When interviewing for a position, one of the first questions that is often asked is "Tell me about yourself." If you are like most people, you may be wondering what to say. In order to be prepared for this question you will need to understand what the employer is looking for in an employee (try to get a job description prior to the interview) and be prepared to "sell yourself" as the perfect candidate for the position (by talking about your work related accomplishments). For example, you are interviewing at a mid-size company for a Senior Payroll Clerk who is responsible for managing a large payroll of 700 employees using Ceridian software:

"I have 8 years of accounting and payroll experience (shows your level of knowledge) in small to mid-size companies (shows that you understand the culture of a similar sized firm) and I am looking for a more challenging position where I can utilize my accounting diploma (shows that you have both practical and formal education). In my current position with ABC company, I am responsible for solely managing a payroll for 500 employees (shows that you handle a similar level of difficulty and are likely to be able to manage their payroll with little assistance)."

Now you must sell yourself and get the employer really excited about the possibility of hiring you. This is when you must talk about your accomplishments. You may be thinking that you have not really achieved alot in your career, but everyone has a few things that they have done that are notable. For example, you saved the company $1000 per year in office supplies by researching office supply companies and making the switch. Perhaps you suggested that the scrap materials that were being disposed of in the plant could be sold to a salvage company, thus the company paid less for disposal. Perhaps you reorganized the filing system and it saved your Manager the hassle of spending 30 minutrs a day looking for certain files. The key here is to get out a blank sheet of paper and brainstorm. Think of all the work-related things you are proud of and then narrow it down to 2 or 3 examples where your contribution made an impact on the company you worked for at the time. Try to guve examples that are no older than 5 years old, except in the case where you are re-entering the workforce after time away.

"I have used Ceridian in the past (shows that you need very little training to get up to speed) and in fact, helped implement it at my previous company (shows that you have more than a user knowledge of their key software). We quickly found out that the only drawback was that at the end of the day, the system would be somewhat slow, so I suggested that we start 30 minutes early during payroll days and finish before the slowdown occured (this shows that you are proactive and willing to make suggestions to improve procedures). I read recently that your company merged with XYZ company and I understand the issues you must be facing regarding payroll transition. I am currently responsible for it right now since my company acquired a sister company earlier this year (this shows that you have done research on the company and can jump right in and helop them with payroll transitioning)."

The main thing to remember is that the employer is looking for a candidate who can address their needs - find out what their needs are and give them examples of how you can fulfill those needs and you increase your chances of getting hired!

Look for my other guides relating to Job Searching, Reference Checking, Illegal Interveiw Questions, Salary Negotiations and more.