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Tell me about yourself, answered for every career stage

An illustration of a job candidate answering a question, with a speech bubble split into three blocks reading past, present and future, and an interviewer listening opposite.
Written by careertips expert teamLast updated

Key takeaways

  • Answer in three parts: what you do now, what led you here, and why this role is the next step. Most of the work is deciding which details belong in each part.
  • A 60 to 90 second spoken answer is roughly 150 to 220 words, since most people speak at around 130 to 150 words a minute. Check your draft against that rather than guessing.
  • The structure holds whether you have no experience yet, are moving in from another field, or are applying for work much like your current job. What changes is the experience you draw on.

This is usually the first question in an interview, and it is open enough that there is no obvious place to start. A short answer you have planned in advance gives you a steady opening and sets up everything that follows.

Answer it in three parts: present, past, future.

How long the answer should be

Aim for 60 to 90 seconds. Most people speak at roughly 130 to 150 words a minute in a normal conversational pace, so a 60 to 90 second answer works out to roughly 150 to 220 words.

That gives you a way to check the answer before you ever say it in a room. Write it out, count the words, then read it aloud once with a timer, which is the only reliable way to hear whether it is rushed. If it runs long, the past section is usually where the extra words are, so cut it back to the one or two things that matter for this role.

If you have no experience or this is your first job

The three parts still work when you have not held a job in the field yet. Present and past simply lean on study, projects and any work you have done alongside it, rather than on previous job titles in the industry.

Choose the study or work with the most in common with the role, and say what you actually did in it. One assignment, placement or shift that involved the same kind of task tells an interviewer more than a list of everything you have studied.

No experience or first job

Swap the bracketed details for your own. Keep the studies or projects specific rather than general.

I'm currently finishing [qualification] at [institution], with a focus on [relevant area].

Alongside that, I've [specific project, part-time role, or volunteer work], where I [what you actually did and a result, even a small one].

I'm looking for a role like this one because [specific reason tied to the job], and I'm ready to bring what I've learned into a real team.

If you're changing careers

When your recent work sits in a different field, the connection between it and this job needs to be somewhere in your answer. An interviewer can see the change on your resume, but they will not work out on your behalf which parts of that experience carry across.

So name the change, then give most of the answer to the overlap: the transferable skills, or kinds of problem, that appear in both fields. If you have taken a deliberate step towards the move, a course, a project, or time spent talking to people already doing the work, a line on that shows the decision has been thought through.

Changing careers

Swap the bracketed details for your own, and keep the middle line on the overlap between the two fields.

I've spent [timeframe] working in [previous field], most recently as [job title], where I [a genuine achievement].

What I found I enjoyed most was [the specific part of the work that connects to the new role], which is what's brought me to [new field].

I've [specific step you've taken, a course, a project, informational interviews] to make sure this isn't a guess, and I'm ready to bring [specific transferable skill] into this role.

If you're experienced and applying for a similar role

When the job is close to what you already do, the answer becomes a question of selection. There is plenty to put in the present and past sections, so the risk is covering all of it and using the whole ninety seconds on history.

Pick one or two pieces of work that relate to what this job needs, and give the future section a reason specific to this role, team or organisation. That last part is what distinguishes your answer from the other candidates who can also do the work, and it's the same distinction you'll need if you're later asked why should we hire you.

Experienced, similar role

Swap the bracketed details for your own. One recent, specific win is enough in the opening line.

I'm currently a [job title] at [company], where I [main responsibility and a recent, specific win].

Before that I was at [previous company] doing similar work, which is where I built [relevant skill].

I'm looking at this role because [specific reason tied to the job or company], and I think what I've built so far lines up well with what you need.

What to leave out

Working through your resume in order, from your first job onwards, is the most common way this answer runs long. The interviewer already has the resume in front of them, so start from where you are now and reach back only for the experience that explains why you are in the room.

Personal details are the other thing to watch. Where you grew up, who you live with or what you do at the weekend may well come up later in the conversation, and they can be worth mentioning when they genuinely relate to the work. In the first minute, though, the space is better spent on the role.

Once this answer is settled, the rest of the interview is a larger piece of preparation. How to prepare for a job interview covers what to do with the time you have before the day.

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