve seen advice to tell a story connecting the reason why I made certain career choices like going from one company to another, etc. because that’s more compelling than just listing metrics already on your resume. But I also feel like the majority of the advice I see is strictly, “Keep it professional! Highlight your resume! Talk metrics! Etc.”

I didn’t pass that interview but it’s fine because the interviewer and I both realized we were not each other’s best fit. But I want to do better going forward and I feel like I’m missing out by stumbling on the first question.

What do employers want to hear when they ask that question, assuming they’ve already seen your resume?

You can read my answer to this letter at New York Magazine today. Head over there to read it.

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{ 223 comments }

{ 223 comments… read them below }

  1. Dyson*

    I never know how to answer this one because I’ve worked in journalism, closed captioning, transcription, and now project management. My resume is all over the place and the only thing connecting those jobs is that I lost the previous one and the new one hired me.

    1. Djs*

      I’m not in your area at all, but what I’d do is use this to start a narrative about how you have broad experience and can leverage this to tackle work activities from different angles. I.e. it’s more valuable to the employer than “I did closed captioning for my whole life”, even if the job is for closed captioning.

    2. Throwaway Account*

      I feel that! But I think the answer can connect previous experience to the current job. So, if the potential job needs you to be fast-paced, you can talk about how much you like that and give a story or two from previous jobs.

    3. ferrina*

      Similar to what Djs and Throwaway account said- I use this as an opportunity to tailor the story of my professional career to the job I’m applying to now. There are some early jobs that don’t always tie in to my current career- depending on what I’m interviewing for, I may or may not add those. I talk about 1 or 2 accomplishments at each job, and each time pick something that I think that particular interviewer will like. If you are going for Expert level, I will also add in little fun facts about my personal life. Not even a full sentence, just a couple words. I’m looking to build a personal connection with the interviewer- once an interviewer and I spent 10 minutes bonding over an unusual pet we’d both had. Another interviewer was endeared by an early job I’d had- both her parents had worked that job. It’s a good way to build rapport in the early parts of the interview (if you don’t already have rapport) and when folks feel like they have something in common with you, they are more open to what you are saying. Of course, this also has potential to quickly get awkward if not well done, so use at your discretion.

    4. ThatGirl*

      For me, I usually say “I got my start in journalism but pivoted to marketing (maybe name drop a company or two in here) and I’ve done a lot in that area, including B2B, B2C, print, digital, email, huge catalogs and online product descriptions. I’ve found that the common thread is taking a lot of complex information and making it clear, concise, readable and actionable.”

      1. Peanut Hamper*

        I’ve found that the common thread is taking a lot of complex information and making it clear, concise, readable and actionable.

        PERFECT!

    5. Peanut Hamper*

      the only thing connecting those jobs is that I lost the previous one and the new one hired me

      Nope. The only thing connecting those jobs is YOU and what you brought to the table. If you can switch industries like that, there is something unique about you. From your very brief description, I’m thinking it’s attention to detail.

      1. DrSalty*

        Agree. What are the skills you have that made you successful in all those jobs? And how are they related to the job you’re interviewing for now?

    6. I went to school with only 1 Jennifer*

      I can see connections between all those things, because they’re all about communication (in different ways). Journalism is obviously about communication, but in very specific ways and styles. Closed captioning is about communicating with people who can’t hear or understand what’s being said, and automatic captioning gets SO MANY THINGS wrong. Transcription is about understanding clearly what’s being said and I see a strong connection to the captioning thing here. And project management varies from place to place but often involves giving status updates to stakeholders that are brief yet meaningful (and also often involves needing information on a deadline from people who don’t report to you, which is a huge skill).

    7. zuzu*

      My legal career was all over the place – I hopped from practice area to practice area as a contractor. I’m now a law librarian, and what I do with that legal experience is emphasize how much having to switch gears sharpened my research skills. I had to learn how to get up to speed in a whole new area of law every 12-18 months or so. Not so great if you want a long-term career as a lawyer, but excellent if you want to be a law librarian and teach other people how to research!

      1. zuzu*

        Oh, and I also learned I had undiagnosed and untreated ADHD somewhere in there, which made my life and career trajectories make much more sense. Now that I’m not fighting myself so much, I’m thriving.

        Of course, I don’t mention that part in interviews or at work. I do not have the confidence of a Gen Z’er on that score.

    8. Allonge*

      The answer does not need to be about why all this happened. They are not looking for the Hallmark story of your life (or anyone’s).

      Answer that you have a variety of experience, demonstrated skills for learning a new job / profession without having a detailed background in it and having X, Y and Z specific skills that will be useful for Interview!Job.

    9. GythaOgden*

      This is actually where you /most/ need a narrative. I have the same issue too, with two degrees and several other diplomas in various fields that look like I’ve started many fields but been dumped from all of them (which is true, due to undiagnosed autism in my twenties and even when it was diagnosed, a struggle to manage it successfully, since I actually can’t mask to save my life). The end result was my boss looking at my CV during a meeting about professional development potential and asking what an LSE graduate was doing sat on reception.

      Employers do want to see some consistency in background because they need consistent employees. It’s no-one’s fault we have choppy career paths, but knitting everything together is crucial in demonstrating to a sceptical person who doesn’t know you or your work product at all that you can do what they need you to do /over and above candidates with more orthodox career paths/.

      It helped that I had had a long period of time in a stable job and I was interviewing internally, but I actually used the diversity of experience to my advantage to show that I could learn different things quickly, could manage projects, was interested in a lot of different things and could jump right in to a complex job without a lot of handholding (as evidenced by several temp jobs prior to finding the creamy goodness of a temp to perm role). My boss needed me to turn my hand to a lot of different things as needed and I was up for it because I was able to show I could turn on a dime and enjoyed variety rather than doing the same thing day in, day out.

      So ‘Tell me about yourself’ is an excellent opportunity to control the narrative — to ensure you have an overarching goal or that you thrive on new and different experiences. The latter is where I do my best work and I’ve more than proven myself as someone who can leap from checking an accounts payable database and poking people to ask if I can sign off on payment for supplier invoices in the morning, to minuting a HR meeting at lunchtime to making sense of complicated lease issues in the afternoon. I’m the point of contact for a hospital bedlinen account, I put forward changes to maintenance schedules and I’m regional lead for a project to polish up business continuity plans that tell us what to do in emergencies at critical healthcare sites.

      I’m SuperGopher and my gnarly CV is finally paying off, but I also know my own strengths and weaknesses above and beyond my actual job descriptions and I can show that I can do anything you need me to do.

    10. Judy*

      I feel like that question never ends well. I was once asked that question by a doctor who was interviewing me. I answered along Alison’s lines and he said “If I’d been asked that question, I would have said first and foremost I’m a father. Or husband”. What could I say to that? Too late. He was a toad, I know but still.

  2. Djs*

    When I ask questions like this or similar, I’m looking for two things: 1. How good are you at consolidating and giving an overview of what I can see on your resume. 2. What about your career do you see as important.

        1. fhqwhgads*

          ‘Eh I think there’s “open-ended” and there’s “purposefully vague” and the former is a fine type of question to ask but the latter isn’t. Interviews shouldn’t be gotchas or secret tests. No one wants to have to hand-hold an employee, sure, but there’s a line between “enough info without spelling out every single thing” and “not enough info to go on”. One person’s “can you work within amorphous confines” is another person’s “I will constantly expect you to read my mind.”

      2. Fidelity*

        No, I don’t. I don’t need to know if you can be micromanaged, because I don’t intend to micromanage you. I need to know if you can prioritise and interpret a question appropriately based on the context, because those are skills I’m looking for.

        If you need the hand-holding, you’re not the candidate I’m looking for.

      3. H3llifIknow*

        No. That’s the point of open ended questions. How does the candidate interpret that and distill their experience and qualifications and interest into a cohesive, short, narrative.

        “After working in llama grooming for 10 years, I realized it was no longer challenging, and all my clothes were covered in llama spit. So, I took a chance and pivoted to my current career in pencil sharpening. In my 5 years of increasing levels of responsibility with Graphite Inc., I have increased productivity in the number of pencils, while decreasing lead loss by 50%, and employee engagement and fulfillment have risen, as well as a result.”

      4. jasmine*

        I think all the replies to your comment are a little off-base. There are jobs that involve ambiguity, but they involve ambiguity in specific contexts. Not “someone asks a question that can legitimately be interpreted in multiple ways and the person on the other end correctly guesses the right one”

        There are better questions to ask if you want to know if a candidate can deal with the kind of ambiguity presented by a specific role. What is largely being screened for in this question is IMO experience and/or resources. The people who interpret this question right do so because they’ve learned how the interviewing process works- not because they are good at dealing with ambiguity.

        1. Allonge*

          Being able to talk about something you know in a concise manner and pointing to important parts of it is a skill that is relevant to lots of jobs. It’s also one question among many. It’s really ok to look for specific things without explaining this in detail.

