Dating and Interviewing
“Tell me a little about yourself.”
Is this line used on a first date or during an interview? Seeing as how I may have limited experience for the former, some people either love or dread this question. Depends on how talkative the parties are :) It evens the playing field because there are no wrong answers.
It’s a nice question to start off with because it can go all sorts of way. It gives the interviewer a chance to assert themselves to see where the conversation will go. They can latch on to something you say and go from there.
As for the interviewee, you get a chance to show off your personality and what you think is important whether it may be in your life, for your career, or whatever you want the company to know about you. It’s a broad question, but shows a lot about what the person is about. When people hire people, they are hiring the full person — not just 80% of Bob. The other 20%? Bob, you can leave that at home. No one does that.
The interview and recruiting process is a lot like dating. If you get a second interview to meet another team member, it’s similar to a second date. The first interview is to make sure ‘not a crazy person’ or maybe to see what level of ‘crazy’ they are able to tolerate given how successful the potential match may be. The interview is like a dance, making sure we don’t step on each other’s feet but we’re dancing. It might not be Dancing With the Stars level, but we’re still able to move around the room in coordination.
