Almost every interview probably starts with “Tell me about yourself”.  And surprisingly most interviewees botch that question.

Most start way back in time, maybe college or sigh, earlier, and tell a very boring tale of how they got a bachelors degree, where they went to work, where they went from there—we know all that, it’s on your bio or resume.

To really nail that question, you need to put some time and energy into your brand narrative.  If you don’t have one, start with the 3 to 5 points you feel are most relevant to the job and build a story from there.  A ‘story’ isn’t fiction, it’s interesting.

For example, maybe one of your points you want to stress is that you have an engineering background for that analytical marketing role. Something like, “I always had a thing for robotics, was in the robotics club in high school and that propelled my interest in pursuing my BSME”.

The narrative can be funny, or clever, and should be interesting.  It should be about why you made the transitions you did, and results.  Don’t confuse action with results.

Leave out all the nasty politics, grievances, things you were disgruntled about–everybody has something like that but it’s completely inappropriate in your narrative.  Interviewers are looking for red flags, don’t serve them up on a silver platter.

Most importantly, as you learn to tell your story, practice it on friends and family you can trust to give you honest feedback.