Community Employment Resource Centre

Who Are You – formerly known as Tell Me About Yourself

Jim Hayhurst Sr., a career counsellor , inspirational speaker and author, explains in the Globe and Mail (Wednesday March 24^th, 2004) that in his cold call interviews with “hirers”, potential employers are seeking individuals that can tell them three things:

1. Who they are (not generic phrases)
2. What they had accomplished (proof of who they are)
3. How are these relevant to the job being discussed

Usually it is the first question that candidates respond to ineffectively. Hayhurst claims that knowing this answer and expressing it with clarity, relevance and in a memorable way, you will have a significant advantage over all others applying for the same job. You will also have a much easier time with decisions such as, career direction, relationships, and lifestyle. Better yet, you will be able to make the decisions with confidence.

How to answer: Who are you?

A good place to start is by looking at the things you have done right in your past. This will lead to an honest and complete answer that will be more useful for “the question”.

To determine where you have gone right, think back to times, places or events in which you felt really good about something you did – an accomplishment. These occasions could be small or big, but they represent times when you thought to yourself, “Well done”. During this process, don’t discount the items that come “naturally” to you. As stated by Hayhurst, “If something made you feel satisfied, it was probably special and should be noted.”

Once the accomplishments are identified, break them down to determine common links:

§ What skills did you use?

§ What interest areas did these accomplishments involve?

§ What values did the accomplishments demonstrate or reinforce?

The core list that evolves from this exercise generates the key conditions to your satisfaction, motivation and success – both in the past and for the future!

Now it is time to pick the one accomplishment that demonstrates Who You Are in a memorable way. To do this, try creating a personal reference point or a personal allegory. Paint a picture of who you are by using a story where the events are used to convey a deeper meaning. The allegory example used by Hayhurst is:

Teaching Bobby How To Swim: story explains how the skills, interests and values used to help a child over come his fear of water matches jobs that require communication skills, enthusiasm, and ability to work with others to make a difference.

Examples of personal references would include:

§ Wagonmaster: independent, helps others along

§ Navigator: stands in behind the captain, gathers information

§ Decoder: sees patterns in people to help predict future behaviour

Taking this creative twist to a steadfast question will ensure you are remembered by the interviewer, contact (when networking), employment agencies and others.