        2. daffodil*

          There isn’t necessarily a “right” answer though. how you see yourself/your experience/ the role and connect those things is information for the interviewer. Open-ended questions mean that each candidate can respond in a way that makes sense for them. Ambiguity doesn’t mean there’s a secret right answer, it means you have to choose an answer that will work for you.

      5. Rainy*

        No. If I ask you, Fran, “What about your career do you see as important?” in an interview setting, what I’m going to hear is what you think I want you to think is important about your career, and *I don’t want that*.

        I want to hear what you prioritize or gloss over when I ask you to tell me a little bit about yourself, because your response will be significantly more authentic. Phrasing the question that way will also help you help yourself, because if you’ve prepared, you’ve already thought about the highlights you want to touch on from your background that matter for this specific job. That’s going to tell me both more about that background than is shown on your resume and it’s also going to tell me *how* you think about the work you’ve done and the skills you’ve built with regards to *this job*. All of that is way more valuable for me (and for your candidacy) than, as Fidelity says, micromanaging your response.

        1. SnackAttack*

          Interviewers are just normal people. This is also a pretty standard interview prompt with tons of existing advice on how to handle it.

          1. Terminal ligma*

            From what I can tell, most of the responses in this thread from those who’ve recently been interviewed indicate that it’s a far more ambiguous question than many of the interviewers who’ve responded seem willing to concede. That being the case, some of the unyielding “we know best” responses from the latter seem oddly defensive. When so many people are telling you that it’s a bad question, what would it really cost to simply reframe the question and ask a more straightfoward one?

            1. nnn*

              I don’t read it as “we know best” but as an attempt to explain the other side of the table to people so they can do better in their own interviews. Most interviewers you’re going to encounter aren’t reading this post or this comment section so it’s to your advantage to know what they’re looking for.

              1. Terminal ligma*

                That’s fair enough—and undoubtedly good practical advice—but those interviewers who are in this thread seem strangely unwilling to see things from the the point of view of many applicants, who have repeatedly said that this is an ambiguous question and that a more straightfoward one would be better.

                1. Peanut Hamper*

                  Ah, but! All of those interviewers have also been applicants themselves. We’ve been on the other side of the table many, many times. We didn’t emerge fully formed from the forehead of Zeus.

                  You need to stop seeing this as a “me vs. them” kind of situation.

                3. Rainy*

                  No–they’re not “blocking access to jobs”, they’re *looking for candidates who will succeed at the job*–whatever it is they think of success as being. Some will be good at defining success and evaluating people for its potential. Some will be bad at one or both of those things, because humans gonna hume. But the interviewer’s goal is absolutely the opposite of blocking access to jobs, because they need to hire someone.

                  If that someone isn’t you, that doesn’t mean the interviewer done you wrong.

            2. jasmine*

              Agreed. Ideally when interviewing you decide what you want to evaluate, and then make your interview questions based on that. But interviewers will pick out common interview questions and then say “this will help me figure out X”, doing the process backwards.

              You have to ask yourself if a question is the best question to ask for evaluating X, Y, and Z. Just because it’s common to ask a question and there’s a motivation to ask it, doesn’t make it a good question.

        2. Allonge*

          Ok? I am not sure how that will help you in the long term. Interviewers are your colleagues and managers, not aliens.

          1. Terminal ligma*

            There not my colleagues or managers if they’re interviewing me—they’re strangers who have complete control over whether to hire me and, consequently, whether I’ll be able to adequately feed and clothe myself. Let’s not pretend that the power dynamic is anything other than what it is.

            2. Allonge*

              I am sorry you feel that way. That is a very adversarial way of looking at interviewing and is also most likely not helping you – no sane interviewer is going to be looking at it this way.

            3. basically functional*

              That’s only the power dynamic if you are desperate for a job and this is the only one you could possibly be hired for. An interview should ideally be as much for the candidate to assess the company as for the company to assess the candidate. It should be about mutual fit, not about whether the all-powerful company will deign employ you.

              Obviously I understand the ideal isn’t always reality and employers have more power than candidates in our capitalist hellscape. But that’s a systemic issue. Individual interviewers are themselves just regular people trying to identify the best candidate for a position, not gods determining whether you live or die.

    2. learnedthehardway*

      Exactly. I want a quick precis of your experience – giving me only the headlines and tying it into the role I’m recruiting.

      It’s almost more important to me that you can deliver a quick statement that summarizes your experience very concisely, than the actual content. I mean, I want the high level content, but I also want to see how you answer the question itself. Can you boil things down to a couple of sentences while communicating the key points? Can you stay on topic? Do you get too far into the details, etc.

      But honestly, don’t launch into your “elevator speech” unless I ask for it – if your resume has a good summary that gives me these details, odds are I will figure you know how to answer the question.

    3. jasmine*

      I guess I’m not really sure how #1 applies to most jobs. #2 is better asked with different questions (“what are you looking for in a new position?” or “can you give me a background of your career so far?”)

      1. Allonge*

        Djs is most likely not interviewing for most jobs.

        Being able to answer a question on a reasonably complex subject in a concise manner is something that will come up in a lot of jobs though.

        And going from ‘tell me about yourself’ to ‘tell me about your professional background’ in an interview setting is not a large leap.

  3. Young Business*

    Love Alison’s response. I feel that this question is so common because it’s also a good opportunity for the interviewer to gauge comms skills and how concisely you can speak to something that’s nuanced.

    1. ijustworkhere*

      I agree. When somebody spends 10 minutes “telling me about themselves” I automatically rule them out.

      1. Orv*

        This feels like another variation on the “coffee cup test,” an arbitrary thing you’re supposed to just know.

        1. I went to school with only 1 Jennifer*

          Disagree! I assume that the candidate knows how long the interview is planned for, because I’ve always been told that. So the candidate should have a good sense of how long they have for any given question.

            1. Rainy*

              You’ve never EVER been told how long an interview is going to last??? Are you sure? Every interview I’ve had in the last two years has been scheduled for a specific amount (or at least a pretty tight range–within 5 minutes) of time, and most committees reiterate that at the beginning.

              1. Orv*

                It’s been a while since I last interviewed, but I don’t recall being told. Well, except for my interview with Google, where I explicitly was told it would last all day.

                1. Rainy*

                  I’ve been interviewing regularly for the last two years or so and in that time, I have never not been told how long the interview was scheduled for. Even when there’s a range, it’s in the neighborhood of 25-30 minutes, or a 10-15 minute intro call, etc. It’s definitely the case that when I was looking before I was hired into my last institution, I often had no idea if the interview was meant to last 10 minutes or 3 hours, but that has absolutely not been the case for this last job search. Perhaps, if it’s been a while, norms have changed.

        2. SnackAttack*

          For me, a lot depends on the age and level of experience of the candidate. If it’s someone fresh out of college who’s never worked a traditional 9-5, I’ll be more lenient – they can always improve with coaching. If it’s a mid-career candidate, though, it’s definitely something they should be aware of and have researched/prepared.

        3. Buffalo*

          I touch on this in a comment below: I agree with you that questions like this are sometimes screening for who “just knows” their way around a job interview, but I wouldn’t say it’s per se arbitrary, particularly in the sense of being random. A generous perspective is that it’s screening for familiarity with workplace norms; a less generous perspective is that it’s screening for *being the kind of person who would be familiar with workplace norms* (that is, a neurotypical, normative person from a white-collar background). It’s not some random stuff that’s happening. It’s a secret handshake.

          The counterargument to that is, anybody prepping for a job interview can so easily Google how to answer this question and get good advice that it’s not that secret of a handshake. At this point, “tell me about yourself” can be answered well by the 25% of people who know what it means and the 70% of people who can be bothered to find out what it means.

          1. Allonge*

            This. Does it require understanding of some professional norms that we don’t all havea easy access to from early childhood? Sure. Is the information nevertheless easily accessible to anyone with internet / library access? Yes.

          2. GythaOgden*

            Yup. Between interviews and cover letters, I’m happiest when I know the job is the right fit for me — I can be much more confident in talking about it and answering questions and building a persona. If I have reservations, even unconscious ones, I’m less likely to want the job even if I can get it, and thus the interviewers may well pick up on that.

            The difference between the interviews for jobs that I’ve got and jobs that I haven’t got have been night and day. It may be explained by me being autistic and not good at masking — what you see of me on the day in question is what you get, rather than being able to put on a face for someone else — but it also helps to hone that gut instinct.

            This time last year I was invited to interview for my dream job working with my dream people, and I impressed myself by fighting for it in the interview. I had lots of stories tucked away under my belt because I knew my then job of — basically — cabin girl on the Marie Celeste made me seem a bit passive to my boss, who would be supervising me directly in the new position. It always comes from the heart with me and I can’t stress enough that my A-game always relies on having the A-fit.

