Too many job hunters prepare for interviews by endlessly practicing answers to questions regarding their background and experience, without ever preparing for the top interview question that will almost always start the process.

When the interviewer leans over the table, with a smile on their face and your resume in their hand, and says, "So, tell me a little about yourself", you may freeze, and then stumble though an answer that typically does not reflect your true personality. Then you’ll spend the rest of the interview trying to regain lost ground simply because you were over prepared to talk about your employment history, and under prepared to talk about yourself.

There is no mystery or hidden agenda to the question. There is no magic answer either. The question is based on the interviewers need to start the process in an unassuming manner, in an attempt to set you at ease, and gain some insight to your personality.

THE ELEMENTS OF A SOLID ANSWER

There are several basic elements of a successful answer that should be considered at this point. Every good answer to the question "Tell me a little bit about yourself" has the following common aspects:

1. Open with a comment about where you're from. This is useful as it puts your experience in context for the interviewer, and especially helpful if you're from out of town. Being from "somewhere else" often elicits follow-up questions that can bring a sense of commonality to the opening phase of the interview process. Such comments as "Oh yeah, my brother-in-law lives up that way", or "We spent some time there just last Summer" opens the opportunity to talk with the interviewer, making yourself more of a known person, and less of a cold candidate.

2. Talk about one or two of your most positive personality traits. Revealing something about yourself is the essence of this question, so giving an answer that presents your best personality trait is not only expected, it is appreciated.

You may say something like "I am goal oriented. I stay focused, always keeping my eyes on the prize", or "I think the best solution to a problem is often the simplest solution, so I seek out the most straight forward answer when working on difficult problems". To prepare, talk with friends and family to help you define your best personality trait, then open with a comment about that trait. Then supply an example or an amplification of that trait so the interviewer can gain insight into what makes you the person you are.

3. Talk briefly about your experience in your field. With practice, you can sum up your experience in three or four sentences that can give the interviewer insight as to the work history you will soon discuss in detail.

Such comments as "I started my career at Regional Widget, working as an assistant to the Director of Cost Accounting. When an opportunity at National WhoZit opened up, I wound up working there as a junior cost accountant for several years. I've spent the last five years at International WhatZit, where I have been employed as a Senior Accountant, in charge of burden costing. That experience is what brought me here to talk with you today".

Use this common sense approach to answering the top interview questions, and go out and get the job you deserve!