Ever stumbled when someone asked, “So, tell me about yourself?” You’re not alone—and the good news? You can get better at it.

This week, I answer a listener question about the most deceptively simple interview prompt there is—and why your answer might be derailing more than your confidence.

I’ll walk you through:

• What this question really means (hint: it’s not a test)
• Why reviewing your CV from the past 20 years is not the story to tell
• Three different approaches that make you memorable—not forgettable

Whether you’re in the middle of interviews or just rethinking how you present yourself, this is your reminder: you don’t need to be dull, and you don’t need to shrink. You just need to show up as the version of you that brings energy, clarity, and value.

🎧 Press play, and let’s design the joyful version of you they can’t ignore.

👉 Need help finding your superpowers?

Check out this starter kit: https://midlifeunstuck.activehosted.com/f/17

This is the Joy At Work podcast, and I'm Lucia Knight.

Here's this week's question from a listener.

I've just been in an interview.

They asked, tell me about yourself.

I totally messed up my answer and it derailed the interview.

Is there a good way to answer that?

Oh, yes, there is a great way.

but first, let's talk about why interviewers even ask this question.

It's not a trick question.

It's not an assessment of your entire career strategy.

It's a breather.

You see, for most people, interviews are awkward, hard, unnatural, especially

for the person asking the questions.

They may have just come from a machine gun question meeting that fried their

brain, or they might have had to sell their soul to book this very meeting

room, the one that you're sitting in or gotten distracted by a workday

disaster before remembering that they're supposed to start this important

interview in 60 seconds, so they throw out a catchall starter question.

Tell me about yourself, which roughly translates as, gimme

a minute to collect myself.

And guess what that question is a gift.

An underused and wasted gift that most people squander with a mediocre

run through of their work history starting at the beginning of time.

But, there's no worse way to get rejected from an interview process

than dulling someone to death.

Instead, nail this question in 30 seconds or less.

That's a different story.

It gives them just enough time to take a deep breath.

And what it does for you is it builds intrigue so that they turn

their ear closer to you and lean in.

Ooh, tell me more.

It sets the tone.

It says, I'm the one you'll want to remember.

So after all the interviews, when they're comparing and contrasting,

they're talking about you.

And for that to happen, you have to be memorable.

And most importantly, a good answer to the question, "Tell me

about yourself", increases your chances of being chosen massively.

Think of it as a drive by, a quick glance at a potentially high value

property to see if it's got the curb appeal you're looking for.

You've got about 30 seconds to make them think we want to hear more.

So don't waste it listing degrees from decades ago, or explaining

every job since the dawn of time.

I spent 20 years in recruitment and headhunting, and believe me, I learned

really quickly never to ask the tell me more question to experience people.

Nothing makes me want to claw my own eyes out faster than a

rambling career story that ends with, and that takes me to today.

There are so many better ways to answer the tell me about yourself question.

Here's just a few examples.

Approach number one, the who I'm not answer.

Hey, Lucia, lovely to see you.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Well, my CV says what I've done and who I am, but sometimes it's

helpful to also know who I'm not.

I'm not the kind of person who coasts through work or sets the bar really low.

I don't show up unprepared or stand on top of people to get ahead.

I don't believe that kindness is a weakness.

I've seen it be one of the most powerful ways to motivate and lead

people through difficult times.

Unexpected, maybe memorable in comparison to the standard work-life timeline.

Very.

Approach.

Number two, the proud work and personal combination.

This method, hints at much, but keeps the interviewer wanting more.

So, Lucia, tell me about yourself.

Well, whether as a headhunter or a psychologist or a career designer,

the work I've done has always helped people to go where they want to go.

I spend an awful lot of time, my time, energy, and money learning new skills.

I've raised two daughters with my husband and I once recorded

an album that made it to number one in the charts for three days.

So this is a lovely, big picture, intriguing way to begin an

interview between two mature humans.

And if your story is true.

And told with ease it sticks.

And then approach number three, the strengths without

saying superpowers method.

If you've been listening for a while, you know that one of the cornerstones

of great career design is superpowers.

The four things that you do uniquely well.

And when you get to do them in just the right way for you, you

feel joy, energy satisfaction.

I never ever advise saying the word superpowers in any interview.

It rarely lands well, but instead show their impact on others around you.

So Lucia, tell me about yourself.

Well, I'm known in work for three major things, turning human complexity

into action movement, training people who actually get better fast, and

writing data reports so useful that people actually want to read them.

And outside work.

I've become known for my last decade of unusual experiments with friends,

disastrous camping trips with kids, and a 1003 day dual lingo Spanish

streak that I'm ridiculously proud of.

Again, this needs to be real and authentic about you but relevant to

them, and really it should be very light touch on the personal life.

If you use any of these approaches, it takes more planning, but the

return on investment is potentially huge because you've not bored

the interviewers into a coma.

You've made them want to learn more about you.

Your work and potentially your life, and they want to then tune

in to the rest of the interview.

I hope this answers our listeners question this week.

There's no one perfect way to answer the tell me about yourself question,

but please God, pick something or an approach that doesn't make them yawn.

Craft your 30 seconds.

Tell a short, brilliant story about who you really are

and what you actually bring.

Because interviews are just human beings who are trying to find the next human

being in their team, and it's your job to show them that they need you.

The interesting, useful, memorable version of you, and when you

show that version of you.

You are way more likely to experience joy in work and they're

way more likely to let you.