Answer "How Would You Describe Yourself" Confidently: A Guide

Having confidence is the key to nailing that job interview for your dream job. However, confidence can only get you so far, and nailing every answer is the only "hack" that can help you get that job that you've always wanted.

Continue reading to confidently answer the question "how would you describe yourself", learn some examples to help you get started, as well as some dos and don'ts that you should know to give you an upper hand versus other job seekers.

Why is it important to describe yourself the right way?

Describing yourself with the right words not only allows hiring managers to know that you mean business but also helps give you an image of confidence and knowledge to your future employers, which can help give you an edge compared to your competitors.

How would you describe yourself also helps provide hiring managers with a strong impression of you, which means that you're the right person for the job, which can help you land the job easier.

Describing yourself dos and don'ts

Below are some examples of dos and don'ts that you should consider in your self description to hiring managers to put yourself in a more favorable position against other applicants.

Dos

• Use the present-past-future formula: Start with what you're used to doing and your current experience level, followed by what you used to do in your past jobs that helped develop your skill sets and then top it off with the professional goals that you want to learn, ideally from the company that you're applying for.
• Use examples that can be backed up with numbers: Rather than using simple terms like "I used to manage social media pages", use measurable achievements like "I used to handle (client name's) social media, and I was able to boost their numbers by (insert number here)" to put your experience in a more professional context.
• Focus on what you can do instead of what you want to do: Emphasize addressing skills that genuinely reflect the things that you do the best first and market yourself well to the hiring managers first.
• Provide thoughtful answers: Remember to approach the question with much thought and use specific words to describe yourself. You can even add how people describe you, although that
• Keep it short and simple: Lastly, remember to keep it as short and simple as possible and use the right descriptive words - think of three words to a sentence. This ensures less mistakes on your part as well as ensuring that you can market yourself to the hiring managers. Consider this as an example of an elevator pitch - meaning you should use just a few words to describe yourself, and it should be delivered by the time it takes to ride an elevator.

Don'ts

• Don't use self-depreciating remarks: Humility is a good thing - but underselling your skills won't land you that job you've been looking for. Remember to take pride in your work but keep it straight to the facts and use positive words without sounding arrogant.
• Talk about anything other than work achievements: Delving too much into your personal hobbies can make hiring managers think that you're not as professional as you are.
• Talking too much: Talking too much and providing an entire resume summary and your cover letter can take too much of both your and the hiring manager's time and overwhelm them. Talking too much also puts you at risk of using the same words over and over again, which doesn't provide a good look for you.
• Appear surprised: The question "how would you describe yourself" is a standard interview question. Thus, appearing surprised when an interviewer asks this question can make hiring managers think that you're not prepared for the interview.

How to describe yourself the right way

For both new and experienced job seekers, here is the proper way to describe yourself in the right way.

Step 1: Start strong

Starting strong by introducing yourself and properly highlighting your experience in the field or what you did in your last job. For this step, it's important to KISS - or keep it short and simple to help you move forward to the next step significantly faster. Avoid using vague or overused terms and use positive adjectives to describe yourself. Lastly, having the confidence to back your claim can also help you nail describing yourself.

Step 2: Highlight your previous experience

Next, delve into your professional qualities at a greater length, ideally for two to three sentences at most. This will let hiring managers know the full length of your career and your experience in the field and set a concrete example of your capabilities.

Step 3: Inform them of the skills that you want to learn from their company

To wrap things up, it's important to let the hiring staff know of the relevant skills that you wish to learn from their company. For this step, it's important to consider the role that you're applying for as well as the expectations for your role-to-be and choose words wisely.

Elements to describe yourself in an interview

Much like everything else, there are elements that should be considered when it comes to describing yourself in an interview. Listed below are some of the elements that should be considered beforehand.

• Share a professional story about yourself and your past working experience and highlight your best qualities.
• Use a storytelling method to properly highlight your personal statements.
• Use your unique points to set yourself apart from other candidates applying for the same role.

Example answers to the question and why:

Listed below are some real examples and sample answers that you can use when an HR representative asks you to describe yourself. Remember to highlight your positive attributes properly and use the best words to describe yourself.

• "My name is _______, and my official job description is as a professional graphic designer for the past 5 years. Over my time, I've worked with major clients like (client #1) and (client #2) and have achieved more than stellar results on their social media campaigns. I'm very much looking forward to honing my skills as a graphic designer, learning the ins and outs when it comes to working with (specific niche), and become an even more detail-oriented person than I was before while learning your company's values."
• "Over the course of my career, I've had a proven track record for the leadership position and management roles for the likes of (company #1) and (company #2) where we've seen successful outcomes and provided high quality work on top of helping said companies reach their goals. I believe that my leadership skills will be of great help to the company moving forward and I can help make team players with the help of my problem solving-skills and by being an overall people person."
• "I've been working as a detail oriented, team oriented professional trainer for my past roles, and over said years I've taught countless people about (program #1) and handled complex projects which have helped boost their overall company culture. Over the years, I've seen my mentees grow into capable individuals and have seen them become professionals themselves."

The key takeaway of describing yourself is this: the words you use to describe yourself does not matter. What matters the most is HOW you describe yourself. The most important factor is clear communication and properly highlighting the important traits you've learned from your previous role. Think of describing yourself as a way to describe your work ethic and the important traits that separate you from the rest. Add the data from the Personal Salary Report, and you can describe yourself and know what you're worth confidently.