Tell me about yourself.

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
What You Need to Know
Answer Example

This question is your interviewer's first chance to get to know you, not only as a candidate but as a person. They place a lot of emphasis on making sure this opportunity is the right fit for you, and that you are not only passionate about working for Google, but also passionate about the work the position you are applying to entails. They make it clear on their careers site, that there's a lot that goes into making sure you're the right fit before offering you the job. "We get excited about interviewing and take it seriously because, at the risk of sounding cliche, Google is what Googlers make it. Our process can be rigorous, but it's also meant to be friendly, warm, and gives you the opportunity to get to know us better too."

Google's recruiters want to make sure you have a positive experience while going through the application process and make extra efforts to ensure all your questions are answered while offering useful tips and advice along the way. The following advice they offer should prove useful not only for this question but for every question in your interview.

"Tell us who you are, what you do, where you'd like to be. Focus on you. Your skills, interests, and goals are the result of your life, your experiences, your triumphs, and your failures. If we hire you based on your skills, we'll get a skilled employee. If we hire you based on your skills, and your enduring passions, and your distinct experiences and perspectives, we'll get a Googler. That's what we want.

"Take some time to ask yourself a few of these questions: What is something you learned that made everything that came after easier? Have more of your achievements come as a result of solitary effort or teamwork? What do you enjoy more, solving problems or pushing the discussion forward? What is the most rewarding job you've ever had? Why?

"Describe the best team you ever worked with. What made that experience stand out? Now, sit with your history for a moment. Consider all the best, most rewarding elements of your experience, and let them come together to create a picture of where you want to go next in your career."

"I have always loved working in this field and solving these kinds of problems. My mother always says I am the most creative, analytically-minded person she's ever known. Numbers and programming have always been a part of my upbringing. Both my parents are mathematicians. And early on, we started discussing the increasing velocity of exponential factors, especially when it comes to technological achievements. Now, with the recent breakthroughs of AI and quantum computing, we are about to see a transformation unlike anything that's come before. So, I want to be working with the horse I am betting on, and that's Google. I've waited a long time for the right position to become available that caters to my passions. As soon as I got the job alert, I raced home and applied."

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How to Answer: Tell me about yourself.

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Google job interview.

25. Tell me about yourself.

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question

This question is your interviewer's first chance to get to know you, not only as a candidate but as a person. They place a lot of emphasis on making sure this opportunity is the right fit for you, and that you are not only passionate about working for Google, but also passionate about the work the position you are applying to entails. They make it clear on their careers site, that there's a lot that goes into making sure you're the right fit before offering you the job. "We get excited about interviewing and take it seriously because, at the risk of sounding cliche, Google is what Googlers make it. Our process can be rigorous, but it's also meant to be friendly, warm, and gives you the opportunity to get to know us better too."

Written by Kevin Downey on February 4th, 2024

What You Need to Know

Google's recruiters want to make sure you have a positive experience while going through the application process and make extra efforts to ensure all your questions are answered while offering useful tips and advice along the way. The following advice they offer should prove useful not only for this question but for every question in your interview.

"Tell us who you are, what you do, where you'd like to be. Focus on you. Your skills, interests, and goals are the result of your life, your experiences, your triumphs, and your failures. If we hire you based on your skills, we'll get a skilled employee. If we hire you based on your skills, and your enduring passions, and your distinct experiences and perspectives, we'll get a Googler. That's what we want.

"Take some time to ask yourself a few of these questions: What is something you learned that made everything that came after easier? Have more of your achievements come as a result of solitary effort or teamwork? What do you enjoy more, solving problems or pushing the discussion forward? What is the most rewarding job you've ever had? Why?

"Describe the best team you ever worked with. What made that experience stand out? Now, sit with your history for a moment. Consider all the best, most rewarding elements of your experience, and let them come together to create a picture of where you want to go next in your career."

Written by Kevin Downey on February 4th, 2024

Answer Example

"I have always loved working in this field and solving these kinds of problems. My mother always says I am the most creative, analytically-minded person she's ever known. Numbers and programming have always been a part of my upbringing. Both my parents are mathematicians. And early on, we started discussing the increasing velocity of exponential factors, especially when it comes to technological achievements. Now, with the recent breakthroughs of AI and quantum computing, we are about to see a transformation unlike anything that's come before. So, I want to be working with the horse I am betting on, and that's Google. I've waited a long time for the right position to become available that caters to my passions. As soon as I got the job alert, I raced home and applied."

Written by Kevin Downey on February 4th, 2024

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