            So connecting with the right thing at the right time goes a long way, and while I am fairly spontaneous in the way I enter into interviews, I pushed hard for this job and I’m really making waves with it.

    2. tina turner*

      LW talks about a “good fit” w/interviewer, but they are not necessarily going to be who you work for. Unless they’re owner of a small business, you may never see them again, just an HR person.
      So, just have a concise response ready. So you’re not “screened out.” They can ask questions if it’s not enough. They may want you to move on so they’ve vetted enough job prospects to present — that’s their job maybe. But an owner may be evaluating you now.

      1. Seeking Second Childhood*

        Even an electrical engineering test-lab technician benefits from good communications skills – if nothing else they need to be able to summarize project status when asked at the team meeting.

        The lab techs who can explain engineering roadblocks are golden.

    4. Lauren19*

      Yes! I’m in the comms field so when I hire other comms professionals, I’m looking for their ability to convey critical information in a story telling format. Because if they can’t do that about their own careers – which they’ve lived – they’re going to struggle doing it on behalf of an organization.

      1. Young Business*

        Also in the comms field! I am sure I fumbled this very basic question by rambling earlier in my career and not making it past the screening interview.

      2. allathian*

        Yes. Comms adjacent, although as a translator I’ve sometimes been asked to take a report in one language and write an executive summary on it in another. A different skillset, and for me it takes at least as long to write a concise 400 word summary of a 5,000 word report as it would take to translate the 5,000 word report. It’s not my strongest skill, but I can do it when necessary.

  4. Adam*

    Spot on! I frequently open interviews with this kind of question, and I also specifically flag that I’ve read their CV and don’t need them to talk about that. What I’m looking for is just your perspective of where you are in your career. Are you junior or senior? Do you have a specific focus or are you more of a generalist? Are you looking to do the same kind of thing you’ve done previously or are you looking to branch out? That kind of thing.

    1. Orv*

      I can see why that’s important, but I’m left wondering why you don’t ask what you actually want to know, instead of asking a generic “tell me about yourself” and expecting the interviewee to guess your intentions?

      1. Czhorat*

        It’s a chance for the interviewer to naturally see what the interviewee sees as important in themselves.

        As the one being interviewed, the thing to remember is that there really only is one interview question: why should we hire you for this job? Everything they ask is just a subset of that and should be answered accordingly.

        Likewise, every question you ask the interviewer is “why should I want to work here?”

      2. H3llifIknow*

        Because it’s open ended and it’s *your* opportunity to highlight things that either don’t belong on a resume, or need some context, or that I might not KNOW to ask from your resume. The question will resonate slightly differently from candidate to candidate, and it’s a good way to gage some soft skills in communication, interpretation, and distillation.

      3. Adam*

        I do give them more guidance than just “tell me about yourself”, I usually say something like, “I’ve read your CV so you don’t need to repeat it, but I’d love to hear about where you are in your career and what you’re looking for next.” But I don’t want to ask for anything more specific than that, because I want to know how they interpret that question and what comes to mind about their career when asked something open-ended.

      4. Sam*

        As someone who has been the interviewer in many many interviews, I can share another reason for this question and its vagueness. Everyone interviewing should have the expectation that the interview will open with an opportunity to introduce themselves. If I introduce myself, then I need to make clear that I want the interviewee to introduce themselves, and “tell me about yourself” is a good way to do that. This should be the thing that they are most prepared for.

        It’s true that I could ask more specific questions, as others have suggested, but honestly it’s pretty weird to start with specific questions without allowing time for introductions. And it’s a kindness to the interviewee to give them a chance to share their prepared spiel before starting to give them specific questions – that’s the thing they can prepare the most!

        If I were to try and break up “tell me about yourself” into more specific questions, then I would find myself still stuck with introductions before those questions. You just can’t skip over it!

  5. Elle*

    I also like asking a variation, which is “What brings you here today?”. I’m looking for good public speakers who are interested in what my non profit does. A generic “I like to help people” answer is an automatic out. I want people who have researched what the agency does, have read the job description and can tell me what they bring to the table.

    1. ferrina*

      When I was hiring for a particularly unique job, I would ask “based on the information we’ve shared so far, what is your understanding of what this job is? This is an unusual job, so I want to make sure that I’m clarifying anything that will help you better understand what you’re applying for.”

      The job was one where asking questions and thinking critically was important; a couple candidates tried to bs their way through, and that quickly went into the Nope pile.

    2. mlem*

      Ha, it’s a good thing I’d be unlikely to apply for a public-speaker job, because my immediate reaction was that I’d look at you blankly and then say, “I’m … applying … for a job? Am I in the wrong room?”

      1. Elle*

        Yeah, like we all work for money, etc but why this job? It’s important because I work in public health and my staff sometimes has to communicate info on difficult topics to the public. I need someone who understands this and wants to do it.

      2. MMR*

        Same, but my job does require some public speaking, which I usually get good feedback on. I personally find the wording confusing. Is this not supposed to get at the same thing as “what made you want to apply for this role?”

          1. Ask a Manager* Post author

            OK, but that’s not going to be a compelling answer to an interviewer who may have other candidates just as qualified as you who are invested in and enthusiastic about this particular job. So if you want to be competitive with them, it’s in your interests to figure out a way to talk about that.

            1. Terminal ligma*

              For the removal of doubt, I was just joking (although I will admit that I’ve been tempted to say something along these lines in the past)!

            2. Orv*

              I feel like part of the kabuki theater of interviews is you’re supposed to pretend that you aren’t doing this for the money, in fact that you love this job so much you’d do it for free if necessary.

              2. SpaceySteph*

                I think there is some amount of theater in that you have to come across as if you aren’t just here for the money money, but I absolutely have not and will not ever suggest that I would do any job for free.

                That said, there are definitely employers that like to pretend that their job is such a special unicorn you should want to do it for free. Those are not employers I ever want to work for and I am lucky enough to have the option to turn such employers down.

    3. H3llifIknow*

      If an interviewer asked me “what brings you hear today,” I would likely look confused and say, “Did I get the date wrong? It’s on my calendar that we have an interview for the teapot proofing position.”

      “What brings you in here today” sounds to me like what a salesperson says to a potential customer.

      1. I Have RBF*

        I would probably look at them blankly and say “My car?”

        Seriously, it does sound like something a commission sales person would ask.

      3. H3llifIknow*

        Sigh, once again my inattention fails me and I *just* realized I wrote “hear” instead of “here” and that makes me crazy.

        My kingdom for an EDIT button!

  6. Kimmy Schmidt*

    Is there a better way to rephrase, explain, or expand this question from the hiring side? I love what it can tell me when people answer it well, but I know it can also be a stressful way to start.

    1. SALC*

      I recommend start by introducing yourself and it will make people less nervous! And when I interview folks I am telling them info in the introduction that will be relevant when they get a chance to ask questions (been at the company for a long time on different teams and different countries— since this makes me unusual a lot of candidates want to ask about a lot of these experiences) just like they’ll try to highlight the things you might want to ask more about

      I do it this way so it’s clear to everyone this is a conversation starter not a gotcha they need to overthink, and I tend to get the right kind of answers (not just a name—too short—or a super long and rambling revisit through their entire career)

      1. Lana Kane*

        Same. I noticed this question seemed to stress people out so I started with giving my own answer to kind of model what I was looking for.

      2. A Simple Narwhal*

        That’s so helpful! Because I’ve been in interviews where the person wants your elevator pitch, and in others they want you to reiterate your entire job history, and then yet others want to know more about you as a person outside of work. It’s stressful to guess which one they want, and no matter how nice the person is it never feels good to answer a question and have the interviewer go “oh actually I wanted…”.

      3. IT But I Can't Fix Your Printer*

        In my interviews it’s always prefaced by the interviewers doing our introductions, which are pretty straightforward, and then I’ll say “so why don’t you go ahead and tell us a little about yourself and why you’re interested in this position.” I’m not looking for anything in particular with the “tell me about yourself” piece, it’s just a way to ease into the interview and to see if there’s anything that we can use to segue to further questions (if not we go off the resume or our general list). I’m sure someone could answer this question “wrong” in the sense that they could say something like “my favorite hobby is destroying private property” but otherwise I’m really not reading too much into it.

      4. Peanut Hamper*

        Yep, this. It helps to tell them a little about your experience with the company, what you do there, etc.

    2. [insert witty username here]*

      How I’ve conducted interviews over the years that incorporates this question with different wording is that I very first start the interview by telling them what to expect (I’ll tell them more about the role, I’ll ask them to tell me about themselves, then we’ll dive into some questions on their work experience, and of course, wrap up with any questions they may have). When I ask them about themselves, I point out that I have their resume but I’d like to give them the floor to tell me about themselves and anything they may want to highlight – specific achievements, how/why they got into the industry, why their picked their major/school (if they’re a newer graduate), anything that’s not obvious on their resume. It kind of gives them some ideas of something other than “read me the bullet points on your resume.”

