When interviewing, whether it’s an initial phone screen, video conference or in-person meeting, there are a few questions you need to be ready to answer early on. Having good answers prepared will set the tone for the interview and increase your chances of continuing in the hiring process. 

When I’m in an interviewer role, I tend to start with “Tell me about yourself.” Here are examples of bad, good and even great ways to answer this question.

Personally, I ask this question to give people a chance to talk and tell me whatever they want to tell me. As a hiring manager, I look for people who can present themselves well, summarize information and figure out what to do with minimal direction. This question gives the candidate a chance to summarize what they see as the important points of who they are and what they do in the way that makes the most sense to them.
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Remember, this question is your opportunity to shine. For a couple of minutes, you get to set the tone for the interview focusing on your best qualities, what a great fit you are for the job and why people will enjoy you as a coworker. A good candidate will use this time to tell me why they are a good fit for the job and why I might want to work with them. A bad candidate will freeze, not know where to start, ramble on endlessly or tell me their life story. 

In a job interview setting in the United States, there are several things that employers cannot legally ask a candidate. These include marital status, age, how many they have, how many children they plan to have, their religion and many more personal, non-job related details.

When asked an open-ended question like “Tell me about yourself,” many candidates will volunteer much of the information that the employer can’t ask. This presents a couple of issues. For one, in a job interview setting, candidates should answer questions in a way that positions them in a good light for the job. Answering with personal, non-job related details makes the candidate sound unprofessional and not very focused on their professional life.

​In addition, volunteering personal information may cause interviewers to jump to conclusions about the candidates suitability for a role. Mentioning that you have small children may cause interviewers to think you won’t be able to travel for work, will want to leave early all of the time, or will miss work for family reasons. Minimize these issues by thinking through your answer before the interview.

Prior to the interview, review information about the company, the open position and the person or people who will be interviewing you. Review the posted job description, review insights you’ve learned from current employees, refer to something you learned from viewing the interviewer’s LinkedIn profile and be ready to summarize your background to present yourselves as a strong candidate for the job. Practice telling your story before the interview, ideally getting feedback from a friend or family member and adjusting your presentation. Find that balance between knowing what you want to convey, and saying it in a way that doesn’t sound overly rehearsed.

“Hi. My name is Jenny. I’m 35, my husband and I have been married for 5 years and I have a 2 year old daughter named Elizabeth.
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My hobbies include crocheting, playing volleyball, visiting art museums and going to a weekly Bible study group at Holy Christ Almighty Non-Denominational Church.”

In an interview, you’re presenting yourself as a possible employee. In this example, there was absolutely no information on you as a job candidate aside from those that can be insinuated (possibly incorrectly) from the information that was provided.
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While it’s helpful to add a few personal details to show that you are an actual human being with interests that don’t involve spreadsheets and sales projections, professional information, including work experience and qualifications, takes priority over personal details.

“Hi. My name is Jenny.
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As you know from my resume, I have 10 plus years of experience as a project manager. Most recently, I worked at EFG Company managing software implementations. I also have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and I’m pursuing my Project Manager Professional (PMP) certification.”

The interviewer already thinks you have the basic qualifications to do the job (ergo the interview). Now is the time to include details that didn’t make your resume. Tell them what you liked about your most recent position, your specific accomplishments or what you’ve learned. In addition to the focus on your job-related skills, tell them a little about you as a person. 

“Hi. My name is Jenny.

As you know from my resume, I have 10 plus years of experience as a project manager. Most recently, I worked at EFG Company where, in the last year, I successfully managed 50 software implementation projects for small to medium sized companies.

In that role, I really enjoyed working with business analysts to help companies with both project management and change management. I learned a lot about working with vendors and customers to promote software adoption.

When I’m not at work, my hobbies include crocheting, playing volleyball and visiting art museums.”

​This is a pretty good answer. It’s complete, goes beyond resume bullet points and includes a few non-work details. What’s missing is the connection between you and the organization. How are you uniquely qualified for this position? What experiences will help you do the specific job at the organization? What beliefs do you hold that align with the company values? What do you have in common with the interviewers? Answer the unasked questions “why should we hire you instead of the other qualified candidates?” and “what are you like as a person?” Connect the dots for people so they can see how great of a fit you are for the position.

“Hi. My name is Jenny.

As you know from my resume, I have 10 plus years of experience as a project manager. Most recently, I worked at EFG Company where, in the last year, I successfully managed 50 software implementation projects for small to medium sized companies. 

In that role, I really enjoyed working with business analysts to help companies with both project management and change management. I learned a lot about working with vendors and customers to promote software adoption.

Since XYZ Company works predominantly with small companies, and you’re focusing on customer retention, my experience on helping customers update their business processes to align with new software will help with that initiative. I’m excited about the kinds of customer retention projects I would get to work on in this role with XYZ company.
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When I’m not at work, my hobbies include crocheting, playing volleyball and visiting art museums. Alan—you’re a volleyball player too, aren’t you? I saw a picture of your company team on the website. Playing on a company team is always a lot of fun.”

What components do you think are critical when answering the “Tell me about yourself” question? Include details in the comments below.

Adulting is hard. I think we all know that we need to make an effort to do things that will help our future selves to be successful. We all know that eating better, exercising more, not procrastinating and getting some sleep will make us better in the long run. Unfortunately, laziness pays off now. Who can bother to get motivated and actually do stuff when there are 10+ seasons of Doctor Who available for the watching at any time, day or night? 

So how do you motivate to do all of that pesky adulting you need to do? Here are three videos that may serve as the kick in the tail you need to get up and do something that doesn't involve  guarding the living room couch. 

