This can be a selection question that is used quite frequently. Hiring Managers like it because it offers a simple place to begin and can even cover lots of ground. Additionally many hiring managers don’t actually know what questions to ask, so this is a simple way out. For you as a person looking for a job, it’s a nice question. It gives you a chance to offer a detailed background about your self and can also make it easier to steer the interview in a direction that you want. You might be tempted to provide your whole life history (where you grew up, the number of children you have, and so on) as a response to this query; however, most of it will likely be irrelevant. It is important to concentrate on what the recruiter is most curious about – which is something that reveals it is possible for you to to carry out the job well. One good strategy to handle the question is offered below:
First provide a summary of your past training and experience. At this stage do not give an excessive amount of information. For your work expertise, point out the place you worked and what your position involved. For your training, skip school and start with university. Talk about which college you went to (especially if it is well-known) and what you studied (particularly if it is relevant for the goal position)
Then for the most relevant education/experience you can elaborate a bit by speaking about some of your significant achievements, which showcase the important strengths (most needed for the target job) you displayed, together with a specific instance/scenario to function as proof. A superb format to use for this is CAR:
Challenge: What was the situation or problem that you confronted?
Action: What steps did you take to overcome the challenge?
Results: What were the positive outcomes?
Amit Puri has over ten years of career advisory & business management experience. He heads Sandbox Advisors a career, job search, recruitment & HR consulting firm in Singapore.Visit their (Career & Job Search Insights for Singapore) for research, recommendations and videos, on resume writing, job interview questions and answers, job openings, career change & more.
