How Would You Describe Yourself 3 Example Answers

How Would You Describe Yourself 3 Example Answers How to Describe Yourself: Examples for Interviews and Networking Interview Questions and Answers / https://www.edenscott.com/blog A lot of interviewers will ask you to describe yourself as one of the first questions in your interview. Im going to walk you through the best ways to answer with examples, and the common mistakes to avoid.Then well also look at how to describe yourself in a more casual setting, like a networking event or meetup.Lets get startedHow to Answer the Interview Question: Describe Yourself1. Know your audience (through research)The first step in how to describe yourself is to know your audience! You dont want to describe yourself as a quiet person who prefers working alone if youre interviewing at a highly-social company that emphasizes teamwork. At least not if you want to get hired!Now, you dont need to lie and say youre the most out-going, energetic person in the world, but youd want to show a bit of both sides, so they at least know you can handle some basic teamwork.So prepare for your job interview by researching the company and figuring out what type o f work environment they seem to have.If you dont know how to research a company, this article will help you. Id recommend checking out their website, their Facebook page, YouTube, and maybe other social media like LinkedIn.This will give you a sense of their overall company culture, which will help you do a better job of describing yourself in a way thatll be attractive to THEM.2. Describe traits that fit their job and teamWhen you describe yourself in the interview, you want to be honest and true to yourself. Theres no need to lie. However, you do want to think about which traits theyll find most exciting or impressive.The key is to think about what theyll view as most relevant.If the job requires a lot of multi-tasking (youll know from the job description most likely), youll want to describe yourself as someone who works well with a high number of tasks going on.If the job seems to be very fast-paced, you could talk about someone who is highly-organized, works well under pressure, and has succeeded in fast-paced environments in the past. (FYI, heres an entire article on answering, what type of work environment do you prefer)This is how to describe yourself while being honest but also making sure your interview answer will get them excited to hire you.I personally do NOT work well under pressure. But Ive still said it in interviews because I knew they wanted to hear it.And the job didnt end up being very high pressure anyway.If youre concerned that the job isnt the right fit, dont take the job. But your only goal in the interview should be to get invited back for the next round, or get a job offer. And this is how to do that.3. Always pick positive traitsYou never want to describe yourself as shy, unconfident, stressed, anxious, etc. When the interviewer asks you to describe yourself, you should always be naming positive traits and things that make you attractive to the employer.This should be obvious, but I want to make sure you know to never mention negativ es when answering this interview question.4. Back up your claims with an exampleThe fourth and final step when answering, how would you describe yourself? is to give an example of how that trait has helped you in a real situation.Well look at many examples of how to describe yourself in the next section, but heres the basic idea for nowImagine you say that you would describe yourself as someone who solves problems and loves thinking outside the box and taking initiative. You might conclude your answer by saying, For example, in my last job, there was a software failure and more than 40% of our clients were reporting outages. I took the initiative to look at the software error logs and spotted the issue before my Manager had a chance to look. As soon as my Manager became available, I told him I had already found a solution. This saved our clients money and saved my Manager time.Its one thing to say, I take initiative or something like that, but its MUCH more powerful to give a real e xample of how you took initiative to help your past employer save money or make money.Now lets look at some more examplesHow to Describe Yourself: Examples for InterviewsNow that you know the four key steps to use when describing yourself in a job interview, lets look at some sample answers.Remember, research is the first step so imagine they ask, how would you describe yourself? and because you did your research you know that the job requires a lot of teamwork and collaboration. Its not a job where you sit quietly and work by yourself all day.So in your answer, youd want to say youre collaborative, you enjoy working as part of a team, etc., and then give them an example of this.Hopefully that last piece sounds familiar it was step #4 above. Thats how you stand out when answering describe yourself in your interview.Heres what your full answer would sound like nowHow to describe yourself Example answer #1:I would describe myself as someone who is highly-motivated, and I particularl y enjoy working as a part of a team. In my last job, I was part of a group of 12 people and we communicated multiple times per day to work as a unit, and I also interacted frequently with