How do I answer "tell me about yourself?"

[zakimran23]

.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Are you just taking about TMAY? What is a brief answer?

Sorry you didn't go to the TMAY workshop at UC Davis last month.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yes, I am. I would consider a brief answer to be two minutes maximum, whereas a longer answer could be as long as four depending on how much detail you go into.

I will check to see if there is a recording online somewhere of the UCD workshop.

There is no recording of that workshop. I don't let people record it.

For TMAY, keep it no longer than 90 seconds, ideally 60 seconds. Give your interviewer the opportunity to ask more questions. In fact, you need to make sure the interviewer asks all the questions they intended to ask you, and in a short 25 minute interview, you need to get them to the point where they ask you, "What questions do you have for us?"

Here's my example from the presentation. It gets right to the point. (Social media search that meme, and you can see others' reasons why this is a great TMAY too.)

 

[LizzyM]

The point is to give them something to work with so that they can ask follow-up questions. So if you say, "I attend XYZ University where I'm majoring in biology and writing my senior thesis on alternatives to horseshoe crab blood."

Oh! tell me about that research? What went into your decision to attend XYZ university? What course outside of your major has been most formative for you?


That's three questions out of just one sentence. Give me two more sentences and I'll have a total of 9 questions that can easily fill the next 20 minutes.

Tell me where you grew up and the composition of your family and your parents' professions. Tell me what got you interested in a career in medicine and what you've done (employment, volunteerism) to test that interest. Tell me what you do for fun.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Understood. Do you have any feedback in terms of time for "why medicine" and "why our school?" I am worried about flying through the questions as well as the questions I have prepared to ask them and ending up with dead space.

I can't answer these questions without actually running a mock interview with you. (You can schedule an advising appointment off my signature line.) Otherwise, you answer these questions honestly.

Look up the old threads that ask the same question about TMAY.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I am a Summer Health Professions Education Program alumnus (GREAT program!)

What they told me there was to give a 5 minute schpile something like this:

Hi, my name is Hollow Knight. I'm a senior biology major from Hollownest State University. I grew up under a desolate mound named Hollownest with an underserved patient population, and my entire bug family is being taken over by some weird infection, so I would love to go back home to Hollownest and serve the bugs that helped raise me, probably as a primary care physician. For fun, I love to learn nail arts and dream nail other bugs I run into."

 

[deleted1166622]

It isn't that complicated, man. Just talk about where you grew up, went to school, and things you like to do.

 

[Goro]

I have an interview coming up and have been practicing to the best of my abilities. One of the most obvious questions is "tell me about yourself." There are two interviews, 25 minutes each, back to back, closed file. I have had two mock interviews so far and I've gotten different advice. The first mock interviewer said to keep the answer very brief. Your name, your background, school, hobbies. The second mock interviewer said to give a longer answer as a 25 minute interview isn't very long and they won't have very many questions. Go into detail about my ethnic background, the activities I did in college, where I grew up, etc. This is obvious conflicting advice so I wanted to get feedback from others if possible on how to approach this.

Suppose a distant relative came to visit you and asked you TMAY.

What would you tell them?????

 

[pablo213]

so I would love to go back home to Hollownest and serve the bugs that helped raise me,

I've been conflicted on whether to say something like this suring an interview because I know some schools, public schools in particular, usually want graduates to practice locally.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I've been conflicted on whether to say something like this suring an interview because I know some schools, public schools in particular, usually want graduates to practice locally.

I'd say that you should say it if it's actually true. It's also school dependent. I'm at more of a community-focused school, they ate that stuff up. I think schools like Mayo are more looking for the future cancer-curer than they are the hometown girl/boy. No med school can be perfect at everything.

To use me as an example, I didn't get into any of the T20s I interviewed at, but knowing what I know now, that's a good thing. I got into the school that was a perfect fit for me. In the end, I think it pays to be genuine, even if it closes some doors. It'll open the right ones.

 

[Robin-jay]

Suppose a distant relative came to visit you and asked you TMAY.

What would you tell them?????

I'd honestly talk about whatever last tinder date I had, because that's probably the most interesting thing going on.

 

[shambho]

I'd honestly talk about whatever last tinder date I had, because that's probably the most interesting thing going on.

You’re getting tinder dates? Must be nice

 

[Robin-jay]

You’re getting tinder dates? Must be nice

Sometimes Bumble too.

 

[pablo213]

You’re getting tinder dates? Must be nice

Bro has the unspoken rizz

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'd honestly talk about whatever last tinder date I had, because that's probably the most interesting thing going on.

Just open the door about when you're getting married and having your next child... Let's open yourself up to "I know this great single person who would be PERFECT for you! Let me FaceTime..."