If you just need a general affirmation of how awesome you are and how you need to just go do the thing, skip to video 3 because YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT! Otherwise, check out these videos and the articles at the end for even more motivation. I also realized that what I find motivating often includes some straight talk and a bit of adult language. Proceed with appropriate caution. 

Comedian Tim Minchin shares his comedic insights and 9 valuable life lessons. This is motivating on a greater level to live a good, meaningful life while also not taking yourself too seriously. It's also witty and amazing. (NSFW because adult themes and a wee bit of language.)

This video is inspiring on many levels from Navy Seal and overall badass human David Goggins. He talks about his upbringing and his firm belief that motivation is fleeting, but being driven gets you where you need to be. (FYI--he uses some offensive language, partly because he talks about being called the N word every day when he was in school.)

Are you lacking confidence? Feeling bad about yourself? Worried that you're not good enough? Let this woman set you straight. The core message of this video is that you need to just get up and do the thing. If you need a pep talk, here it is in it's intermittently foul-mouthed glory.  You are magnificent! (NSFW because, swearing.)

What motivates you? Include your thoughts in the comments.

When interviewing, whether it’s an initial phone screen, video conference or in-person meeting, there are a few questions you need to be ready to answer early on. Having a good answer prepared will set the tone for the interview and increase your chances of continuing in the hiring process. 

In two recent initial interviews with different companies, the first question asked was "What do you know about our company?" Here are bad, good and even great ways to answer this question.

So why start here? At the most basic level, it is a great way for an organization to see if you are interested enough in the job that you did a little homework on your potential employer. Here in the information age, where the magical Google can tell you anything from when daylight saving time starts to who won the Worst Picture Razzie in 1995, there is just no excuse for not learning at least something about an organization before you interview.

​From a recruiter's point of view, a candidate who bothers to find out about the company is stronger than one who has a "which job is this again?" mindset. It comes down to showing that you have initiative--which is a great quality in any potential worker.

Aside from being able to answer this question, it's a good idea to learn more about a possible employer. Sometimes, when looking for work, people get so focused on trying to get hired somewhere, that we forget that we also need to figure out if we want to work for a given company. When doing a little research, you may learn that you actually don't want to work for a company that has an opening. Maybe they are known for having high turnover, legal troubles or are cutting staff. Knowing the marketing information as well as the day to day of a given organization can help you make a good decision about your next employer.  Remember that you are also interviewing the company, and finding out more about them gives you a better background for the "What questions do you have for me?" portion of the interview. 

"Not a thing." (An actual answer I received when I was a hiring manager interviewing a candidate for an instructor position.)

Seriously? Ugh. Even if you know next to nothing, you know a little--the name of the company, that they are hiring the position for which you are applying, how to get to the building. Just try even a little bit.

​“I know that Super-Great Healthcare Company is a non-profit organization that runs 100 clinics and hospitals.  I know that this organization was formed in 2010 because of a merger of Super Healthcare and Great Healthcare, which made it the largest clinic network in Illinois. I also know that you have just launched a new ‘phone a nurse’ program to help patients make better healthcare decisions.”

You almost have to try to not learn anything a company. First off, at the bottom of most job postings, companies list a little bit about their company, including a quick note on who they are and what they're about.  From there, visit your good friend Google, do a quick Internet search, and get thee to the company’s website. Be able to list off at least a few basics on the organization including what the business does, their main products and services. On their home page, you should be able to glean what they do, and see at least a few key announcements. 

“I know that Super-Great Healthcare Company is a non-profit organization that runs 100 clinics and hospitals.  I also know that this organization was formed in 2010 because of a merger of Super Healthcare and Great Healthcare, which made it the largest clinic network in Illinois. I know you have just launched a new ‘phone a nurse’ program to help patients make better healthcare decisions.
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I know that Super-Great Healthcare Company was named one of the top 100 workplaces in Illinois for the second year in a row, that you recently hired a new VP of Operations and broke ground on a new corporate headquarters building.”

Go beyond the homepage of the company's website and learn a little more. Visit the “About” page to find out more about their office locations, leadership team, company values and awards they may have won. Check out press releases to see what news the organization wants to publicize. Visit LinkedIn to see the company’s marketing summary. Check out Wikipedia for a once over on company information from their start up to present day. Do a Google search focused on news to find out any headlines involving the organization. Don't feel the need to list off every fact ever about the company, but sharing a few key details shows that you did more than the bare minimum.

“I know that Super-Great Healthcare Company is a non-profit organization that runs 100 clinics and hospitals.  I also know that this organization was formed in 2010 because of a merger of Super Healthcare and Great Healthcare, which made it the largest clinic network in Illinois. I know you have just launched a new ‘phone a nurse’ program to help patients make better healthcare decisions.

I know that Super-Great Healthcare Company was named one of the top 100 workplaces in Illinois for the second year in a row, that you recently hired a new VP of Operations and broke ground on a new corporate headquarters building.
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I also talked with a former co-worker of mine, Alexander Nevermind, and he really enjoys working in Super-Great Healthcare’s IT department. He has   nothing but good things to say about the new payment processing system implemented earlier this year.  “

This is where LinkedIn and your personal network come in handy. Search for the company on LinkedIn, and see if any of your connections have a tie with the company. This could be one of your direct connections, or someone one of them knows. When possible, it's beneficial to reach out to someone via LinkedIn messages, phone or to meet in person to talk. They may be able to share first-hand information that you can't find on a company website. 

Glass Door is also a great resource for finding out company specific information. Current and past employees share their reviews of the company--the good, bad and ugly. People who have recently interviewed with an organization also rate their experience and include questions that they were asked. Hearing from people who have direct experience with a company can help give you a fuller picture of what the organization is all about.

How do you learn about a potential employer? What details would you include in your answer to this question? Share your insights in the comments.