other groups like Sales, Customer Service and more. I enjoy a fast-paced, team-oriented environment like this.How to describe yourself Example answer #2:Id describe myself as being very resourceful and ambitious at the same time. I find solutions, get creative and solve problems without needing the help of coworkers or managers. I know when to ask for help and I dont stay quiet if I do need assistance. But when it is possible to handle something without occupying the time of others, I do it and I consider myself very good at it. Its one of the things my last boss would say they liked most about me if you asked them to describe my style of work.One Similar Interview Question You Might Hear:Theres another similar interview question you should be ready for: If you only had one word to describe yourse lf, what would it be?You might hear this too, so here are a couple of good one-word answers for you to use:AmbitiousEnergeticDiligentResourcefulCooperativeChoose whichever suits you best, and just remember that you can repeat this in every interview.Whatever you pick, prepare an example and a reason for why you chose it. Dont just say one word and then stop talking. This is a question where theyll want you to explain your answer.Heres a word-for-word example of how to describe yourself if they ask for one specific trait or wordHow to describe yourself Example answer #3:The word Id use to describe myself is ambitious. One of the reasons Im looking for tech jobsright now is that I want to work on large, important projects and challenge myself. I like to seek out learning opportunities and Im not afraid to fail and struggle as a part of learning. I feel the tech industry is the best place to do this right now, and I did some reading on your founder and thought the work culture here so unded like a great fit for my style.Its always great if you can end your answer by explaining why you applied for the position and showing them you did your research. Sure, its more than they asked, but itll impress them.So keep this in mind in your next interview.Mistakes to Avoid When Answering, How Would You Describe Yourself?The first mistake to avoid is: Dont ramble on or be too long-winded in your answer.Try to keep your answer to around 60-90 seconds. If they ask for one single word to describe yourself, you may want to keep it even shorter than that.And stay focused on telling a clear, concise story when you describe yourself. Dont get sidetracked or go off in many different directions with your story.Id recommend keeping this simple structure that we talked about above:How youd describe yourself and whyAn example of you using this to help a past employer or succeed in a past projectOtherwise, you might fall into a common trap that exists for this question, and also question s like tell me about yourself. The trap is: Theyre trying to see if you can tell a clear story without getting sidetracked and distracted.If you ramble on for too long, theyll take it as a sign you cant keep a clear train of thought and are difficult to communicate with. And that can cost you the job even if they like the actual word(s) you chose to describe yourself.If youre not sure whether your answer is getting too long, you can stop and ask for feedback!Just give your best shot at an answer, and then say, does that answer your question, or did you want more info?That way, youre not stopping before theyre satisfied, but youre not talking for an extra two minutes after youve answered their question, either.(Talking for too long after each answer will frustrate the interviewer FAST and is a common mistake that can cause people to fail interviews).Overall, if you follow the tips above you should pass this question easily and move on to the rest of the interview.FYI, you should also read this article on how to answer, tell me about yourself because its another popular question employers ask.How to Describe Yourself for Networking/EventsWeve covered how to answer describe yourself in job interviews, but what about networking events? Describing yourself in a non-interview environment is a bit different. To start, you should read this article on how to develop a great elevator pitch.Part of it is about job interviews, but it also includes scripts for networking and more.When youre describing yourself in a meetup or networking event, the steps we looked at to begin this article are still good steps to follow.You should try to research the people youre meeting, or at least think about your audience before answering. (Even if you just met them think about what type of background they have, what might interest them, etc.)Then when you describe yourself, talk about the pieces of your background that theyll be able to relate to, or that theyll find relevant.This is ho w to capture someones attention when first speaking with them. Then you might find some common ground or common interests, and youll both enjoy the conversation a lot more.If you follow the four basic steps at the beginning of this article, youll be able to describe yourself confidently to anyone you meet in a professional setting, whether its a job interview or not.Other recommended resources:How to answer tell me about yourselfHow to write the best elevator pitch for networking and interviewsHow to follow up by email after your interviewThe 16 top reasons you cant find a job