How to Answer Tell Me About Yourself Spoken English Lesson
Hi I’m Oli.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn how to answer
the question ‘tell me about yourself.’
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‘Tell me about yourself.’
This question makes people nervous.
What can you say?
Honestly, this is a bad question to ask.
If I was giving someone a job interview, I
would never ask this question, because it
makes people uncomfortable.
But, you might hear it, and need to answer!
Maybe in a job interview, or an interview
for university, or in an English exam, or
somewhere else.
In this lesson, you’ll see answers to this
question for four different situations.
One: in a job interview.
Two: in a university interview.
Three: in an English exam.
This is the most general example, so if you
just want a general way to respond to ‘tell
me about yourself’, watch this section.
Four: when introducing yourself to new colleagues.
Before we look at our sample answers, let’s
see four general tips.
First, think about the context you’re in.
‘Tell me about yourself’ doesn’t mean
‘Tell me everything about yourself.’
You need to choose where to focus.
For example, in a job interview, you should
focus on your professional background.
In an English exam, you’ll probably give
a more general answer.
Secondly, keep your answer short and focused.
Our sample answers are mostly around three
or four sentences.
This is a good length to aim for.
Thirdly, remember that this question will
usually be asked at the beginning of an interview.
In most cases, the interviewer won’t pay
much attention to the content of what you
say, so don’t worry about it too much.
The most important thing is that you can answer
confidently and coherently.
Finally, here’s a suggestion for a general
structure: make one or two sentences about
your past, one or two sentences about your
current situation, and one or two sentences
about the future.
Now, let’s see some examples!
I’m currently working in HR for Dell, but
actually as you’ve probably seen from my
CV, my background is in graphic design.
I’ve been wanting to get back to graphic
design work for some time, and that’s why
I applied for this position.
In this answer, you talk about your current
situation, and then add details about your
background.
It’s a simple answer, but that’s fine.
It’s focused and clear, and it gives your
interviewer the chance to ask for more details
if he or she wants.
Let’s see one more example:
I’ve been working in biomedical research
for about five years.
I completed my PhD four years ago, and I worked
for a small pharmaceutical company here, until,
unfortunately, they went out of business recently.
So, I’m currently looking for a new position
in biotech, pharma, or anything related to
my training and experience.
This answer is a little more detailed.
It also doesn’t really include information
about the future.
That’s OK – the past-present-future idea
isn’t a template which you have to follow;
it’s just a way to organise your ideas.
Let’s look at some language from these examples.
In sentences three and four, after ‘in’,
you need to name a sector.
For example, ‘I’ve been working in the
education sector for seven years.’
If you want to name a company, use ‘at’.
For example, ‘I’ve been working at HSBC
for a year and a half.’
Could you complete these sentences to make
them true for you?
Pause the video and try it now!
Say your sentences out loud.
Next, let’s look at university interviews.
I’ve always loved drama, watching plays,
and everything else connected with the theatre.
I’ve been involved in our school drama society
for several years, both in terms of acting
in productions and also working behind the
scenes, with set design, lighting, and things
like that.
I’ve known for a long time that I want to
be an actor, and studying drama here would
be a logical next step towards that goal,
I think.
This answer gives more details about the speaker’s
past experience, and less information about
the present and future.
As you heard before, this is no problem!
Don’t feel that you need to have a certain
number of sentences about the past, or whatever.
Different answers will fit different situations.
Be flexible!
Let’s see one more sample answer.
I always knew I wanted to be a scientist,
even when I was little.
My best subjects throughout school have been
maths and science, but at this point I’d
like to specialise more, which is why I’m
applying to study astrophysics.
I’m doing my IB next month, and my predicted
grade is 40 or higher.
I’m hoping you’ll offer me a place to
study here, and I’m excited to start my
studies in September.
These answers are specialised; they focus
on particular subjects.
But, there are several pieces of language
you can use, whatever you study.
Let’s look.
Of course, you can change these phrases to
fit your situation.
For example, if you’re still at school,
you’ll probably say ‘are’ or ‘have
been’ in number two, instead of ‘were’.
