When interviewing for a position as a new college graduate, employers often will ask you an initial question to find out how prepared you are to sell yourself for that open position. This question comes in a statement format: “Tell me about yourself.” In career transition training, it is often called the Two Minute Drill, as we career consultants suggest you spend about 2 minutes discussing your work experience as it relates to the requirements of the open position for which you are interviewing.
This question can often confuse people who think they are being asked about personal information, such as family, hobbies and outside activities. That is not the case; in fact, one should always assume that any questions asked in an interview are related to your work experience. Personal information is something that we don’t suggest discussing, as it isn’t relevant to the position requirements.
For a seasoned, well-experienced individual in career transition, this question is easier to answer. Usually there will be a lot of information related to various positions you have held that can be used to “sell yourself.”
But how does the new college graduate answer this question? It may be a little more difficult, as most graduates won’t have much experience to sell. Some may have internships they can talk about. If this is the case, then this is the first area I suggest new college graduates should discuss. Talk about any work related activities in the internship that relate to the open position.
You can also mention any team assignments you had in school, and particularly share any leadership role you had on a team. This area of discussion can show both teamwork ability and leadership skills, which are both important in most work environments.
Also describe how you selected the major for your degree and talk about the subject areas in which you excelled – especially those related to your major and also to the position for which you are interviewing. This area can demonstrate your logic and decision making abilities; again two very important skills in the work environment.
If you had a particularly high grade point average (GPA), especially in your major, talk about that. My recommendation is to use those classes where you achieved a 3.2 or better GPA. (If your grades weren’t that high, then don’t mention the GPA. Just talk about your best subjects without mentioning actual GPA scores.) Please be aware that grades are a good indicator of how you applied yourself and achieved success in college. They can correlate to an ability to apply yourself to assignments that will be required in the potential new position and to be a success for this company. (Never suggest that you would have done better if you had partied less; this is really not a good explanation for not achieving high grades in college.)
Finally, you can tell the potential new employer what criteria are important to you in acquiring your first position and how their company matches your criteria. This should not include things like salary and benefits but should be more substantial areas like the business or industry, size of the organization, financial profitability, and perhaps even location(s). This will show that you have done your research about the company and that you are looking for the right position and right company for you, not just any position in any company.
Keep your answer to about 2 minutes, which is actually a fair amount of time to answer this or any question you are asked, for that matter. Show your enthusiasm and energy and focus on those areas that will impress the interviewer.
What else do you have to sell; what have I missed?
