As an interviewee, it’s only a matter of time before you hear the line, “Tell me about yourself.” You must realise that this is more than an icebreaker meant to put you at ease though. Fumbling through a vague response may actually result in you bombing the whole interview.

Recruiters ask such open-ended questions to determine if you’re a good fit for the role. It gives them a chance to observe your behavior, specifically your voice tone, energy, and words. These help them gain insight in how you approach problems, handle tasks, and so on.

Putting it simply, it offers them a better idea as to who you are as a person and as a remote worker. You don’t want to leave them with a negative impression by saying too much or too little while neglecting to mention relevant points.

Take control of the narrative by forgoing improvisation and preparing a clear answer. With your backstory ready, you’ll showcase your unique personality and qualifications to demonstrate how suitable you are for the position. Here’s how.

A Better Way to Talk About Yourself

Reframe how you look at it

When interviewers ask “tell me about yourself”, what they’re really saying is “what do you do?”. This makes it the perfect opportunity to highlight your experience and skills—not to share how many pets you have or how long you’ve been married!

Some people might reply with their job title, e.g. “I’m a virtual assistant”, but what hiring managers want to know is what you “do”. This means actions or activities, and entails walking them through your resume, explaining your work history in detail, or giving an overall summary about yourself.

Do your homework about them

Research the organization as well as the position they have open. Doing so gives you a good understanding of what the recruiter is looking for in terms of experience and skills. You’ll save time in deciding what you should or shouldn’t mention this way.

Check out their corporate website, if they have one, to get a feel for their mission and vision. Browse through their social media accounts to know about their culture and branding. All of these allow you to craft your reply specifically for them rather than generally.

Start with the value you provide

As for how you walk them through your resume and the like, begin with the things you love to do. These pertain to the problems you solve or the pain you alleviate for your employer. Delve into specifics, especially for technical roles.

Discuss the value you’d provide to the company, framing it in such a way that communicates your passion for your field or specialization. Maybe start with how you first became interested in such a career and what you did in pursuit of it.

Explain how you deliver

Now that you’ve brought up what you’re capable of, follow it up with how you’ll perform for their organization. Provide a brief outline of how you normally handle projects or tasks. Also, talk about your methodology and thought process.

For instance, if you’re being interviewed for a content manager position, list down the steps you take to create a content calendar. Give a short overview of each stage, such as keyword research, topic selection, publish date scheduling, writer assignments, and article editing.

Share your plans for the future

It’s important to have dreams for your career and you shouldn’t be afraid to share this during your interview. Imparting this information will help you determine if opportunities are available in the company you’re applying to anyway.

In many cases, employers are more than happy to support you in moving forward with your skills if their business will benefit from it. Giving you chances to move up the ladder will encourage you to stay with them, after all.

Encourage them to ask questions

In the past, you may have wanted the conversation to end as quickly as possible but this needs to change. Learn to get over your discomfort about being the center of attention. It’s better to get the attention of the interviewers and make them curious enough to ask you things.

Let them know that you’d be glad to tell them more about yourself. Or, make mention of a relevant topic to open further conversation perhaps. You may also ask a broad question that’ll likely lead to enquiries about specifics, e.g. “Are you practicing such-and-such in your company?”

Keep it as concise as possible

Short and sweet is how you want your response to be. You don’t want to go through the trouble of catching their interest in the first half only to lose it in the second because you’re talking too much. Choose wisely as you have limited time.

Before the interview, record yourself speaking out your reply and see how many minutes it takes you to finish. Allow for some leeway when the hiring manager might interrupt you to seek clarification. Anything that goes beyond 10 minutes is too long so shorten it.

Looking for a Remote Job?

With the tips we’ve provided above, we hope that you’re better able to answer the question of “Tell me about yourself” in the next interview you’re invited to.

Haven’t arrived to that stage yet? We at Remote Workmate may have some vacancies you could be interested in and be qualified for.

Being an offshore staffing agency, we’re connected to clients from all over the world who are looking for remote workers like you. You might just be the right person to fill in the position that they have open.

Allow us to help you in applying for online work and preparing for your interviews here.