When you, as a job seeker, are asked the most common, and toughest, interview question, "Tell me about yourself,"your answer can make or break you as a candidate. Usually job seekers
will respond with their "30 second commercial," and then elaborate on
their background. While almost every career book and career counselor
will tell you that is the appropriate response, I totally disagree.
Many
people fail in their job search because they are too often focused on
what they want in a job including industry, type of position, location,
income, benefits, and work environment. Their "30 second commercial" is
centered around this premise. The commercial describes the job seeker's
career history and what they are looking for. Too often, this is in
direct contrast to what employers are looking for.
There are
two dominant reasons why job seekers are successful in the job search.
The first is focusing on the needs of the organization. The second is
focusing on the needs of the people within that organization. In this
article, we are going to examine how to focus on the needs of the
people within organizations. This will assist in rethinking your
response to that all-important question, "Tell me about yourself."
In
order to learn how to respond to the needs of the interviewer, let's
first learn more about ourselves. We can then apply that knowledge
about ourselves to knowing how to understand and respond to the needs
of others.
Most social psychologists recognize four basic
personality styles: Analytical, Amiable, Expressive, and Driver.
Usually, each of us exhibits personality characteristics unique to one
of the styles. However, we also possess characteristics to a lesser
degree in the other styles. To determine your unique style, you can
take a Myers-Briggs assessment or go to the following site for a free
Keirsey Temperament Sorter assessment test: www.keirsey.com
Here are the characteristics that are most commonly associated with each of the styles:
Analytical:
Positive Traits: Precise, Methodical, Organized, Rational, Detail Oriented
Negative Traits: Critical, Formal, Uncertain, Judgmental, Picky
Amiable:
Positive Traits: Cooperative, Dependable, Warm, Listener, Negotiator
Negative Traits: Undisciplined, Dependent, Submissive, Overly Cautious, Conforming
Expressive:
Positive Traits: Enthusiastic, Persuasive, Outgoing, Positive, Communicator
Negative Traits: Ego Centered, Emotional, Exploitive, Opinionated, Reacting
Driver:
Positive Traits: Persistent, Independent, Decision Maker, Effective, Strong Willed
Negative Traits: Aggressive, Strict, Intense, Relentless, Rigid
Gaining
an in-depth understanding of your personality style has enormous value
in your career as well as your personal life. However, our focus today
is learning how to use this knowledge to make you more successful in
your job search.
Once you have learned about your own style and
have studied the other styles, I encourage you to have a little fun in
trying to determine the styles of others. When you meet someone for the
first time, try to identify his or her style within the first two
minutes. You can often identify styles by observing a person's
demeanor, conversation, body language, appearance, and possessions.
To
demonstrate what I mean, let's take some examples from the business
world. While there are always exceptions, generally speaking the styles
fit the example.
Analytical Style: Financial Manager (or
programmers, engineers, and accountants). They like systems and
procedures. They are slow to make decisions because they will analyze
things to death?but their decisions are usually very sound. They prefer
working indepen