The Ideal Answer To “Tell Me About Yourself”

No matter which exam you take to enter the defence forces, there is an interview round. In this round, you are asked all kinds of questions to test your personality, aptitude, attitude and general outlook to life. In addition to these qualities, the interviewing officer or IO checks if you have it in you to work in a team and support the team despite little personal gain. We have been writing about the interview stages quite extensively in our blog.

Today we are talking about the question that is always asked during the personal interview round in defence forces exams. This is not exactly a question but it surely asked! It is “tell me about yourself”. This is a question which is also asked during job interviews in private companies as well. You need to understand that this question is an opportunity to expose your personality to the IO. However, you need to have checks and balances in your answer, or you will end up boasting about yourself or boring the IO with irrelevant details.

How do you begin answering this? The accepted approach is to begin with your name, your parents’ names and where you live and brief details about your family members. You can go on to talk about your school and higher education. While narrating this tale, you need to focus on specific achievements in a way that these stand out as milestones in the fabric of your answer. But you should not boast about them. State them in a matter-of-fact manner and the IO will pick up the information. They are trained to do so.

The common mistake while answering this question is to go overboard with specific details. The IO is not looking at every nook and corner of your life! Give them a brief overview and they will quiz on areas where they need extra information. It is also wrong to assume that the IO will consider some of your minor achievements as unimportant. The IO knows that every candidate cannot have a glowing record of numerous achievements. They don’t expect as much. Instead, they want reliable and stable officers and that should come through in your answer.

No matter how well you prepare for CDS, NDA, SSB or AFCAT, the interview round can make or break you. So prepare well!