Answering "Tell Me About Yourself" Question

I have always struggled a bit with job interviews, and I feel its the first question ''tell me about your self'' that is putting me off. I usually begin with where I live, what I study, what I like to do in my spare time. I feel like the recruiter wants to hear something more.

Do you have any advice on how to answer that question the best?

M22, student

I'd recommend scripting out what to say. It will come in handy throughout your life.

"I am from ____ and have made it my home. In my spare time I enjoy (something active) because ___. I also spend time (volunteering) with __ _____ which has taught me about __. I enjoy (your line of work) because it combines my ability to __ and my passion for _____. I'm really happy to be here today and to have the chance to learn about your company, and how that intersects with my occupation"

PS, if you aren't doing volunteer work, start. Give back.

Salary Negotiation

"How do you respond when the recruiter may ask how much are you making currently? They make it seem like they need the answer NOW. I usually try to hold off, but sometimes my answers don't get them to stop asking. Ideally, I don't want the recruiter to know my pay until I am receiving a job offer.... What is the best response?"

I have two answers for this:

1. If the recruiter is new to recruiting - say less than 18 months, you can hold off. However, it's in your best interest to share that info - they want you to make as much as possible (that benefits them as well) but need accurate information to do so. The recruiter can't likely submit you as a candidate without having your current salary, and your requirements to make a move.

2. If you are early on in your career, say below 5 years, don't be coy. Share what you're making.

"Typically it's like a game of cat and mouse when I'm in this situation. I feel if I share what I'm making, I won't get what I'm targeting. Could this be the case? How would I know if a recruiter is new to recruiting? If I decline to share, what is the worst scenario for the recruiter?"

Your salary history is important to the process. A recruiter will want to work off of accurate information. Just because you say you make $40k/year doesn't mean the recruiter will try and find you a job that offers $39k.

It could mean he/she won't waste your time with anything below $42-45k/year.

Worst case scenario? You demonstrate you are difficult to work with and they move on to someone else.

"I've always been in that mindset that they're fishing for my salary and read on many articles to not disclose salary which ends up you being on the losing end of the negotiation. I always thought that was how it worked since everytime I got off the phone with a recruiter, they almost always ask for my salary and I took that as something I should keep quiet about. I'll keep that in mind then, not sure why many articles put salary fishing as a negative and something to keep to yourself until the end of a job seeking process."

I should clarify something about sharing salary. I think you may be confusing some positions.

Search Firm/Agency/3rd Party Recruiter: Share your salary

Company HR/Internal Recruiter/Hiring Manager: Don't share your salary right away. This is where it is a valuable negotiating tool.

Do the differences above make sense? So, Wells Fargo has its own internal recruiters, and you don't need to tell them your salary. But say, Robert Half Recruiters might be recruiting FOR Wells Fargo because Wells Fargo is their client. It is in your best interest to share salary with that person.

I know it is confusing. The 3rd Party Recruiter (say Robert Half) wants you to make as much as possible (they then make more), so it's to your benefit. The Recruiter/HR at Wells Fargo doesn't have that same motivation.

Behavioral Interview Questions

I have a second round tomorrow for the Operations Manager opening with the COO of an online grocery shopping app company and I’m curious about what the expectation would be from me in terms of my personality and approach to solving problems. The recruiter mentioned the questions to be behavioral and this will be my first ever behavioral interview. Any tips about body language, how concise I keep my answers, how to not freak out?

Is the recruiter internal at this company, or an external recruiter? If external, ask them to ask some questions, role play, etc.

I'd say be a reserved version of yourself. This isn't pm_world on vacation, this is you in the corporate world. Something I have to remind myself is don't try to be funny, even though I am funny with my friends.

There are so many behavioral questions - I can't tell you how to answer them. I'd google search for some and formulate your answers. When asked a question, please feel free to take your time, be thoughtful, and think through your answer before responding. Think of the right way to answer it, then take another 2-5 seconds on how to word it. Concise it better.

Recently Let Go from Job - Why?

I was recently let go (without cause) from a position after being with a company for almost four years a few weeks ago. It was really out of the blue and I had not received any notice or warning of any poor performance or work related issues . I did well on my performance review in December and qualified for a company bonus is April.

I was told by my manager and HR over the phone and advised that I was unsuitable for the role. I tried to ask for more information (for my own personal development) but nothing was disclosed to me further.

My department was quite large for the organization (Training) and I was at the bottom of the totem pole when it came to experience and seniority. I suspect it might be budgetary/restructure but I don’t actually have a complete/concrete reason.

If I were to go into an interview, what would be the best way to explain why I have left my previous position? I thought about perhaps saying “Due to the current circumstances, the department had to explore new avenues to move forward and unfortunately, I didn’t fit the restructure?” Is this negative? Or is there a better way to address the issue without delving to far into the subject?

Thanks for your expertise!

I think your sentence on the restructuring is best. If it's true, I would try and phrase it in a way that communicates that multiple people/a department was let go to de-personalize it.

Also, you don't need to include that you were let go if you aren't asked. If your motivations about applying are brought up "why are you looking for a job/what has you applying/why do you want to work here/etc", use the company you are applying TO as the motivation.

"Why are you in the job market?"

You, "The work you are doing in ___ and ____ caught my attention and aligns with my experience doing _. Your _ initiatives are inspiring and this is the type of company I want to help to achieve its goals! With my past work doing ____ I am confident I can help move the needle forward. I'm here to help."

Tough Interview Questions

Here’s a question that just makes my eyes and head pound. Anyone have any suggestions on how to answer this question? Please provide at least two examples of experience researching methods, procedures, and practices in order to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of administrative processes related to human resources, travel, correspondence, or budget.

I would assume that question is looking less for the answer for the question, and more looking at how resourceful you are in finding new information. It would take a quick and well organized response, but they want to know how quickly you can react to new problems/questions and how you can relay that information to managers/etc.

One way to answer would be to quickly create an action list/check list. "First I would research ___, then I would find reliable resources, then I would do a price and implementation comparison, etc."

Here's the situation: Boss, "Hey Little Bird, can you find out what it takes to fly our 12 employees to a conference in ___ in two months without breaking covid restrictions?"

Bad employee: "Sure....how do I do that? Do you mean style in a hotel"

Good employee: "Give me three hours...looking at our state and ___ state, our restrictions are the same. Our employee manual states ___ we are covered. Group flights cost XXX, hotels are available XXX miles from the conference center. We cover all training and travel costs"