      Another critical piece I discuss at the start of interviews is that I tell them my philosophy on interviews – that they really should be a conversation and very much a two-way street. They should be finding out if this job/company are the right fit for them just as much as I should be determining if they’re the right candidate for the position. This has generally seemed to help put candidates more at ease and help open them up from the start.

    3. FricketyFrack*

      My group usually asks something along the lines of, “how does this position fit with your career goals?” because it gives us a more useful answer. Or if there’s something in their application we want to know more (or are concerned) about, we just ask them about that specifically. Our questions used to be a little more general, but we found that our interviews were running over on time and we weren’t always getting what we were looking for.

    4. MMR*

      If it makes sense I always prefer the person just ask me to run through my resume. I feel like it gets at the same thing, takes maybe a minute more, and is more clear. I have also changed careers a lot so I struggle a bit with coming up with a super cohesive narrative without mentioning almost every job on my resume. I might feel differently if I had a more straight forward story and could say “I started my career as a llama groomer, working for mid sized companies and start ups, but transitioned to llama training after realizing I had a natural affinity for llama behavior modification.”

      1. Lady Danbury*

        As an interviewer, I wouldn’t ask this because I don’t want the candidate to just run through their resume. I want them to paint a picture of why they want this job and how their past experiences align with it. If anything, their response should be more similar to a good cover letter.

    5. Medium Sized Manager*

      I usually introduce myself & the role and say it as “Can you provide a quick overview of your professional experience and how it ties into the company/role?”

    6. fhqwhgads*

      For me the question alone wouldn’t stress me out. It’s the addendum of “I have your resume so don’t recap that” that would throw me off. Not that I’d otherwise intend to recap my resume. But calling it out specifically somehow feels like…I donno…you’re on notice that any bit of the telling about myself that might also be mentioned on the resume might trip the “recap-o-meter” even if to me it were in a wider context and to a greater point.
      I mean, I get it, some people without that caveat probably would just say outloud some version of their resume. But I also think the people who would do that won’t necessarily be able to recapitulate and answer in the desired way on the spot. Whereas people who would be comfortable answering the question in general, and wouldn’t have done a resume-recap anyway, will suddenly be distracted by being overly concerned about it. If that makes sense.

  7. Miss Muffet*

    yeah, usually as an interviewer I’m only paying nominal attention to this – it’s more of a warm up to ease into the interview. Sometimes something particularly interesting will come out in that answer an I’ll ask more about it, or say, yes – I saw that on your resume and wanted to hear more about that – and ask more about a specific thing. But mostly it’s just hey here’s a way for you to ease your nerves by talking about yourself at a high level!
    Also — Usually I and any others I’m interviewing with will introduce ourselves first and then ask this question. I’m not giving the full career overview, of course, but I think if your interviewers do this, you can use their answers to gauge if they’re looking for anything personal such as hobbies or whatever (likely not, but mirroring what they do could help answer that question).

      1. Rainy*

        Sometimes the answer won’t be particularly unexpected or exciting, and that’s not a bad thing. If you are applying for a job and you have a lot of experience in the precise work the job will do and you enjoy it and have always enjoyed it and you have the skills required…that’s not an exciting or unexpected response, but that’s totally fine. It gives you a chance to talk about why this job or this particular organization and offer a little more context, if you’d like to. But a boring answer isn’t a bad answer (and probably isn’t that boring).

    2. bamcheeks*

      It really helps me distinguish the candidates. Usually we’re interviewing 5-6 people for the role, and woth the best will in the world everyone’s CVs start to blur into one. Having someone say, “I came into llama grooming after a degree in maths because I got really interested in the patterns tha llama hair grows in, and I’m really interested in the technical applications of llama grooming” and someone else say “I’ve got a broad background in camelid grooming and hair dyeing but this would be my first llama grooming role” really helps you separate who’s who in your head.

      1. TJS*

        Hi there! I’m the OP who asked Alison this question.

        Thanks for replying! I’m not sure why llamas are such a hit on his thread, but your example helps me better understand how to tackle the TMAY going forward.

        From reading the responses so far, I think next time I’ll try to highlight information authentically that will separate me from the other interviewees and not necessarily listing metrics that I think the interviewer wants to hear.

  8. Orv*

    Looking at the responses here so far, it feels like interviewers mean a lot of different things by this question, and the interviewee is expected to guess their intentions if they want to get hired.

      1. ferrina*

        +1

        Or “how does your experience up to this point make you a good fit for this role?” That can mean both from the candidate’s perspective (why the role appeals to them) or the interviewer’s perspective (what skills is the candidate bringing)

    2. Lana Kane*

      Looking at the replies with a sort of birds-eye view, it may seem like different things but really it’s all just a variety talking points that fit the question. It’s not about getting the right answer and hitting very specific points. If the interviewer is curious about something that wasn’t mentioned in the answer they can then hone in on that.

      But I’m also seeing responses saying this is intended just an ice breaker/warm up so it’s not really about this “answer this they way I want to if you want to be hired”. Picking some of the ideas being presented can help someone form a short, cohesive overview to answer this without feeling overwhelmed.

      1. DrSalty*

        “It’s not about getting the right answer”

        This. This is not a gotcha question. It’s purposefully open ended.

        1. Peanut Hamper*

          Unfortunately, a lot of people see job interviews as battles. I have no idea why. I’ve interviewed people who were openly antagonistic to the entire process, although they looked good on paper. Even with good references regarding their abilities and work ethic, I didn’t choose them. I need someone who can work with others without the attitude they brought to the interview.

          1. Alan*

            Absolutely. If we didn’t think you were sharp, you wouldn’t be sitting here. I need to know if you can work and play well with others. With some people you just know immediately that it’s not a good fit because their ego is going to clash with other people. (I still remember one interviewee who said “I have my own ways of doing things which you’re probably not going to like.” Huge thumbs down. Ain’t no one got time for that.)

          2. bamcheeks*

            I think this is really key, and it’s something I emphasise a lot to applicants. I get why jobsearching feels antagonistic and there are always high-profile assholes who ARE trying to catch candidates out. But overwhelmingly, interviewers want to get the best out of candidates! Nobody wants to see a good person walk out the room without getting a chance to chow their skills!

            Very often, you can literally work with an interviewer to figure out what they want from a question and how to approach it. “Here’s the overview of my career history so far— let me know if there’s something else you want me to talk about here!” “I have a couple of examples that I think would fit this question— one is more focussed on customer-facing activities, and the other is more about my technical knowledge of the product, do you have a preference?” Most interviewers are genuinely happy to work with you to get the best answers!

          3. Orv*

            I don’t see it as a battle, exactly, but I generally assume the interviewer has a stack of applications and they’re looking to see if I trip up so they have an easy excuse to discard mine.

            1. SnackAttack*

              As someone who’s done a lot of interviews, that’s not the case at all. By the time we’ve reached the interview phase, we’ve already discarded a bunch of resumes. Sure, there are definitely companies with “gotcha” questions, but I wouldn’t go in assuming the interviewer is out to get you.

            2. bamcheeks*

              There can definitely be an element of “what’s the easiest way to exclude people” at the resume stage if you’ve got a lot of applications. But at the point where you’ve invested time in interviewing people, you want it to be worth your while and that means getting the best out of everyone!

              1. Peanut Hamper*

                OMG This! This entirely! I want to have to pick from three different people all of whom I know could probably do the job and do it well than to have to sort through a hundred resumes to find those three.

              2. Allonge*

                Well put. We normally try to get to a list of people who could do the job at the interview stage; the longer the better. Who knows when we need to hire for the same job again, could be in two weeks?

                Picking the one person from the list for the specific opening is for the final-call hiring manager. But that is after the interviews.

            4. nnn*

              OK, seems like you don’t have a lot of understanding of the process works on the interviewer’s side (but are certain that you do anyway).

              1. Orv*

                Maybe so, although it’s not like I have no experience with it. I’ve participated as part of a group of people interviewing candidates. There was definitely an element of “OK, who can we exclude to narrow this down.” Often it’s minor stuff that someone in the group didn’t like, or that rubbed them the wrong way.

            5. NotAnotherManager!*

              I’ve never approached hiring this way. When I get resumes or candidates, I’m looking for the one with the most strengths to hire. I want the best of my options, not the last candidate left standing.

          4. Jessica*

            I feel like there’s some corner of interviewing advice that got its mindset from PUA dating.

            Look, I am not a machine and there’s no correct coded sequence to get me to vote yes on you.

            On the other hand, I actually WANT you to be the right person for this role because then we can stop interviewing and get back to work.

            This is not a chess game.

          5. Blue Horizon*

            This is the age-old problem of interviewing. The truth is that it’s a competitive situation – we’re talking to a number of people, and only one is going to get the offer. (Similarly you’re probably interviewing with a number of potential employers, and will only say yes to one).

