The “Tell Me About Yourself” Trap and What You Can Do to Fix It

“Tell me about yourself.” It sounds like the easiest interview question. It is also probably one of the most common. Yet it is one of the questions I see many experienced international professionals struggle with most.

Recently, I was preparing a coaching client for an interview. She had years of experience, strong technical expertise, and plenty of achievements to draw from. But when I asked, “Tell me about yourself.” Her answer became a chronological walk-through of her CV. “I started here… then I moved there… after that I was responsible for…” Three minutes later, I knew a lot about what she had done. But I still wasn't completely clear about who she was professionally, what differentiated her, and why she was right for this opportunity. So I politely stopped her. 

I asked a different question: “If the interview panel remembers only three things about you after this conversation, what do you want those three things to be?” That changed the conversation.

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