How to Answer Tell Me About Yourself For Internship
The most common interview question is “Tell me about yourself.” This is an opportunity to showcase your personality and career ambitions.
Your answer should be relevant to the internship role you’re applying for and show your qualifications and accomplishments. This can be done by explicitly mentioning your experience and how it aligns with the job description or showing that you have skills and interests that fit the company’s culture.
1. Be specific.
The question “tell me about yourself” can be intimidating, but the best way to answer it is by being specific. The interviewer wants to see how your experience and qualifications are relevant to the internship position you’re applying for.
Ideally, your answer will also include how you plan to benefit from the internship and what you expect to get out of it. This allows the interviewer to see how serious you are about the role, whether you plan to continue pursuing a career in the field and if the company is a good fit for your personality and professional values.
This is a great opportunity to highlight your strengths and how you can be successful in the role, says Elizabeth Rogowski, a Direct Hire Recruiter at Employco in Westmont, IL. For instance, if you’re a strong self-motivator and have a knack for learning, this can be used to sell yourself to the employer.
Your answers should also address how you’ve learned and developed in the past. Using examples from your school projects, clubs or activities can be helpful here too.
If you’re a recent graduate, it’s perfectly acceptable to discuss your university experience as well, but don’t forget that employers are looking for a candidate who can contribute to the business and help them grow.
Avoid focusing too much on your degree and coursework, as this can be too academic for a hiring manager. Talk about how you developed your skills and how these skills can be applied to the internship position you’re applying for, Rogowski advises.
For example, if you’re applying for an internship in finance, talk about any experiences you have working with financial software or any coursework that would be relevant to the role.
Lastly, be sure to tie your answer to the job description. For instance, if the internship involves leadership opportunities, you might want to talk about how you managed to lead a project before and how this experience has given you the skills necessary for this role.
It’s important to remember that the “tell me about yourself” interview is an opportunity for you to shine and sell yourself to the interviewer, and it’s the most crucial part of the interview. Use the following tips to make the most of your time and to answer this critical question in a way that will impress your interviewer!
2. Be honest.
If you’re interviewing for an internship, one of the most important questions that you should answer is “tell me about yourself.” This question can be particularly nerve-wracking because it’s open-ended and requires an eloquent response. But if you prepare ahead of time, it can be one of the most successful questions that you’ll ever answer in an interview.
Hiring managers often ask this question because they want to make sure you are a good fit for their company. They also want to see how well you’ll work with others, and if you can be a good team player.
The key to answering this question correctly is honesty. It’s important not to lie about your personal life – for example, saying that you love karate is not the best way to answer this question if you’re applying for a role as a financial analyst!
You should also avoid talking about anything that doesn’t have to do with the job you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a role in finance, it doesn’t make sense to mention that you’re a massive fan of fantasy novels, or that you used to be a dancer!
Another question that hiring managers often ask is, “Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.” It’s important to be honest with this interviewer because it will give them a better idea of how you view yourself. It will also give you a chance to highlight any skills that may be relevant to the job you’re applying for.
It’s also a great opportunity to talk about your goals for the future. For instance, if you’re interested in changing careers after you graduate, it’s good to highlight why.
This is an excellent opportunity to explain how your career goals align with the organisation’s mission and vision, says FlexJobs career coach Toni Frana. She recommends using examples from your life that demonstrate how your goals will be beneficial to the company.
This is an important question to answer because it shows the interviewer that you’ve done your research. It’s also a good opportunity to show that you are motivated and enthusiastic about working in this organisation.
3. Be prepared.
Answering the tell me about yourself question for internship is a big part of the interview process. It’s a chance to demonstrate your skills and qualifications in a job-specific way that will make you stand out from the crowd. It’s also a great opportunity to show that you are a good cultural fit for the company.
As with any other interview, preparing for the tell me about yourself question is crucial to ensuring that you come off as confident and polished. The best answers are short, well-researched, and honest.
One of the most important things to remember when answering this question is to focus on the specific internship you’re applying for. You don’t want to waste time talking about your passion for fantasy novels or something that doesn’t apply to the position you’re interviewing for.
Start by sharing how you got to where you are today. This will help the hiring manager understand how your educational, volunteer, and professional experiences have helped you become a successful employee.
Then, talk about how you can bring those skills to the company you’re interviewing with and what you hope to gain from the experience. Ideally, you’ll mention several different skill sets that you can develop during your internship and how they’ll prepare you for your future career goals.
You can also share a story about a challenge that you overcame. It can be a large or small situation, but it needs to be based on something that you identified and worked to improve.
A good story to tell can be a class project, a personal struggle that you overcame, or an experience with a co-worker. This question can be tricky, so it’s worth practicing ahead of time to get a feel for the kind of stories that will work best in this context.
Lastly, you should be prepared to share an example of a time when you took on a leadership role. This could be a group project or a time when you were able to motivate others to do their best. The goal here is to highlight your drive and leadership abilities so that the hiring team can see how you will contribute to their organization during your internship.
4. Be confident.
When you’re preparing for an internship interview, it’s important to be confident. A recent study found that if an interviewer doesn’t sense confidence, they’ll likely dismiss the candidate within the first 90 seconds of the interview.
Your answer to “tell me about yourself” is your chance to make an initial impression on the interviewer. Your goal is to get them excited about the opportunity and help them understand why you’re a good fit for their team.
It’s also a good opportunity to show off your personality and highlight any key skills or experience that will make you an exceptional candidate. Whether you’re sharing a personal story or describing your job experience, be sure to keep it relevant to the role and the company you’re interviewing for.
For example, if you’re applying to work as an accountant, be sure to share examples of your analytical abilities. This way, the interviewer can see how your analytical thinking would apply to their role and company.
This question is about you as a person and not as a career candidate, so it’s best to focus on your past accomplishments that are relevant to the role you’re applying for. Rather than talking about your biggest achievement, for example, you might focus on your academic success or how you managed to land an entry-level job.
Another key thing to keep in mind when answering this question is that it’s meant to assess your adaptability and self-awareness level. For example, if you’ve ever faced a challenge or a problem in your past, be sure to explain how you handled it and why you were able to overcome it.
While answering this question can be a little awkward at first, our career counselors suggest practicing it out loud in front of someone so you can get the hang of it. You can also use a mock interview to practice your answers before the actual interview, so you’re more prepared for the real thing.