“So, tell me a little about yourself.”

I've always been an advocate of getting the most difficult things out of the way first. So to help you prepare for job interview questions, I feel compelled to deal with this, the absolute favorite question of all interviewers (okay, so it's not really a question!) and the least favorite of most candidates. This little inquiry puts you on the spot in a way no other question can. It turns up the spotlight and your pulse and makes your throat go dry... especially if you are unprepared for it.

However, if you prepare, it gives you the opportunity to show interviewers the four traits they are looking for most job candidates: enthusiasm, confidence, dependability, and intelligence.

Prepare to be Prepared

"So, tell me a little about yourself" is among the favorite icebreakers of seasoned interviewers (the type you'll usually meet in Human Resource departments) because it gives them a chance to study an encyclopedia of reactions, from verbal cues to candidates' body language. It is also a favorite of untrained interviewers, such as hiring managers, simply because they don't know what else to ask. In fact, untrained interviewers are more likely to ask this question to fill "dead air," rather than as a means to get the interview off and running.

How to prepare? Well, developing a successful answer to this common question is one of the key reasons I urged you to complete a personal inventory. (If you haven't done so, please do before reading on.) Take a good look at it now, particularly those items under the headings:

• My strongest skills
• Greatest areas of knowledge
• Strongest parts of my personality
• Things I do best
• Key accomplishments

Speech! Speech!

Now, take the information under those headings and mold it into a speech of 250 to 350 words (roughly 60 to 90 seconds when spoken). What should this speech be like? Here is a generic outline:

1. Brief introduction to wonderful, wonderful you
2. Your key accomplishments
3. The key strengths demonstrated by these accomplishments
4. The importance of these strengths and accomplishments to your prospective employer
5. Where and how you see yourself developing in the position for which you're applying (just to add the right amount of modesty)