            People will normally adopt an existing mindset for this kind of situation, maybe taking a competitive exam or competing in a sporting contest. So we get the game face: people presenting the best version of themselves, telling you what they think you want to hear, and searching for that killer ‘right’ answer that will allow them to ace the exam or win the game or whatever.

            But there is no answer key. We aren’t awarding medals here. We just want to know whether you’re the person we thought you were from reading your resume, if you’re likely to be happy and successful in this role, and whether we can work with you. Yes, we will be assessing you against all the other applicants so there is unavoidably a competitive aspect here, and I don’t blame people for adopting that approach. I’ve done it myself. But in the end, if you win, you’ll have to do the job every day, and it’s probably not going to require the same set of techniques and behaviors that ‘acing the interview’ did.

            It might sound paradoxical, but if I can get you to relax and have a normal conversation with me so that we can both get as a true a sense as possible of each other as a person and a professional, it will likely give a far better outcome. Yes, you might lose a job once in a while when you could maybe have won it with the competitive approach, but perhaps you wouldn’t have been happy doing it anyway. And if you do get the job, it’s far more likely that it will end up being a good fit for both parties.

            1. Orv*

              After reading a lot of advice here, I feel like there’s a certain “interview persona” people need to get hired. Interviewers do not want to see the real me. They want to see a bubbly extrovert who is so incredibly excited about their company that they aren’t taking the job just for the money, in fact they’d work for free if they had to! They’re just that excited about working here!

              As an interviewee, my job seems to be to adopt that persona and sell it in a convincing way. There’s nothing true or natural about it; it’s as ritualized as kabuki theater.

              1. GythaOgden*

                Maybe let your guard down on the bubbly stuff. I’m the world’s biggest hermit, but the right thing at the right time gets me out of my shell, and a job with more responsibility for things going right has made me sharper, less self-effacing and less passive than I was even this time last year. And yes, bubblier. But I had to prove I was ready for the challenge my new super-gopher role would entail. And by all accounts I’m killing it.

                People don’t necessarily want bubbly, but they do want someone who can rise to a challenge and look like they’re actually going to communicate, cooperate and build a positive approach to a job someone else needs done. Cynicism is fine when you have reason to be cynical, because I totally would have said that last September when I was in the ‘darkest before the dawn’ stage of my two-year job hunt. But letting that cynicism overshadow what others are needing and expecting from me in order for me to progress is the thing that will more likely cost me jobs in the long run than not being bubbly or outgoing.

                If you want to get jobs without interviews, then you probably need to temp. That comes with its own insecurity and problems, but you get used to being able to prove yourself through your work. But eventually, you have to grow and develop enough to be able to hold your own in interviews because there’s a ceiling on temping. Developing the skills you need for a job is one thing, but jobs will expect a certain amount of communication skill from you when you’re on that job, and thus you have to be able to come across as bright, enthusiastic about the role at hand and build a concrete case for them to take you on. Otherwise you will end up as a perma-temp, because you’ll struggle to make that case for yourself — and ultimately, it’s only ever you that can make the best case for why you should get the job.

                1. Orv*

                  I get it. I mean, I understand the way the game is played. I’ve successfully interviewed more than once. But I hate the process a little more every time I have to fake and bluff my way through it.

    3. LCH*

      these are the interpretations i’ve seen so far:

      How good are you at consolidating and giving an overview of what I can see on your resume.
      What about your career do you see as important.
      What I’m looking for is just your perspective of where you are in your career.
      How does this position fit with your career goals?

    4. londonedit*

      No decent interviewer is trying to catch people out or trick people or play mind games. They’re trying to hire a new colleague, someone they want to work with and who they think will bring value to the team and do a good job. ‘Tell me a bit about yourself’ just means ‘talk us through your career history in your own words’. Your CV is necessarily a pretty dry document – it’s just a list of education and job history – so the ‘tell me about yourself’ question is just an opportunity for you to bring it to life a bit. Talk about how you came to get into the industry, talk about why you jumped at the chance to move into a challenging role, talk about what you’re currently doing in your job and why you now feel it’s time to move on. It’s not a trick and there’s no ‘right answer’, the interviewer (assuming they’re a reasonable person, as the vast majority of people are) just wants to get a sense of who you are and what you’ve done so far.

  9. General von Klinkerhoffen*

    I recently read Alison’s advice for this question and used it to show how my entire working life had been leading me to that job. A resume or CV doesn’t say a lot about what actually drives you and what you like about your job.

    So my answer was along the lines of “I got into (ObscureField) sort of by accident, and found out it suited me really well. I thrive on (EverydayTasks) but have a particular knack for (UsefulSoftSkill) to overcome (CommonRoadblock). I have been looking for an opening in (SubField) to focus on my strongest skills, and was excited to see a vacancy at (ProspectiveEmployer) because of how I could be part of (TheirMissionStatement).”

    1. TJS*

      Hi there! I’m the OP who asked Alison this question.

      Thanks for providing your template response. It sounds much more engaging than how I’ve been going about answering the TMAY interview question.

      I’m definitely going to borrow and play around with this template.

      Cheers!

      1. General von Klinkerhoffen*

        I’m glad you found it helpful! I think treating the question as asking how your career has led you to this interview helps you stay focused and authentic. Thirty seconds to match your paperwork to their job description.

        My niche is sufficiently unusual that it’s a good question and a CV/resume won’t answer it.

  10. Coach*

    I do a lot of interview coaching for applicants, and the advice I always give: “If they ask ‘tell me about yourself,’ they’re not great at interviewing, and don’t know how else to begin.” Disclaimer: This is not always–or even majority of the time–true! (Please don’t come at me that you love this question and it’s a great one and you’re great at your job! I’m just talking about helping applicants prep for it.) It can be a very helpful lens to view it through, as it reminds applicants that the person on the other end is ALSO perhaps uncomfortable or nervous or wants to make a good impression, and that “Tell me about yourself” means “Please, start this conversation for me.”

    Starting from the premise of, “Aww, this person needs my help to get us going!” can be a nice reminder that it really is a conversation between adults, not a grilling, and gives applicants a little more control over what often feels like a process in which they are totally at someone else’s mercy.

    1. Lana Kane*

      But is it necessary to say they aren’t great at interviewing? I think it would be more accurate – and less conforntational – to just say that interviewers sometimes need a little warm up as well.

      1. MMR*

        But there are much better ways to do this, that don’t make candidates worry they’re answering the wrong question, which is not a great start.

        1. Lana Kane*

          But does this make people bad interviewers?

          Personally, I don’t find this to be a “bad” question, in any case. Some people are fine with it, others aren’t, and this can happen with any question being asked.

        2. Cable*

          Nothing said within an interview makes people worry though. It’s a choice made by the interviewee. Yes, a wrong answer could mean you don’t get a job, but it could just as easily be a question about your technical skills that does that.

          The theme in noticing in people who really don’t like this question, is the idea that there’s a right answer.

        3. Allonge*

          There is no “wrong answer”. It’s not a written test people hand in for Harsh!Teacher evaluators, it’s a conversation where interviewers can ask follow-up questions (in most cases) if someone goes in a direction they did not expect.

      2. Lady Danbury*

        This. If you don’t genuinely believe that’s the case, why are you telling candidates that? It seems unnecessarily negative towards complete strangers, especially if it’s not true the majority of the time. There are other ways that you can say that your interviewer might be nervous without saying that they’re incompetent.

        1. Orv*

          Outside of major corporations that have full-time recruiters, most people who conduct job interviews don’t do them as a job and find them awkward and uncomfortable. They have a different job they’d rather be doing. Realizing that can help ease the inherent power imbalance of the situation.

    2. Alan*

      I love this so much. I’ve never been a line manager but I’ve been asked by my management to interview a lot of people, and for me at least, you’re onto something here, and it’s a great way to frame it. I don’t use lines like this a lot, but when I do it’s because I read their resume when they first applied, then got really busy, and I either need to take time during the interview to go over it again, or I can simply toss them a softball question while I try to catch up. It’s not a gotcha question, it’s not them, it’s literally me trying to remember who they are. And once I’ve caught my breath, it’s a springboard to better questions. Ideally I would review their resume right before they came in, but that doesn’t always happen.

  11. SALC*

    As a person who interviews others I usually start by introducing myself and then ask them to introduce themselves—I think giving my own info gives them a place to start with what to say and how much to get into detail etc. I found when I ask them to introduce themselves first some will ramble on for ages about all their different jobs and projects so I just model it myself

    1. Aspiring Chicken Lady*

      This sounds so helpful! And helps with the social dynamic where the interviewee is vulnerable and might asked anything without it costing the interviewer anything.

  12. Czhorat*

    That question is a gift: it gives you a chance to write your *story* the way you want to. I like Allison’s sample answer; you can talk about what you like about your industry, what you’re *good* at, and give an idea of what you think you can contribute. It’s a chance for an “I am” statement and for you to tell them how you want them to see you. As a problem solver? A leader? A collaborator? Decide on your story and tell it.

