How to answer the “Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question as a Software Engineer

You’re standing in front of the job recruiter, nervous at how blank your resume looks. They smile and ask you the dreaded question: “So. Tell Me About Yourself.”

What you really want to say is that you’re a college student who takes classes like every other student and maybe had one internship, but you can’t just say that because that’s what everyone else is saying and it won’t make you stick out from the crowd.

So what do you say?

Usually when a job recruiter asks this question, they want a brief, but interesting answer that sums you up as a potential employee. A way to summarize you quickly so they have a way to remember who you are and what your highlights are.

So here is my advice on how to answer this question.

The Brand

I know it sounds weird, but you want to find your job ‘brand’. Your brand will answer the questions:

• What are you skilled in?
• What are you interested in?
• What can you bring to the table for this employer?

Let’s go over these.

What are you skilled in?

What coding languages do you know at a proficient level? (Meaning you could code in it without the help of Google) Are you good at coding back-end/data services? Do you create web services? Do you do more AI/Machine Learning projects?

What are you interested in?

As a fresh new grad, it could be hard to know what you’re really interested in until you try different things. So I would skip this if you don’t know yet. But if you do know then definitely mention it in your intro.

The Special

Next you’ll want to mention something that makes you special. Did you do a personal project that you’re really proud of? Mention that. Did you win any awards or mentions in Hackathons or other competitions? You want to keep this part specific to what technical employers would be interested in. So, you CAN mention that you were the leading role of a musical once in high school and you love to sing, but what will be more interesting to recruiters is that you’ve worked on an AI project with a Professor at school that could navigate hallways and open doors.

The Relatable

This is the part where you ask yourself: What can you bring to the table for this employer?

This is a little more nuanced. You can mention a skill that you know this employer is involved in. For example, if you’re interviewing for a cybersecurity company, this is when you would mention that you’ve been involved in a cybersecurity project or took a cybersecurity class. Employers are always looking for candidates that would bring them most value, so there ears will perk if you mention anything that relates to them.

EXAMPLE

“[THE BRAND]
My name is Sarah and I am a new grad Java developer whose mostly worked with backend services creating projects that [mention school projects here].
[THE RELATABLE]
I’ve also taken courses in Android web development, Data Structures and Cybersecurity which I’m very interested in which is why I applied to your company.
[THE SPECIAL]
I actually placed 2nd in a Hackathon with a project that was related to securing databases, which was an awesome experience.”

Final Thoughts

Remember this is just an brief intro to yourself, so keep it short. If it drags on too long, recruiters will start to zone out and end up not remembering anything you said. I would say 3 sentences is the sweet spot.

Now go out there and tell the world about yourself!