It all began the day I was born…
I always find it useful to read about the job interview process because there are so many similarities with doing a media interview. For example, the dreaded opening question “tell me about…” your business, your book, your art, etc., is exactly like “tell me about yourself” in a job interview.
When faced with such questions, how do you keep from rattling on and on? This article -
‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Doesn’t Mean ‘Tell It All’ - from CareerJournal.com has some good suggestions:
1. Start with the end in sight.
Despite the deceptive phrasing, the directive, “Tell me about yourself,” isn’t a polite request for your life story. What the interviewer wants to know is, “Why should I hire you?” Knowing this, your goal is to craft a convincing statement that will make the interviewer want to know more about you and what you can do for the company.
To prepare, you must develop a response tailored to the specific employer and addressing its interests, goals, and needs. You should revise, refine and rehearse your script until you can deliver it flawlessly — with energy, enthusiasm and confidence.
In the case of a media interview, of course, it’s not the interviewer you’re trying to convince - it’s the audience.
A word of caution about this quote: don’t take this author’s use of the word “script” literally. What you want to revise, refine, and rehearse are your ideas, not a specific set of words or else your clear concise answer is going to sound like it has simply been memorized and spit out.
Posted: November 23rd, 2006 under Media Interview Preparation.