How to Answer "Describe Yourself" -- and Any Other Interview Question
Ed. Note: I used OpenAI’s Playground and Chat GPT tools to help write this post.
The most important thing you can do to prepare for a job interview is to identify 3-5 of your top strengths, with an example for each. This will allow you to answer a broad variety of interview questions, both the generic “Describe yourself,” and “tell me about your strengths,” and more specific questions about your work.
Your strengths should be your compass for the interview. If, at the beginning, the interviewer asks you to tell them about yourself, then instead of answering in chronological order you can say something like: “I’m a problem solver,” and get right to your strengths. If you are asked for an example of a time you faced a challenge or worked as part of a team, you can answer in a way that highlights a strength. And as you go through the interview, you can be aware of whether you’re getting to the strengths and adjust your answers accordingly to make sure you share the most important information about yourself.
To get the most out of this method, you can use the STAR method. This stands for:
Situation: The context of the experience you're describing. This could be a project that you were working on, an ask your manager made, or a challenge you faced.
Task: The objective or goal that you were trying to achieve.
Action: The steps that you took to complete the task.
Result: The outcome of your actions.
You can select any strengths you want to emphasize, as long as they are related to the job you are applying for and the examples showcase your ability to succeed.
To generate some examples, I decided to try using OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool to brainstorm. I suggest using this tool if you want to generate even more responses -- note that it tends to give better responses if you give it feedback, so feel free to tell it to try again in a different way. Here are some examples I generated with this tool, with some editing:
“I’m a great communicator. In my current role as a product manager, I was tasked with leading a cross-functional team of engineers, designers and marketers, including my company’s Head of Marketing. To ensure that everyone was on the same page, I held regular team meetings and communicated regularly via email. I also created weekly status reports that outlined our progress and any challenges we were facing. By being clear and consistent with my communication, my team was able to work together efficiently and achieve our goals, launching on time and without any unexpected issues. The Head of Marketing said they wish everyone they work with communicates as clearly as me.”
"I’m a problem-solver. For example, in my current role as a project manager, I was working on a complex project with tight deadlines. One week from a major deadline, I was tasked with identifying and resolving a technical issue that was greatly slowing our progress. To do this, I collaborated with the team, conducted research, and experimented with different solutions. As a result, I was able to successfully resolve the issue and keep the project on track."
“As a team leader, I was responsible for leading a group of engineers in developing a new product. To ensure that everyone was on track, I held regular one-on-one meetings with each team member to discuss their progress and any challenges they were facing. I also created a system of accountability, in which team members were held responsible for their own tasks and the overall success of the project. By fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability, my team was able to develop the product efficiently and effectively, with a minimum number of bugs.”
“As a project manager, I was responsible for overseeing the development of a new website. To ensure that the project stayed on track, I created a timeline that outlined each task and its associated deadline. I also created a task list for each team member and regularly monitored their progress. By taking a systematic approach to project management, I was able to ensure that the project was completed on time and within budget.”
By providing detailed examples like this, you can paint a clear picture for employers of how you’ve used your strengths to succeed in different situations, and how you’ll use them to succeed at their company. Answering this way will make you a compelling candidate, one who stands out among many applicants.
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If you want support as you identify your strengths and prepare for interviews, or you want to learn more about coaching, you can schedule a free session with me here.