September is the busiest recruitment month of the year. Are you ready?

September historically marks the highest hiring season of the year. Make sure you are positioned to get hired! You will have to be prepared to answer the dreaded, ‘tell me about yourself?’ question. Over the years, many of the people I work with deliver their ‘elevator pitch’ in a flat, unmemorable way. Here are three quick tips to help you punch up your approach and make sure you stand out to anyone you meet in upcoming interviews or networking events.

1.     Read the mission statement! ‘Tell me about yourself’ does not mean someone wants to hear your life story. They are looking for any potential connections or parallels between you and what they need. Before meeting with someone or going to an event, be sure to visit their website and read the mission statement of that organization. Make sure you use their language, so that “I have worked on user experience product development” becomes “I’m really passionate about UX, and how it influences software development and web design”.

2.     Don’t summarize your resume! Don’t just rattle off all of your past positions; focus on where you are heading or what you would like to do next. Make sure your response is interesting and conveys a passion that is relevant to the job or company.  

3.     Address the curiosity upfront! If there is a characteristic about your background that often comes up when you meet people, quickly address it so that it does not distract from the objective at hand. My current assistant is a recent graduate looking for full-time work. She has a unique name and distinctive look and it often elicits inquiries from my clients about her background, and she finds it to be a distraction from her pitch. My advice to her has been to address the curiosity head on, so that she can move the conversation along to her skills and qualifications.  Plus it does not hurt to have a unique feature about you that people will remember, so use it to your advantage!

Rather than dreading the question, see it as an opportunity to make a memorable impression on someone. You won’t get that first 10 seconds back, so use it wisely!

gerberg & co. is offering a second workshop this month to help you get ready. Learn how to answer the dreaded "Tell me about yourself" question in a concise, interesting, and compelling manner.

Monday, August 25^th

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

gerberg & co. offices

Register by Wednesday, August 20^th for the special early bird price of $95! Call 212-315-2322 or email judith@gerberg.com