Prepare carefully for this very popular job interview question "Tell Me About Yourself”, possibly the most important question.

A thoughtful answer meets the interviewer's need for information that the resume didn’t nail and leaves them already visualizing you adding real value and fitting in marvelously.

You have just all met and everyone is smiling and it feels as if you are all just friends chatting around.

In fact, it might seem like an ice-breaker, a conversation starter.

With highly trained and experienced interviewers, it is very purposeful and your response matters a great deal.

When you handle this question very well, the rest of the interview has a positive tone.

The interviewer has your resume but still has some doubts to clear up.

If you anticipate those questions and resolve them up front, they can relax.

How can you tell your answer was great?

If they start the next question, “you’ve already answered this one, but I’ll ask it anyway, “What is your greatest strength?”, with a big smile.

If this question doesn’t go well, they have added doubts and concerns.

Now you have to hope to resolve those issues in your answers to the next 9 questions.

Hopefully the tenth one will be “Why should we hire you?”

It’s really the same question (although it doesn’t sound like it) and by then you will know more about what’s really important to the company for this position.

But it’s far better to get it done the first time.

You have 90 seconds and that means get to the point.

Every sentence must be relevant to their real question, “what should we know about you that would make us offer you the job, and not one of the other 20 people we are interviewing?”

Prepare a script and edit ruthlessly to less than 100 words. (But don’t deliver it as a script)

You may tend towards modesty and be uncomfortable when asked to describe yourself positively.

They want to know that you actually believe that you are well qualified for this position.

Even if you actually believe it would take a miracle for them to hire you.

Anyway, your application has been selected from a pile of hundreds, so they think you are a possible match already.

Many job seekers don’t understand that they are expected to make the connections between past experience and benefits the employer can expect if they hire them.

You can’t do that if you don’t think about what the employer values.

Is it amazing customer service? High productivity?

Don’t guess. Find out.

Two achievements is a start. If you have been working for 15 years, there should be more.

Some of them won’t fit well, especially if you are beginning a new career or applying for a more junior position.

The story you tell needs to emphasize the relevance to this position and recent stories are definitely preferred.

That’s why you need to constantly create new achievements every year.

The nice thing about sales is that everybody understands it, it’s quantifiable and it definitely benefits the company.

Now tell us how you did it.

Be prepared with more details if they ask.

Reducing costs impacts the bottom line just as much as adding revenue.

Your story signals that you understand how your work impacts the company’s profits.

Even if you can’t directly impact sales or costs in your job, you might add new customers.

If you introduce yourself and communicate your benefits to employers with enthusiasm, it’s easier for the interviewers to imagine what it would be like having you on their team.

They want to judge whether you are a fit. Enthusiastic is good.

Very simply, if they can see in the first two minutes that you bring great value and are a wonderful fit, they can sense that they would be lucky to have you.

When you interview many candidates in one day, one or two will stand out as far superior.

In my experience, first impressions, including the answer to this question, predict well how the rest of the interview will go.

If there is a concern that you know will be in their mind, nailing it up front has a lot of value.

If you have a large gap on your resume, it’s better for you to say something about it now rather than hope they don’t bring it up.

Remember that some of the people who participate in selecting final applicants weren’t in the interview room, so only what is written down will be included.

If the doubt hasn’t been removed, it is still present.

You want them to be able to visualize you delivering great results.

Effective storytelling skills can be very powerful persuaders.

It’s not just cold hard facts that influence decisions.

If your story includes a crisis, tell it as if you weren’t rattled or flustered.

You say that something needed to be done and you acted calmly but decisively to bring about a great outcome.

Ninety seconds goes quickly and interviewers better not be wondering when you will get to your point.

They can ask follow-up questions if they choose.

And no, it’s not realistic to accomplish everything in that short time.

Make them want to hear more.

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