Résumés, Cover Letters, Interviews: Know Yourself

Resources to help you create a noteworthy résumé, write a cover letter that results in an invitation to interview, and tips on how to do well during that meeting!

Questions about YOU

When the questions are "personal," about you, it can be a very slippery slope.

Here are some sample questions and answers about YOU.

How do you "describe yourself" in an interview?

The Two-Minute Drill

Sometimes an interviewer begins with something like, “So, tell me something about yourself.”  This “soft” question is a good icebreaker but make sure you don’t get carried away with your answer.  Interviewers aren’t really interested in your hobbies, spouse and children, and your last vacation.   

A good answer to this question is about two minutes long and focuses on work-related skills and accomplishments.  Tell the interviewer why you think your work-related skills and accomplishments would be an asset to the company.   You could describe your education and work history (be brief) and then mention one or two personal character traits and tell the interviewer how the traits helped you accomplish a task at school or work. 

Think of it in terms of four-30 second themes:

  • your education
  • what you do (job title or student status)
  • one or two things you've accomplished or excel at that directly relate to the position
  • why you are applying for this position

Something along the lines of

I’m in my last year at the School of Pharmacy at Wilkes University in my home town of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  At the school I ___________________ and  I am an intern at _________________________.  Recently I _______________________. Because of my interests in __________________  I decided to _______________________________.

Remember, just use these as guidelines.  You don’t want to make it sound like a speech you memorized. 

Practice telling the same story using different words, so you won’t sound “rehearsed” and so you can change it on the fly, match the interviewer’s values, or the situation as you see it at the time.