Appearing for an interview, the first question that you will encounter would most probably demand from you, your description or introduction. It is the first question, that any interviewer around the globe would ask you, no matter what position you are giving an interview for. This question is asked by an employer, to gain insights about you, so that you are no longer a stranger to the interviewer thus bridging the gap. Since this is your first opportunity or chance of impressing an interviewer, preparing for it becomes most crucial and pivotal. Leaving a long-lasting mark, at the first stage itself, will set you up for a successful and memorable interview, reaping desired fruits. You must remember a few quotes in this regard,
The beginning is the most important part of the work.
Plato
What’s well begun is half done
Horace
Giving a genuine, honest, and well-prepared reply, can work wonders and can increase your chances of selection manifolds. Most of the people don’t prepare for this question and are only interested in preparing answers for questions related to the core profile. On the contrary, It has been observed, answering open-ended questions demanding your introduction, if answered in an impressive way, would give you margins for commiting any forced mistake at later phases of the interview cycle.
Six Best Tips For Preparing Your Description
1) Never Forget To Explain About Your Educational Achievements
It is highly likely, that your resume would be laid right under the eyes of your interviewer when you are asked this question, but still, you must explain to them properly about your educational achievements. If everything was to be read from the resume, then why even any organization would conduct the interview in the first place. Might save them a huge amount of money too. But, what they really want is to:
- Judge:
- Your way of talking,
- Your communicational skills,
- The way you express yourself and most importantly
- Your confidence level.
You must include and recite all your achievements to your employer, no matter how insignificant or inconsequential it may seem to you. There is a good chance, that your employer might be impressed by the achievement which in your opinion was negligible.
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Your answer must be on the same lines as mentioned here after,
I, ABC, have completed my schooling from XYZ School and secured high grades in all my subjects, which allowed me to get admission into the prestigious KKM Engineering College. With clear basics and a strong foundation, I excelled in my college too and scored maximum marks in all my subjects.
2) Tell Them About A Few Of Your Strengths
Usually, an interviewer asks a separate question, that requires you to illustrate your various strengths and weaknesses. But, it is better, to mention a few of your strengths, while giving an answer introduction only. This gives a psychological advantage to a candidate and changes the perception of the interviewer towards you. This will make him or her more interested in you thus leading to a better evaluation and judgment. never forget to couple this with any of your real-life scenario, which justifies the strength that your are quoting.
Your can use the below mentioned response as a template:
Being a hardworking, quick learner, and committed person, I have always worked with my full zeal and energy, no matter what role I was offered. I remember, while working as a temporary supervisor at a construction site, my boss gave me a site plan which was new to me as I was a college student then. Still, I googled and self-taught myself about the same, and delivered an above par presentation.
3) Never Forget To Tell Them About Your Work Experience In A Chronological Order
Be it an internship, a part-time job, a position of repute, or you were hired as temporary personnel, explain everything to your interviewer in brief or nutshell along with quoting your achievements and learnings in major profiles. The sequence of time is really important and would probably start from the day you joined your post, be it in school, during college, or post-college. Sharing your role and learnings is always a good practice, that gives a glimpse of your seriousness and your commitment to the roles assigned to you.
Your sample answer should be:
After completing high school, I joined the office of ABC LLP as an intern. They were an accounting conglomerate, wherein I learned different accounting software for making date entries and learned different ways of conducting audits. Having considerable exposure, I joined JNM Associates, one of the Big four firms, further giving me international exposure and experience.
Give importance to chronology, as it helps an employer to evaluate your skill set in an organized way. A badly sequenced answer, could spoil your reputation of being a quick witted person and casts doubt on your decision making ability.
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You should never base your answer on these lines:
I joined JNM Associates, a big four company, and worked on overseas projects. Before that, I was in high school, making simple. data entries. After high school, I joined ABC LLP and they also taught me a lot about audit and accounting software.
4) Never Get Complacent
Candidates with impeccable academic records coupled with impressive extra-curricular activities and superior work experience certificates tend to get arrogant and complacent. They feel they are superior to other candidates taking part in the race, as they are better than them, and need less preparation to get the job. It has been observed, that most such candidates, are in for a rude shock and get a wake-up call.
No interviewer has only you as an option, rather they call hundreds of candidates, sometimes thousands, for a particular job. Your attitude of feeling superior from your fellows can be malign and can leave your confidence level in tatters.
If you have an excellent academic performance, then don’t get complacent rather work even harder, thereby leaving no chance for your competitor to even chase you in this race of getting a job.
5) Never Boast Of Any Of Your Achievement or Skill While Giving Introduction
It is a common habit of candidates to boast of their achievements or any special skill that they have acquired. Boasting can leave an impression on your interviewer that you are arrogant and this casts serious doubt on your ability:
- To work in a team set-up
- Of following orders received from your superior
- Of Keeping your subordinates satisfied and
- Mismanagement
Committing such an act hurts your big way and ruins your chances of selection, no matter how excellent your academic achievements are, or how superior your work experience is.
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Never respond in the following tone:
Since I am very intelligent and superior, I scored excellent marks in my high school, with little to no effort. With an abundance of talents inside me, I even got proposals from several prestigious institutions but I chose BBM College. During my college days, I hardly studied but scored heavily owing to the level of my intelligence.
Ways To Excel In The Above Mentioned Tips
| Tips in brief | Ways to excel |
| Educational Achievements | a) Prepare a written list, mentioning all your achievements. b) Arrange them in a chronological sequence c) Maintain a good level of confidence while reciting d) Never miss any achievement e) Give importance to even the smallest ones |
| Strengths | a) Prepare a list, mentioning all your strengths after conducting a proper self-introspection. b) Now, choose at least two of them, and try to remember some real-life scenarios supporting them. c) Share anyone with your interviewer, if possible both, which will eventually depend on the circumstances and mood of the interviewer. |
| Work Experience | a) Prepare a written report, mentioning all your work details ranging from an internship to a temporary job to a full-time job. b) Arrange them in chronological order. c) Pick your best and significant job, and write about the learnings, skills, and knowledge acquired from it. d) Never miss any work detail |
| Complacency | a) A big no-no b) Prepare a shortlist of all your failures, and refer to it, whenever you feel complacent c) Remember all the hurdles and sacrifices you have made to achieve your qualifications d) Remember, people whom you idolize |
| Boasting | a) A common mistake b) Must be avoided c) Never get carried away while sharing your educational qualifications and work experience. d) If caught in such a situation during the interview, just apologize and move forward. |
Conclusion
Winning first battles are always sweet, and improves the success ratio considerably. With proper preparation and guidance, one can prepare his self-introduction and can ace this phase of the interview process. Do keep in mind the above-mentioned pointers and keep revising your preparation before appearing for an interview. This coupled with a good level of confidence, can work wonders, and you are bound to succeed. If you like our articles then don/t forget to share them with your family and friends. Also tell us in the comments section below, how helpful our articles are.
References
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000494419604000106
- https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/abs/10.7326/0003-4819-134-11-200106050-00020
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Sandeep Bhandari is the founder of PrepMyCareer.com website.
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