Almost all interviews begin with this naive question “tell me
something about you”. However, as simple as it seems, this is not the
case in reality. Oftentimes, candidates unprepared for such a question
jeopardize their chances of impressing the interviewers with precise
answers and come up with the history of their past and personal
incidents. But truly speaking, the interviewer is keen on knowing more
about you – your likes and dislikes, choices and preferences,
inclinations and hobbies – and not what has happened to you in the past.
There is a certain art of answering such questions in an interview and some suggestions have been given below to handle such questions:
- When encountering such questions, it is always advisable to start with your present life and your current predicament rather than retreating back to your past. You should start with your present involvements, your hobbies, pastime, and qualifications and why you should consider this post as suitable for you.
- You need to understand what the interviewer is looking for in you. You need to hit back at the interviewer with the right arrow. You need to sound convincing and confident about what you say and try to be in tune with the interviewer. However, it is also necessary at times to challenge their views and assert your individual opinion.
- It is very important to know about yourself. Oftentimes, we do not understand ourselves well and land up in great trouble. It is the aim of the interviewers to put you into confusions and contradict your own statements. However, you should have clarity about yourself and your own concepts. If you fall in the web of contradiction then you will land up messing up your chances.
- The interviewers also throw questions related to your family members like father, uncle, mother and their profession or career. You can also expect questions on your siblings and how are (UN) related to them. These are tricky but easy to manage questions if you have a strong aptitude.
- You can also question back the interviewer at times. It certainly creates a good impression and can serves as a tool to ace the interview. It shows your confidence and potential in handling such things.
There is certainly an added advantage to those who
can speak and articulate well. At times like this it is important to
enact out things that one is not. There are many uncomfortable questions
that the interviewer might throw at you; you have to dodge them out and
answer something that might please the interviewers. However, this does
not imply that you will pretend to be someone that you are not.
