Tell me about yourself....

[pharm00123]

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I feel like this is a common interview starter.. what are the main things you want to talk about? I feel like it is basically your resume, but since interviewers already have a copy of that, how do you answer this question? Are things like why you chose pharmacy and what your leadership experiences are fine?

 

[BeLikeBueller]

I've always taken this to be a somewhat informal question. I use it as an opportunity to briefly go over the main points of my CV - my school, academic/pharmacy-related interests, and extracurricular activities and interests. If there's something I'm very passionate about I'll do my best to make it a focus here. This is a great opportunity, in my opinion, to bring up things that you would like to discuss later on because, let's face it, they don't know your resume as well as you do and they might miss something that helps you stand out.

Ex. "I have an interest in promoting public health through vaccination. During pharmacy school, I even helped run a flu shot clinic."

Later... "Vaccination is something that our pharmacists at YourPharmacy do on a daily basis. You mentioned you have an interest in that, why is that so important to you?"

"Well I see this as a great opportunity for pharmacists because...."

And off you go.

 

[Protongenic]

Of course, there are many ways to skin this cat.

Being one of the interviewers who ask this question quite a bit, here's a recipe of what I usually look for:

1. Focus on what interests the interviewer.
Match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. They want to know that you can do the job, that you fit into the team, what you have accomplished in your prior positions/in school, and how you can help the organization.

2. Highlight your most important accomplishments.
It doesn't hurt to tell them a memorable story about your attributes (e.g. brief story that illustrates how you tenaciously achieved your goals).

3. Be brief and succinct, seriously.
Highlight 2-3 things that are interesting and useful, not your life-story. Try to keep the answer to 1-2 minutes.

4. Did I mention that the interviewer doesn't usually want to know your life-story?
"Well, I was born in Lost Springs, Wyoming, and when I was three we moved …" Focused, concise, succinct.

Just try to be yourself and natural; good luck!

 

[confettiflyer]

I talk about travel and where I've lived...that ties in to my schooling. I basically tell the story of how I got to undergrad to sitting in front of the interviewer.

 

[297point1]

Be brief and succinct, seriously.
Highlight 2-3 things that are interesting and useful, not your life-story. Try to keep the answer to 1-2 minutes.

This.
Just conducted a faculty candidate interview recently where the candidate took almost 10 minutes to answer the first question (which was "What brings you here today?"). I had already made up my mind - and not in a good way - before he/she had finished answering.

 

[desklamp]

I feel like this is a common interview starter.. what are the main things you want to talk about? I feel like it is basically your resume, but since interviewers already have a copy of that, how do you answer this question? Are things like why you chose pharmacy and what your leadership experiences are fine?

"I like tuhtles."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y

Cue best interview you've ever had.