It’s the question that kicks off almost every interview, yet people still often feel unprepared for it… “Tell me about yourself.”

In theory, this should be the easiest question in the world to answer – we love talking about ourselves!

But as a recruiter who has asked this question hundreds – if not thousands – of times, I have heard more awful responses than I’d like to remember. I’ve had candidates give me every single detail of their career – or personal lives – and ramble on until I need to cut them off.

To get your interview off on the right track and make a positive impression, use this question to set the context of you and your career decisions. Understand that the interviewer isn’t asking for granular details here – it’s really more of a “how did you get here and who are you” type question. Stay with the big picture.

For example – depending upon where you are in your career, you could answer in these fashions:

· Entry level/early career -where you grew up, how you picked your school & major, where you want to go with your career based on experience to date

· Mid career – how your career has flowed since starting, how/why you have picked the companies & positions you’ve been at, what expertise you think you really want to develop going forward. Again – don’t recount the entire resume, stay at 10,000 feet.

· Later career – the arc of your career, why you picked your current career direction, what experiences you want to leverage with your next role and what value you can bring to your next employer.

If you’ve given you career plan some thought, the answers you give will highlight your strengths and be related to the position and company with whom you’re interviewing!

And as an addendum to the last tip, I’ll add three more: practice, practice, practice.

Since you know this question is coming, rehearse it as an actor goes through their lines. Not to the point where you sound like a robot, but in a natural conversational style. Try it out on friends, family members or give me a shout and we can dialogue it through. Done right, the “tell me about yourself” question will be the foundation for a great interview… and hopefully a great new career opportunity.

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