Jason Monastra

My life and thoughts out on the web

“Tell me about yourself”  - what exactly do you mean is the facial expression I get from 90% of the people that we pose that question to.  Most people in the technical field are exactly that, TECHNICAL.  When asked a question, their minds address the question with the appropriate value, exerting themselves to summarize their work accomplishments in a series of sentences selling themselves short of their basic self.  This question I believe is asked for a variety of reasons.  I have asked it in the past to get exactly that answer…how does one define themselves?  There is the easy first answer….”would you like to know about me personally or professionally” but lets face it by then the gig is up and the person has to give you the punchline.

When someone asks you about yourself, tell them and that is not a professional overview.  It is a definition of who you are and what makes you.  I find that a well balanced answer covering personal and professional traits (rather than regurgitating your job responsibilities) is what people are looking for.  People hire people, not robots, and someone that can only speak in terms of their profession is either lying or not someone that you want to be around everyday.  Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself who you are.  Know a little about yourself, and then be able to summarize that for people.  I always start with family, if there are kids, been married for X number of years, grew up in NY, graduated from X, blew up for my first car when………. (humor always helps)

We talk about preparation all the time and the reasons why it is so important.  With a question that has numerous answers, the need for preparation is all the more important.  Technical folks are not sales people, therefore they are normally not having to spill answers to questions and develop quit witted responses.  When asked a question with multiple answers, the pure fact of not knowing which answer to select can be debilitating. This is not only true for technical folks but people overall.  Multiple selections lead people to become uncomfortable and they do not want to make a decision.   If that is the case, asking one to describe themselves is one of the hardest if not the hardest question posed in the interview.  There is no “correct answer” and there are so many options, where to begin.  Prepare, look in the mirror, ask other people what they think about you, and develop a short but informative outline that details who you are in a nutshell.  Nothing over two minutes and it should offer insight into who you are as a person, some character traits, and some aspects that can be seen as beneficial in their environment or professional schema.

The manager/worker relationship in many positions has been blurred over the years with increased work hours, friendships formed on the job, and lack of corporate integrity.  Immediate supervisors are more likely to help you and stray away from the appearance of being loyal just to the company.  Keep this in mind when looking for new positions, as one of the best places for information on yourselves and the job market might be with your current boss.

Layoffs in corporate America are seen daily on the news.  All you need to do is pick a news channel to learn about some plant closing or the US sliding into recession.  As companies begin to lay people off, the ability to leverage your current boss is all the more important as they might be losing their position or could be more willing to assist you with your job search.  Not all managers will be open to this, but the ones that are will benefit you more than you think.  First, ask them what they think of you.  They have first hand knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses over the recent past.  They are in a strong situation to tell you candidly about what they like and do not like.  Ask them why they hired you in the first place and if you have grown over the time you have been there.  These aspects are all important factors for upcoming interviews and will give you solid interview answers that will align with reference checks.

Ask your boss to do a practice interview.  Practice makes perfect and most people are not professional interview experts.  Take the time to do some dry runs at the interview process to become more comfortable with doing that again.  This will help clear the air, make you feel better about public speaking and probably make you think about certain Q&A that you simply forgot.  Nothing works better than having a chance to go live so take advantage if your boss is open, as it will definitely assist when it comes time to interview for the job you want.

Get an informal evaluation.  Annual reviews and other reviews are documented in files and tend to be more reserved.  When I speak to a manager, I want to know the truth and there is no better way to get that than a review that is not on file.  Not all managers will do this, but take him/her to lunch and have a prepared list of questions that address your professional work and progression.  Ask them and get them to answer them honestly.  Explain to them why you are doing this and that you want to improve, this will put them more at ease and not on the defensive.

Most people do this but if you have not, make sure you do.  Future employers will want to speak with past managers for reference checks.  Make sure that your current boss is on that list and is a solid reference that will speak highly to your character and professional ability.  If you can, speak with your boss before the interview, let him/her know why you are looking at other positions and explain to him/her what this new role is you are looking at.  If you have proven yourself as a viable asset to the company you work for, your boss might be upset that you are leaving but should always provide a positive reference about their experience with you.

Pretend that you are your current boss, what would you do differently?” is poised to you in an interview.  Classic question, imagining to walk in the shoes of the person that has been overseeing you for the recent past.  How many times have you thought during that time that you could do the job better or that you would have gone in a separate direction?  How we go about answering this can dictate a good deal about the interview and how the manager sitting in front of you looks at you moving forward.This is NOT a time where you elaborate on how you should be in the manager role, were passed over, and if you were in the position how things would be so much better.  If you would like to place yourself in the NEVER TO HIRE file for the company, go ahead and speak like that.  It is sure to do nothing but end the interview early and never get you a phone call back.  The decision on how to answer this will be based on personal feel for the manager that is in front of you now.  Customize what aspects of your boss you like/dislike and form them to address the key areas of concern for this job you are looking at.  For example, if the position requires a great deal of team building, decision making within groups and is a predominately matrixed organization….you can speak to the fact that your current boss makes decisions in a similar fashion, bringing together the team to determine best practices and strategy.  Therefore, there is really not too much that would be different about what you would do in the boss’s shoes since you were part of the decision making process to begin with.

This question offers a savvy interviewer some good insight into possible issues that you might present as an employee.  If you were to speak of numerous changes, that could indicate someone that will stir the pot, offering unbalance to the work group and you could be a management problem.  Balance is key here.  Not everyone like every single thing about their position.  No one expects that every aspect of the job is in exact alignment as you would want it, but they are looking for people that can work well within the technical environments and be productive not disruptive.  Let them know that you being the manager is a tough role, and decisions are based on varying aspects (some of which you were not exposed to) but based on the information you have this is how you would proceed.  This shows your understanding of the trials of mgmt and that you are not aware of all details when making certain decisions.  The person will appreciate your empathy to their position.

Make the answer flow.  You can ever turn the question back to the manager after you answer, asking them if they were in that certain situation…what would they do?  People enjoy speaking about themselves and if the issue was technical in nature, the right person will spill off about their plans and how they would address the issue (especially if they think the solution your current manager used was wrong).  Remember to be understanding and show balance in your answer, allowing the manager to see that you are a team player and someone that can take direction but that you will offer opinions when needed and that you can stand your ground without causing an upheaval.