Are you struggling to describe yourself during an interview? You’re not alone.
Many people struggle with answering this question during an interview because it’s a vague question with many different ways to answer it.
Luckily, it’s easily done! We’ve outlined several answers you can use in your interviews to create the best impressions.
Keep reading to find out how to nail all your answers.
Why Do Interviewers Ask, “Describe Yourself”?
Interviewers ask you to describe yourself because they want to know if you’re a good fit for the job.
A lot of the time, this interview question is one of the first that an interviewer will ask.
An interviewer wants you to be vocal about your personality traits and experiences that directly correlate to how you’d accomplish your work duties.
It’s important to remember that this question is crucial to any interview. You’re likely to hear this as one of your first questions.
Interviewers start with this question to understand who you are and how you see yourself.
They want to make sure you can positively talk about yourself while giving compelling reasons that show you’re the best option for the job.
What Is the Interviewer Looking For?
An interviewer is looking for you to briefly explain how your qualities and work ethic align with the goals their company believes you need to succeed in the role.
Also, an interviewer is looking to see if you can create a good dialogue.
Through a concise dialogue, you’ll be giving the interviewer a chance to jump into the conversation and ask additional questions, based on what you say.
How to Answer “Describe Yourself”
The best way to answer “describe yourself” is by thinking of your answer as an elevator pitch.
Ideally, an elevator pitch is a summary highlighting all the qualities you have that make you a great fit for the position.
On the surface, this question seems simple and can be answered by following a few simple formulas. However, this seemingly simple question needs to be addressed by many potential candidates.
If there’s one person you should know a lot about is yourself, so you want to answer as confidently and precisely as possible.
Let them know where your mind is and display your communication skills.
What to Focus on When Answering This Question
The main thing to focus on when answering this question is that your answer is relevant to the position.
Here are a few things to focus on that help present yourself as the ideal candidate for the job:
- Briefly introduce yourself
- Top achievements relevant to the job you’re applying for
- Speak with passion and be professional
- Tailor your answer to the role and company
Remember to stay on task when answering this question.
You don’t want to stray from the integrity of your answer, especially if you’re mentioning relevant information about the job your applying for.
What To Avoid When Answering This Question
One of the most important things to avoid saying when answering this question is following up with the question, “what do you want to know?”
Here are a few mistakes to avoid when describing yourself that could hurt your chances of getting hired:
- Don’t give your entire life story
- Don’t repeat the information on your resume
- Avoid memorizing a rehearsed speech
- Don’t ramble
These common mistakes are easy to avoid if you prepare a template ahead of time, which will assist you in giving a more impactful answer.
Examples: How to Answer “Describe Yourself”
We’ve put together a few example answers to show you how to answer “describe yourself.”
These example answers showcase popular interview techniques you can use to try to stand out from other candidates.
Example Answer 1
“I would describe myself as someone highly motivated and ambitious, and I particularly enjoy working as part of a team.
In my last job, I was part of a group communicating ideas throughout the day.
Also, with so much diversity in the workplace, I can adapt my work style to the various changing environments.”
Why This Answer Works
This answer works because you’re directly mentioning your top skills and how those skills directly relate to your previous job.
You want to take the skills you’ve learned from previous jobs and explain how you can bring them to a new company.
Example Answer 2
“I would describe myself as someone who doesn’t want to follow the norms.
My approach results in me being unique and open-minded.
I work my hardest to find unique and creative ways to solve problems and find improved ways of ensuring that the same problems don’t get repeated in the workplace.
I’ve found creative results throughout my employment that save time and meet various project goals .”
Why This Answer Works
This answer works because you’re describing yourself as a creative thinker.
Many interviewers wish to see candidates that stand apart from the crowd, and the best way to do that is by giving a professional example from your work experience.
Example Answer 3
“I describe myself as sincere and collaborative, and I want to work in an environment with employees belonging to diverse backgrounds.
A successful business comes from the collaborative efforts of all team members.
In my previous job, I found that being a team player means helping your colleagues to overcome their hurdles while being compassionate and sincere with all efforts to help others.
Also, I believe these skills are necessary when working closely with new clients.
I believe in developing a rapport with new clients that builds on client satisfaction.”
Why This Answer Works
This answer works because you’re describing yourself as someone who works exceptionally well in groups and with potential clients.
No matter the goals and values of the company, you need to assure the interviewer that you can successfully collaborate with all people you may come into contact with daily.
Additional Tips for Impressing an Interviewer Asking Describe Yourself
We’ve compiled a few additional tips to help you impress an interviewer.
1. Research The Company
The most important thing you can do as a prospective employee is to research the company you want to work for.
Use the information you find about the company to demonstrate how your values align with the company’s goals.
Tell the interviewer that you’re looking forward to working for a company that’ll allow you room to grow professionally.
2. Communicate Clearly and Effectively
The most effective way to get your point across is by using a template to create the best response, which includes the important talking points you want to discuss.
As you practice reading from your template, make sure you concisely communicate everything you wish to say to the interviewer.
For example, you want to sound professional and concise at the same time. The communication between you and the interviewer sets the course for the entire remainder of the interview.
3. Past, Present, and Future
The best way to formulate how to describe yourself is to talk about the past, present, and future of your life.
The first thing you want to discuss is your past.
Give the interviewer a glimpse into how you got to this place. What has led you to be interviewing for this job?
Use this opportunity to mention previous work and personal experience relevant to the job you’re applying for.
After discussing the past with the interviewer, you want to talk to the interviewer about your current role.
For example, your current role could be your current job, how you’re possibly unemployed, or why you’re interested in joining this company now.
Also, mention a recent accomplishment that’ll help you stand out amongst the other candidates interested in this role.
Finally, talk about the future you see for yourself.
You should talk about what you’re looking to do next and how you can see yourself accomplishing those things at this company. Let the interviewer know you’re interested in being part of this company long-term.
Additional Questions to Be Aware Of
If you’re interested in making the most of every interview, check out these additional questions to be aware of.
These questions will help you add another layer of depth to your responses.
- Tell Me About Yourself: This question is asked to uncover your personality and how well you might fit in with the company.
- What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?:This question displays the skills you have to help you excel at your new job. Also, everyone has traits they can improve on, and you can turn a weakness can build into a strength.
- What Interests You About This Position?: This question is asked to uncover how much research you’ve done about the position and shows how eager you are to get the job.
- What Do You Like to Do For Fun?: This question is asked to uncover who you are as a person. An interviewer uses this question to see if you have a good work-life balance.
- If You Were an Animal What Would You Be?: This question changes the serious pace of an interview. However, the question is important because the interview gains insight into the traits associated with the animal you chose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you still have questions about this common interview question?
Then, we have the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions to help further your understanding of the best way to answer “describe yourself.”
What should you focus on when describing yourself?
It would be best if you focused on being yourself during an interview.
The worst thing you can do is sound too robotic or that your response sounds memorized word-for-word.
Should you focus on personal or work topics when describing yourself?
When describing yourself, you should focus on personal topics that tie into your work experience.
The two topics go hand-in-hand because your personal experience allows you to show how that will enhance your work experience.
Wrapping Up
“Describe yourself” is one of the most broad job interview questions that will most likely be asked and can be confusing for some of the most qualified candidates.
You can use this question to leave a lasting impression on the interviewer through the confusion.
You can answer this question to the best of your ability by preparing your answer ahead of time and formulating the response to the company you wish to work for.