  13. Chad H.*

    This is a bad question, but probably just asked as they’re unsure of a better opener.

    Personally I go for a clarifying question – are they after a professional answer, a personal answer, are they asking for attributes, etc?

    1. Peanut Hamper*

      It’s not a bad question. Did you read the response?

      They’re asking you for your elevator pitch — imagine you’ve got 60 seconds alone in an elevator with this person. Tell them why your interested in the job and what kind of experience/talent/knowledge/perspective you can bring to it, based on your background, and do it in a way that makes them want to continue the conversation outside the elevator.

      1. Chad H.*

        >>It’s not a bad question. Did you read the response?

        Yes, and I disagree with it. It is a bad question. It’s completely unclear from the question if a professional answer is requested, or just a general character one. Its telling the response goes straight to presume its a professional one.

        I’m not my work, its only part of me. If you honestly want me to tell you about *me*, its only going to be a fraction of the answer.

        >>They’re asking you for your elevator pitch

        Then ask for an elevator pitch! Don’t expect your candidates to pull out their Secret Recruiter to English decoder ring to try to work out what it is you want to know. Not all people who ask that question want an elevator pitch.

        1. Peanut Hamper*

          So….you’re in a professional interview, and you can’t figure out that they want a professional response?

          I guess if you want to go into a job interview feeling hostile about things, that’s up to you, but there are so many great responses in this comment section about how to answer this, that nobody who reads them should in any way be thrown by this question. It’s far better to have a response ready to go, rather than be thrown by it and flop around like a fish on the deck of a boat. It’s an opening question, and the interviewer’s second question may come from something in your answer.

          Remember, it’s an interview, not an interrogation. It’s a two-way conversation.

        2. bamcheeks*

          In my experience a lot more people understand “tell me about yourself” than “tell me your elevator pitch”. Is the idea of an elevator pitch really that universal a concept?

          1. allathian*

            I suspect it depends on your field. The more business jargony and obfuscating the company materials look, the more likely elevator pitches are to be a thing.

            I work for the government, and jargony and obfuscating many of our materials remain, in spite of laudable attempts to strive for plain language that the general public can actually understand. Elevator pitches are definitely a thing in my org!

          2. Allonge*

            No, it’s not. I am in comms, so that could be something I am expected to answer, but it’s much closer to ‘sell yourself to me’ than ‘ tell me about yourself’ and frankly it could be a yellow flag.

          3. londonedit*

            I think a lot of people in publishing (especially those going for entry-level roles) would be confused by the idea of an ‘elevator pitch’. It’s way too salesy for our industry. People understand ‘tell me about yourself’ or ‘talk me through your career history’ far more easily.

        3. Allonge*

          If someone is interviewing for a job, nobody sane will be interested in their personal philosophies and hobbies before hearing about their professional background.

          If this is not obvious (and you are not a recent high school graduate or otherwise completely inexperienced with interviews), I will wonder if you are going to have trouble understanding and adjusting to context at work.

    2. SpaceySteph*

      I don’t think its a great question, but I do think you can safely assume they want a professional answer in a job interview.

      I imagine the most common pitfall is to answer it as a personal one. My personal answer to “tell me about yourself” would disclose a bunch of things that could be used to discriminate against me or that could be used to allege discrimination and thus shouldn’t be discussed in a job interview for both of our protection. (I am married, I have kids, I belong to a minority religion, etc.)

  14. Grace*

    I don’t ask this question because I do think it’s not clear what the intention is, but I imagine one of the reasons why interviewers clarify that they have your resume in front of them is because often candidates will go through their resume job-by-job instead of a summary like Alison suggests. I have experienced 10 minutes answers from this question! Another good reason to ask more specific questions as an interviewer :-)

  15. Lady Danbury*

    I can’t see Alison’s response (yay firewalls), but I view this question as essentially your chance to make your elevator pitch for the job. It’s not a step by step review of your qualifications/experience, but a canter through how your background qualifies you for this role in particular. Obviously the specifics of what to include will vary based on the role, your specific qualifications, any lacking areas that you may choose to address, etc.

  16. KT*

    What they are really saying is that they are too lazy to read/retain your resume. Answer as if they’ve never seen it.

    1. Czhorat*

      This is an oddly antagonistic way to approach it; one of the things that’s helped me feel better about interviewing is to see it as collaborative; they want to fill the position, you want them to fill it *with you* – your goals aren’t as misaligned as some people feel that they are. They *want* reasons to hire you because they have a need; it’s your job to give them that reason.

      Every question is an opportunity to give them a reason. Treat it like that.

      1. Justin*

        Exactly, if it was just resume-based, we wouldn’t have interviews. I’m currently in the hiring process and some people with strong resumes totally bombed on on these sort of “why” questions.

      2. Peanut Hamper*

        It is HIGHLY antagonistic, and unfortunately, we see the same kind of attitudes around cover letters as well. Some people will always see applying for jobs and interviewing as some sort of battle, and if they carry that attitude over into their interview, it’s no surprise that they are going to go through a lot of interviews before they finally get a job.

        You mentioned up above that this question is a chance to tell your story, and that’s it entirely. The same goes with a cover letter. Tell your story!

        To misquote Jimmy Buffett, changes in attitude, changes in latitude.

    2. Justin*

      This is fully untrue as they’re asking you to tell a narrative, not list jobs. In fact by mentioning the resume, they’re asking for the why instead of the what.

    4. Catching Sky*

      That’s an excellent approach, if your goal is to not get hired. I’m assuming you are a workshy shirker who bombs every interview, based on this?

    5. RedinSC*

      Oh no, I’ve read the resume, I also just want to see if the person can summarize their experience into a coherent response that helps me understand where they’re coming from.

      I typically don’t ask that question, BUT when I’m on a panel and that question is there it’s got nothing to do with laziness.

    6. Buffalo*

      0% chance I’d hire someone who answered as if I’d never seen their resume; 0% chance I’d hire someone who thought I was too lazy to read/retain their resume; 0% chance I’d hire someone who thought the point of “tell me about yourself” was to recite your resume.

      If I’m hiring, I know the applicant’s resume as well as they do. I’m looking for “can this person have a conversation about their career path”.

  17. Nicosloanica*

    I admit the part about them having my resume and not wanting me to repeat it would throw me a little – I’d be mentally trying to remember exactly what I put on the resume they have (I do customize my resume to the application) and trying to vary what I’m saying so as not to duplicate haha. But I realize that’s not what they really mean, they just don’t want me to recite all my jobs chronologically to date. However, interviewers should ideally try to remember that interview-ees are more stressed and likely to be flustered in their position, and avoid “two-part” questions or ones that require you to hold two pieces of information in your head at the same time (tell me about yourself, but don’t repeat your resume) – if possible – unless that’s an important element of the role.

    1. I went to school with only 1 Jennifer*

      I strongly advise that you take a copy of the relevant resume (and cover letter) with you to the interview. This has helped me in many ways: (1) I can refresh my own memory about how awesome I am! (Sending out applications can get me down, like I’m a salesperson who never gets a sale. They asked me to come in because they liked what they saw!) (2) I can hand over a copy if they don’t have it handy, or if I see that the recruiter changed up my careful formatting. (I’m a writer. Part of writing is how the information is presented on the page. My resume is the first writing sample they see. Plus sometimes the recruiter removes my contact info and I want to know that they have it for potential future positions.) (3) Extra note-taking paper. (At least once the notepad I was using only had 1 unused sheet, and I was able to turn the extra resume over and take notes on the blank sides.)

    2. Orv*

      Same. I’d wonder if I inadvertently rehashed something that was already on there, if it would be a mark against hiring me.

      1. Orv*

        …or that if I did mention something on my resume, but got the facts slightly different, I’d be immediately disqualified as a liar.

        It’s a bit like when you’re going through customs, and the officer asks, “when were you last in ?” And you’re struggling to remember but know he has it on his screen and is just waiting to see if your information matches his.

        1. not owen wilson*

          I mean this in the kindest way possible — looking at this and some of your other answers in this thread, I think you have some personal anxiety that you’re extrapolating as universal. Not everyone is out to get you or looking for reasons to discard you, and that includes interviewers.

        2. not owen wilson*

          This one especially is making me scratch my head a little bit, probably because I have ADHD and tend to transpose things when I speak out loud. I don’t think anyone you’d actually want to work for would care if you accidentally said you were at a job until “about 2015” instead of “about 2014”. And if they do care, well, bullet dodged — you just found out you’d be working with a bunch of rigid pedants. It’s not just about what they want from you, but what their responses tell you too.

        3. nnn*

          I mean this kindly but something is going on with you that isn’t about interviews. Your answers here are really weird.

          1. Orv*

            It’s a whole weird process that requires me to pretend to be someone else and memorize a lot of arbitrary questions and answers in order to land a job. I’ve built up a lot of resentment to it, I guess. The older I get the higher the stakes get, too, because being in tech and over 40 means everyone acts like you’re already dead.