Now, it’s your turn to practise!
Use these four phrases to make your own answer,
using your own ideas.
Pause the video, and say your answer out loud
now.
How was that?
You might need to practise a few times to
get everything fluent.
Take your time and practise as many times
as you need.
Next, let’s see how to answer ‘tell me
about yourself’ in a more general way, for
example in an English exam.
Honestly, in most English exams, you’re
not likely to be asked this question.
In common international exams, like IELTS
or the Cambridge exams, questions are more
focused.
But, it’s possible.
Or, you might need to answer the question
‘tell me about yourself’ in a different
situation.
Let’s look at a more general answer to this
question:
Well, I was born in Vladivostok, but my dad
moved around a lot for his work, so I grew
up in different places: Japan, The Philippines
and Malaysia.
Currently I’m working part-time and studying
for a Master’s in film production.
I’m pretty interested in film, video production
and things like that, so I’m hoping to work
in that sector once I finish my studies.
You can see that the answer is more general
and personal, rather than focusing on work
or studies.
Let’s see one more:
I’m originally from Buenos Aires, but I’ve
been living here in Dublin for several years
now.
I work for an ad agency, as a copywriter,
which is something I never imagined I would
do, but I really like it.
I was never good at English when I was younger,
so it’s weird that I ended up working in
a job which requires very high-level language
skills.
I like living here, but I feel like I’d
also like to travel and experience living
in other places, so I’m thinking about moving
to Canada or the US in the next year or so.
This is the longest of our sample answers,
but it’s still quite short: about 100 words.
Remember that you don’t want your answer
to be too long.
Keep it short and focused!
If you’re asked the question ‘tell me
about yourself’ in an English exam or general
situation, let’s see some language you can
use to build an answer.
In number two, you put a company after ‘for’,
and your position after ‘as’.
For example, ‘I’m working for Google as
a tester.’
In number four, you put an -ing verb after
‘about’, to describe something which you
are considering doing in the future.
For example, ‘I’m thinking about changing
jobs.’
Let’s try together.
Make your own answer, using these four phrases.
If you want, add more sentences or details
to your answer.
Pause the video, and make your answer now.
How was that?
Easy?
Difficult?
If it’s difficult, read the sample answers
– you can find the text on our website.
Use the sample answers as a model, and change
the details so that you’re using your own
information.
Let’s move on to our last section.
Sometimes, if you start working in a new company,
you’ll have to introduce yourself at a meeting.
Here, your answer should focus on your professional
background, like in a job interview.
However, you’ll probably use a more conversational
tone.
Let’s see our first sample.
My name’s Gwen, and as you maybe know I
just started here; this is my first week,
in fact.
I’m working in the marketing department
as a web marketing coordinator.
My background is a mix of marketing and software
– I started my career as a software engineer.
I’m still finding my feet and I haven’t
met all of you yet, but I’m looking forward
to working with you all.
If you’re walking past my office, come and
say ‘hi’!
If you work in a larger company, you might
need to introduce yourself to colleagues even
if you’ve worked there for some time, for
example, if you’re starting a project with
people you’ve never worked with before.
Let’s see how that could look:
Hi, I’m Elias.
I’m the CISO, so I’m responsible for online
security, and keeping our computers and networks
safe.
You’ve probably seen me around, because
I’ve been working here for a while – almost
ten years now!
As you just heard, all staff need to take
our cybersecurity training class, so you’ll
be learning about how to stay safe online
with me or one of my colleagues in the next
month or two.
Here’s your final challenge: imagine you’ve
started a new job, and you have to introduce
yourself to your colleagues in a meeting.
Make an answer to introduce yourself.
You can use all the language you’ve seen
in this lesson.
Try to make your answer three or four sentences
long.
Say your answer out loud.
Could you do it?
If so, great!
If not, keep practising!
You can also review the lesson and the sample
answers to get ideas.
Now, we hope that hearing the question ‘tell
me about yourself’ won’t make you feel
so nervous!
So, tell me about yourself.
Practise your answers and put them in the
comments, and share them with other students.
Thanks for watching!
See you next time!