How to Introduce Yourself in a Job Interview

If you are one of the many who find it difficult to write or tell about yourself, this post will surely help you a lot. I’m going to write some tips and approaches to introduce yourself in an interview or write about yourself.

Job interviews are mostly taken to check the personality, skills and confidence of the applicants. An interview works like a bridge between the employer and the applicant. A good interview can help a job seeker even to secure a better position in his/her chosen field.

Here I discussed the most relevant topics asked and should you behave in an interview.

Introducing yourself

It sounds the most difficult and easy question of all time. Especially when it is asked in a formal setting by a group of strangers. So Let’s discuss why this question appears in every interview and why is it so important.

Introduce yourself, walk me through your background, let us know about you a little more all these imperative sentences depicts the same meaning that we are discussing.

This question often gets tricky because they already know everything about us so why are they asking it or what they are actually looking for? They ask this question for two super important reasons.

• Firstly they want to know what kind of a person you are, especially your attitude towards work.
• Secondly,  they want to see are you a good choice for them and what can you contribute best to their company.

So,  They’ve already met or going to meet hundred more applicants like you. Now that’s your best chance to catch their attention and prove that you are the best suit for them.

So here goes the introduction process.

Make an Impression before Saying Something

Your first impression is very important. Interviewers try to read you at first sight when you enter the room. It is always said non-verbal communication decides much whether you will be selected or not. So try to look like a confident person. Some tips can be the following;

• Nothing can beat a well-groomed interviewee.
• Personal hygiene – regardless of whether the recruiters can see/feel/smell or not is irrelevant – is important. It gives you a personal high.
• You are what your body is doing when you are talking. And non-verbal communication contributes to almost 60-90% of your personality impact. Work on that.
• Greeting- A formal greeting at starting is always commendable. Such as – Good morning ( before 12pm), good afternoon (12pm-4.30pm), good evening (4.30pm-midnight).
• Smile and give them a firm handshake but don’t grip their hand too strongly.
• Avoid fumbling and using informal words. Maintain a happy face and gentle eye contact.

Have Your Introduction Pre-Ready

Most of the time interviewers ask you to start by introducing yourself. So it is better to have a ready answer for this question.

But you must not memorise but have some broad points in your mind. Here is the list you must include in your introduction.

• Ask yourself what people don’t know about you, what you are currently doing good
• Tell about what is special in you. You can tell about any special event where you have a good impact.
• Don’t forget to tell some important information about yourself.
• Don’t include any unnecessary information that is already in your CV.

You may read- 10 Common Mistakes in your CV

Name

you should say your full name Proudly. Like- I’m Rohan Chowdhury or my name is Rohan Chowdhury. Avoid saying Mr or Ms before your name and you must enunciate your name clear.

Qualification

Describe why you are qualified for this job or why are you appropriate for it? Now, this part has two different kinds of answers. One for experienced and another one for freshers.

• Experienced – if you have previous job experience then share it with them. Such as – your position, company or institution name, years of experience, your impact of that etc. For example – I’ve been working as a sales admin or Blah blah…, I used to look after (explain your duties there), i was able to ( contribute,  bring a good change,  win best man award) there. Some attitude rules to maintain here are- Don’t be so overpowering about your previous achievements, Don’t fake anything and give an extra and above version of your CV.

• Freshers– So if you Don’t have any previous experience you really have to give an attractive answer. For example – I’m a recent MBA from blah blah. If your school or College is not that popular u can skip that. But this Isn’t enough.  Add some stories of your achievements, tell them about the projects you were a part of, pieces of training that you took, and courses relevant to that job you applied for. You can avoid pieces of information about your CGPA as It’s already mentioned in your CV.

Skills

Skills that you’ve gained from your projects or courses can be a plus point. For Example – I’ve completed a graphic designing course or computer programming course, I’m proficient in Digital Marketing (should be relevant for their job).

Hobbies and Passions

If you think your passion or hobbies can a good impression then go for it. For example – I’m a trained singer, I often sing in the seminar, occasions to enlighten the atmosphere or I love staying fit. I eat healthily and exercise daily. It keeps me energetic and helps to maintain discipline.

Don’t tell about any strange or irrelevant hobbies that don’t suit your personality.

About Family (optional)

You may add it or avoid it based on the environment. But if you add it then give a very short but sounds complete kind of paragraph about your family.

Closing

Make two things clear to the employers at this point-

• Why do you apply here.
• Why you should be the right choice for the job.

For example – I love my current job but now I’m prepared for more challenges and duties. Your requirements for this job really excite me and I can make a good impact by joining here.
Or, you can show your research about their company,  can talk about your future goals relating this job.

Use words from the job description and sound enthusiastic about your position. End your answer by saying that’s all from me, thank you.

So this is a standard way of introducing yourself in an interview.

Special Tips for Preparing your Introduction

You need some previous preparations before going for an interview. Here are some special tips for you.

• Write down your introduction following the rules written on top. Include the best selling points to grab their attention. But always keep in mind that the points should be relevant and approachable.
• You have to change and customize your script every time you prepare for a new interview.
• Don’t memories it word to word.  Otherwise, You’ll sound like a robot and that will be visible in the interview which Isn’t a good impact.
• Don’t be so conscious about grammatical errors. Be a little spontaneous and comfortable.
• Answer the questions by looking at all of them, particularly for every question. Your answer should be around 1 minute approx.
• Always be ready for cross-questions. The interviewer often asks questions from your answers. Suppose, you told, you are the district champion in badminton. You may be asked to tell the names of a few world-known badminton players.
• Throughout the interview present yourself as a versatile, creative,  team player, friendly, and confident person. It will increase their interest in you.
• Use words from the job description and sound enthusiastic about your position. End your answer by saying that’s all from me, thank you.

Coming to an end and putting all together good talking skills, polite appearance, and informative answers helps you a good distinction mark in a job interview.

Hope the post has helped you learn several new things. Here are some tips to avoid CV mistakes.