      2. Allonge*

        It would be very weird if you could not repeat anything on your resume. It’s really, really not a gotcha.

        Please practice an answer to this question before you go to interviews, ideally with someone who did hiring before.

  18. RCB*

    I work in nonprofits, not corporate jobs, so there is a “passion” aspect to the places I interview, so I always answer with “my resume tell you the job related details about me, here’s my connection to this particular issue” and then tell how I became interested in this issue or why I’m passionate about this cause, because that’s not as easy to see. Some of that should be in your cover letter, but expand on it and tell your story.

    1. Peanut Hamper*

      There’s that word again: story.

      You are absolutely right and this is what so many people who are antagonistic to this process are bristling at. They feel “Okay, you have my resume, why aren’t you judging me on that?”

      But we don’t want to hire a resume. We want to hire a person, and people have stories behind them about how they ended up here, whether on purpose or by accident.

      The fact is, we did judge you based on your resume, and that judgment got you to the interview stage. Now we want to know about the person behind the resume. I’ve often had three or four candidates with similar resumes (i.e., they all had similar educations and experiences); at this point I’m looking to see what differentiates them.

      tl;dr: Your similarity to other good candidates got you to this point; now is your chance to tell your story and show how you are different from those other candidates.

  19. ANON4This*

    I talk about my why, Why I chose my line of work, why I love what I do, why it motivates me.

    “I lucked into Organizational and People Development. Back in college I had no idea this job even existed… I got here by…. (fill in details- which are pre resume) I feel like i have the best job in the world, I get to help people be successful where they are now and prepare them for the future. By doing that at the organizational level I get to ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time- leading to greater engagement, retention, which all leads to the company being successful.”

    I think it shows the passion I have for what I do, and also a deep understanding of what my job means. It also helps me quickly weed out if they don’t want someone actually doing what I do and if they want someone to be an HR person- which I am not.

  20. LostCommenter*

    I do hate it when I want to read Alison’s answer…and there’s a paywall preventing me from. I get that people want to make money, it just puts me off when I’m redirected to a site that either wants me to pay, or have so many pop-ups to exit before I get to read the answer.

    1. nnn*

      So….”I get that people want to make money, it just puts me off when they ask me to pay for a small portion of their work that I want to read”?

    2. Aggretsuko*

      If you don’t want to sign up for their website and pay just to read Alison’s answer, then you don’t read it that day, or ever.

      Heck, I’m not adding another subscription to my bills either what with my job change pay cut, but that means I’m not reading it that day and I just read the comments here instead. It is what it is.

    3. biobotb*

      Are you the rare person who doesn’t like to be paid for their work? And can survive without earning an income?

    4. I went to school with only 1 Jennifer*

      Are you already reading articles on that site? If you’re not, something specific is wrong. (You should be able to view Alison’s answers there because the site will give you ?4? free articles a month.)

    5. Orv*

      It’s absolutely a teaser to try to get you to spend money, but there’s a lot of other free content here, so I don’t get too worked up about it.

  21. NobodyHasTimeForThis*

    I will never forget the interview I had for what ended up being my first job out of college. I had done an on-campus interview and this was an interview on location. This was about my 30th on location interview that year – and most of them were an excruciating day long ordeal of anywhere from 6-12 interview sessions with as many as 25 people.

    First interview- “Tell me about yourself” – I jumped into the same spiel I had used for the last gazillion interviews. He interrupted almost immediately – “We have all day, tell me about YOU”. This interview ended up being a different kind of excruciating – a 6 hour interview with ONE PERSON. Although I do recall a few extra people being invited to the lunch. I got the job though and he was a great boss. He was one of the “family” people who actually meant it in a good way – he cared about you as a person. He gave a random day off when he thought you needed it and he always made sure people had a place to go for the holidays. He was a rare breed in 1990’s fortune 500 companies.

    1. Lady Danbury*

      SIX HOURS WITH ONE PERSON????? Please tell me more because I can’t even imagine what that entails!

  22. Heidi*

    I think it’s okay to spend one second saying where you’re from. I’m from a place that is a popular vacation spot, and mentioning it seems to evoke happy memories for people. No reason not to start with a positive emotion if possible. The majority of the conversation should be about the job, though.

  23. Dr. Doll*

    My first question for interviewees is always, ” I noticed [this interesting thing] in your resume, can you tell me more about it?” It’s a relatively soft ball but is robust enough to be worth asking.

    1. LCH*

      i like the specificity of this one. the general “tell me about yourself” is like when someone asks me about my favorite movie or book. i’m sure i have one! what is it? no idea! blank mind over here!

  24. OrdinaryJoe*

    I always thought I had a good answer to this question and was completely thrown when I started, which is something like … I did an internship in college and stumbled across lama grooming, which I never even realized was a profession and it turned out to be the perfect fit for me because of X and Y. Through my experience blah blah blah – pretty much what Allison said.

    One interview cut me off after ‘college’ and proceeded to lecture me about not needing to go back that far. Totally threw me and the rest of the interview went downhill.

  25. I Have RBF*

    I actually hate that question, because there are too many ways it can be meant. I usually assume it to me “Tell me about yourself in a professional context“, because I’m not there to talk about my hobbies. But having had two separate careers, a big health issue, and other odd jobs means that my answer could be all over the map.

  26. Lisa*

    Even if the interviewer has your resume in front of them, it might be one of five they’ve read that day.

    1. Peanut Hamper*

      Or ten. Or twenty. Or fifty. It happens.

      This is an excellent point. Use this question to make yourself stand out in some way.

  27. My Cats Ate My Homework*

    When I ask someone a “tell me about yourself” question, I try to make sure I frame it in the context of “So, give me a snapshot of your career, the experiences you’ve had, and how those brings you here today.” I typically do this right at the beginning, after I’ve explained the process of how the conversation is likely to go. Someone who can’t answer that concisely, and rambles on for ten minutes giving me every single detail of every single job they’ve ever had, is not someone likely to end up on my team.

    Nearly everyone will talk about their professional achievements, which is great – but then I like to follow it with “What do you do for fun?” I’ve been suprised and delighted by some of the answers I’ve gotten – animal rescue, crocheting, cosplay, reading, barbershop quartet – and it gives me a chance to learn more about them as a person by asking things like “Oh, what was the last book you read and loved?” or “How did you get into underwater ballet anyway?”

    These are definitely not designed as “gotcha” questions, but simply to get an idea of who the person is, and why they’d be a good fit for the role.

    1. allathian*

      I really like your framing in the first question “So, give me a snapshot of your career, the experiences you’ve had, and how those brings you here today.”

      “What do you do for fun” is more risky because not all hobbies/interests are created equal and as a candidate you can’t know the interviewer’s prejudices. My main hobbies are reading (mostly re-reading old favorites if I’m honest), watching streaming shows (mainly sci-fi and crime, some documentaries), going to the movies a few times a year, playing games on my cellphone, and hanging out with family and friends without doing anything special. At this point in my life I have neither the energy nor the inclination to develop more “interesting” hobbies.

      I sure hope you don’t hire people based on what they tell you they do when they’re not working. This can be discriminatory in various ways. Some people have caregiving duties that mean they don’t get much time to indulge in interesting hobbies of their own. Someone might say that they’re a “soccer parent” and would that count as a positive or a negative with you? And if a candidate volunteers in the queer space, saying so might be risky, especially if they aren’t visibly queer.

      People tend to hire people who are like themselves in some way. Not knowing too much about their personal lives at the interviewing stage can mitigate that prejudice at least a bit. It’s a bit reminiscent of the old-time bosses who’d only hire white men who played golf.

      The “what do you do for fun” question is actually the one that’s usually stressed me the most in interviews! I have a slightly quirky personality and I don’t mind showing some parts of it when I’ve proved myself professionally. But interviewers are unknown quantities and haven’t earned that trust from me, and I’d probably self-censor to the point of being utterly bland by not mentioning my sci-fi fandom activities, etc. unless the interviewer said something about a slightly quirky hobby. Like if the interviewer mentioned that they run LARP events in their free time, I’d be much more comfortable mentioning my sci-fi fandom activities, for example.

  28. Buffalo*

    I have mixed feelings about “tell me about yourself”. Anyone who asks this is basically asking, “Are you familiar with certain job interview norms?”, and there’s a weak correlation between “good at job interviews” and “good at jobs”, even in jobs where communication skills are important. “Tell me about yourself” serves to ask, “Are you Our Kind Of People?”, and I don’t love it from that angle.

    On the other hand, there are certain jobs where you don’t want to hire someone who’s unfamiliar with or unable to intuit or learn professional norms, and I get that. I once interviewed a working-class 20-year-old for a customer service job and asked her to tell me about herself. She had no frame of reference for that question and told a really inappropriate story, and I ended up hiring someone who *didn’t* tell a really inappropriate story. I think most people would have made that choice. But on the other hand, I was clearly setting that candidate up for failure, and that’s not good interviewing.

