How to Introduce Yourself in an Interview

How To Introduce Yourself In An Interview

We commonly say that a first impression is the most important one because it is our chance to start off on the right foot with someone. When people usually think about interviews and interviewing for different jobs, they think in great detail about what they will discuss with regards to their own skills, experience, how this applies to the job requirements and so forth but they rarely think about the start of the interview process. The start of the interview itself is unfortunately very overlooked but incredibly important. How would you introduce yourself in a way that creates a good impression but also a lasting one?

Interviewers will usually ask you to introduce yourself: “Tell me more about you” or “Describe yourself in a few words please.”

How do you introduce yourself?
Introductions should be short and professional, avoiding personal details, and should overall provide a snapshot or preview into your experience and abilities. It should be kept brief but provide a summary of:
• Talk about your most recent job and explaining why you are interested in the current position you are applying for, and how you may be qualified for it.
• Emphasise your best achievements in short sentences.

Being concise
When considering introductions, it is also important to be concise. An introduction is meant to be short and brief; it should not take too long with some suggesting that a minute at the most is appropriate. Therefore, it is important to:
• Avoid long and winding introductions about yourself, this may overwhelm the interviewer with too much information right at the start. It can help to memorise what you want to say beforehand so that you keep things concise.
• Don’t repeat things from your resume, the interviewer will most likely have your resume before them and will be able to see if you repeat any phrases from there. Repeating phrases in this way will also detract you from having a concise and short summary of yourself to introduce yourself with.

Body language
Body language is one of the most important things to keep in mind when meeting someone for the first time. The way we sit gesture and appear can give away major insights into how we are thinking and feeling. Therefore, if we sit or gesture in a way that exhibits nervousness, uncertainty or that we are uncomfortable, this is what will be strongly communicated to the interviewer. It is important therefore to:
• Create a good first impression right from the start by having confident body language.
• Offering a strong, firm handshake can display that we are confident and also that we are professional in our behaviour and manners.

Overall, the introduction will be a lasting impression we make so it is imperative that we are confident, clear and concise in what we say, how we say it and how we carry ourselves. We should cover our main strengths and summarise our experience in a neat way that intrigues the interviewer to want to get to know us more.

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