    1. TJS*

      Hi there, I’m the OP who asked Alison this question.

      I appreciate your response. I got lucky early in my career landing a role relatively quickly after college without having had to do a lot of interviews. Now it’s kind of biting my behind. I have the results to prove I can do the job, but am weak at interviewing because I lack the practice. I’m currently going through the trials and errors of learning job interview norms.

      1. Buffalo*

        Yeah, I come from a working-class family where you get a job where you’re 20 and that’s your job for the rest of your life. My dad and older siblings got their jobs in the era when you could simply walk down the street, see a “help wanted” sign in the window of a shop, go in, and the owner would say, “Hey, I was looking to hire a human with a pulse, and here one is! This is your job for the next fifty years!” If my dad had to find a job today, he would have no idea how. He absolutely wouldn’t know that job interview questions have subtext – and he’s not a stupid guy, this just isn’t his world. So I empathize with you for sure.

  29. Seen Too Much*

    When I ask this question, I’m not necessarily looking for your work history. I am looking to see how passionate you are about the job. How much research you have done about the position/company – how you tailor your answer to those things. It’s a break the ice kind of question. It generally gets the interviewee a little more relaxed – talking about “safe” things before jumping into questions. I’m also looking to see if you are nervous, do I need to adjust my questions – maybe you answer some of them during this time- are you a fast talker, slow talker – how do I need to lead you through the interview. You reveal a lot about yourself based on where you start and what you talk about.

    1. Orv*

      I find that interesting because this type of question actually makes me more tense. Maybe it’s because I’m an introvert who was taught early on not to brag or talk myself up too much. But this type of question is the opposite of relaxing for me. But maybe that’s because I’d be a bad culture fit for where you work? (I often feel like “culture fit” is code for “we want extroverts.”)

        1. Peanut Hamper*

          Very true! The vast majority of my current team are introverted and a number (including myself) are neurodivergent in some way. But you’ll never find that team if you keep shooting yourself in the foot by being antagonistic toward the process.

        2. Orv*

          They can, but interview conventions require them to pretend to be extroverts to actually get hired. You have to be bubbly and enthusiastic and pretend that you’re there because your PASSION is whatever the company does.

    2. allathian*

      Ugh, I hate the idea of passion in combination with work, any work, with the heat of a thousand suns. This doesn’t mean that I don’t research the organizations I apply to or don’t tailor my resume and cover letter to each application.

      Interviewing well is a skill. And like any other skill, some people have a greater natural aptitude for it than others but most people can learn to interview well. And those who interview particularly well aren’t necessarily the very best employees in the end. A former coworker told me once that he’d got every job he’d ever interviewed for (at the time both of us were in our early 30s). But saying that he was a mediocre employee is putting it mildly (I liked him as a person but working with him was a chore), it was as if he never invested himself in the jobs he got because he knew that he could get another any time he applied for it, and he never performed poorly enough to be fired for a lack of performance.

      That said, some of it can be put down to cultural differences. I’m in Finland, and traditionally the Lutheran work ethic has been strong here, and talking positively about yourself and your achievements is very difficult because there’s such a fine line between being too modest to get a job and being a braggart.

  30. Code monkey manager*

    As a hiring manager I find it much more useful to ask “Tell me about what brought you to apply for this job.” I don’t actually want someone to “tell me about themselves” in a job interview – if I was going to tell someone about myself, my career would be maaaaybe fifth down the list if not lower! I want to know what went through their head when they looked at the job ad and thought I might want to hire them.

    I will say I work in a somewhat specialized field. I would not ask this for an entry level job in a more generalized field. In that situation, what I’d want to know is how a candidate handles themselves in a conversation with a stranger, so the content of the question wouldn’t matter at all and they can talk about their hobby making sequined dolphin dolls if that’s what’s important to them.

  31. Tiger Snake*

    Turn your resume into a story, I think. You learn about what a candidate actually feels they’re skills are, what they’re confident in, what their passionate about in the field, etc. by hearing them talk about what they’re like as an employee.
    When I was interviewing, I was trying to see what they’d bring to the job. That meant understanding what they thought the job was, what they wanted in a job, and what they could proactively show me they brought.

  32. AboutMe*

    There are a few questions about my career trajectory I used to get asked in every interview (how I went from studying physics in school to my most typical job type, why I chose this job type over one people think I should have chosen because they think it’s more prestigious and I clearly have the skills to do it). I often use this question to pre-emptively address them at a high level and take them off the table so we can focus on more pertinent things for most of the conversation. My answer also highlights a bunch of soft skills that are useful in my role but people find difficult to ask about, so double win.

    I’d take a look at your background, previous interviews, and what you like doing and craft an answer that will do one of the above things if possible.

  33. Purplestar*

    I had that question recently, I asked the interviewer if they meant professionally or personally.
    I have practiced answers for each, so I no longer struggle with that question. And I always ask for the clarification.

  34. Tony Howard*

    I interviewed dozens of people in my 30 year career as a Hospital CFO and NEVER, not once did I say “tell me about yourself” . Having viewed their resume in advance, I had plenty of relevant questions to ask without wasting time on a “filler” question. If I wanted to get an idea about the candidate’s interests , I might throw out a random question like “what was the last book you read?” or “what’s your favorite movie and why?” But only in those cases where I felt a connection and likely hire in front of me.

    1. allathian*

      And even those can be risky because many people don’t read for pleasure and some people couldn’t name a favorite movie, whether or not they enjoy movies in general. You take the risk of making a candidate who so far has made a great impression feel very awkward.

      1. Bast*

        If someone answered something along the lines of, “I’m not much of a reader; I prefer to spend my time Irish step dancing/collecting seashells/hiking/literally any activity that is not illegal” I wouldn’t balk at that. Same with movies or music. Frankly, I am one of those people who is hesitant to declare that I have a favorite anything. My favorite ANYTHING changes day by day, and I don’t just have one favorite. I have a list of maybe 3 or 4 movies I know that I really like, and couldn’t pick one as a clear favorite, but if asked, I usually pick one and roll with it. This goes for most things. I don’t have one singular, clear, favorite.

    2. Another Hiring Manager*

      I don’t use the question either. Too many bad experiences on the other end where it was clear the interviewer wanted some specific answer that I had to guess.

  35. Lorraine*

    Someone above mentioned it being lazy not to retain a resume. In my last round of phone screening, I reviewed over 500 resumes, and had 20 screening calls in a week. I *did* need applicants to remind me why they were particular standouts for the role. Them spending an expected 2 minutes pitching themselves (which they could prep for, as it’s a known opener) is a far better use of time than my spending more prep time for screens. Plus I always want to give interviewees a couple of chances to flag their proudest achievements to me. I wouldn’t do that for later round interviews, but it’s not unreasonable to expect candidates to be able to talk about themselves. (In addition to the other points mentioned above: it gets them talking on a softball to calm nerves and help them be their best, it will flag communication problems early on, etc.)

    1. TheBunny*

      This. With that many screenings, 2 hours per and that’s all you are doing that week.

      While I don’t usually deal with that high volume of recruiting it’s not unreasonable to approach it this way.

    2. Orv*

      I feel like the hard part of prepping for this question is everyone who asks it seems to want something a little different as an answer.

      1. Ask a Manager* Post author

        They’re mostly all variations on the same basic theme; they’re not especially different. And you don’t need to nail any one of these descriptions precisely; people are trying to explain generally what a good answer could sound like.

  36. TheBunny*

    When I ask this, I’m looking for the things that aren’t on the resume that will make the candidate stand out.

    By the time I’m to this point I’ve been through plenty of resumes and I’ve got a pretty good idea that the people I’m talking to can do the job. Yes I’m going to delve into that… but when I ask a question like this is because I know you can do the things on your resume…but why are you sitting in front of me? Why this job specifically?

    1. Sometimes I feel like a nut*

      Because they need the money and the job description matches what they can do and want to do. It’s rarely more than that.

      1. Ask a Manager* Post author

        Not in my experience, at least not in professional level jobs that aren’t just pure crap. Yes, we all work for money and wouldn’t be there otherwise, but when you’re talking about reasonably selective jobs, good candidates will normally have a genuine interest in the work.

  37. hollandaise sauce*

    This answer is a reminder to me that workplace norms and advice really vary by country and culture. I’m American but living in a country in Northern Europe, and I’ve been told *many* times by many people that in this country, interviewers actually do want you to answer personally rather than professionally. In fact, they’re also majorly turned off if you answer about your professional life! They’re more interested in hearing about hobbies, interests etc. and trying to judge if they’d like eating lunch or going out for after-work drinks with you. Oh and, here photos are a must on resumes (which I fundamentally disagree with for many reasons). Both have taken some getting used to as an American!

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