Tell me about yourself — interview questions in English (using Product Manager as an example, answers + grammar)

So, you've decided to change jobs and explore new career opportunities in the international market. Your English is at B1+/B2 level, which in itself makes you nervous, because all the vacancies say fluent English, and you're stumped by the lack of understanding of how to correctly answer the very first question at the interview “Tell me about yourself”. And you also need to create a decent resume and be able to talk about your experience to increase your chances. All this becomes super overwhelming, you grab your head and understand that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Here I have already told you how to structure your answers to recruiter questions, but this article is dedicated specifically to self-pitch. I will share 2 ways to create an effective self-presentation, and at the end of the article you can take the template and use it to create an answer to the question “Tell me about yourself”. If you have already done everything according to the template or you have another version of the story about yourself, you can write personally auto RU and show your result for feedback.

How to tell about yourself? Method 1.

Self-pitch is a selling self-presentation about yourself. The most important thing to remember is – Product managers tell storiesStorytelling skills are essential for effective interview answering.

The secret of great stories we borrow from literature/cinema. In the original it looks like this, but we modify the picture a little.

Any great story starts with an exposition/setting, then rising action, then a climax, and then a resolution.

You will build your story about yourself from 3 elements: Setting, Rising action, Climax. We remove the last element of the story – resolution – because the denouement is your new offer! Self-presentation ends at the “point of no return”.

1. Setting/Flashback. Flashback. We set a general background from the past to the present, how I ended up where I am now, we mention the names of companies and give a general idea of ​​the most significant projects following 3 questions: What? Where? When? The answer should be brief, without unnecessary details and include the following 3 elements:

   • Start: tell where and when the experience began

   • Key project: tell about your greatest achievement

   • Realization: tell what you particularly liked about this role and why it led to the next experience

Sample: “ I started my career as a product manager {number of years} years ago when I was at {Company name}, mainly working on {project name and its details}, supporting {name of department/division/team}.

I realized that I really enjoyed {what did you like to work with} and decided to pursue my passion at {Company name} as I saw more opportunity for {what new features} there.“

Example answer: “ I started my career as a product manager 5 years ago when I was at Tech InnovationsI mainly worked on a project called “SmartHub,” which aimed to create a unified platform for smart home managementsupporting the IoT division.

I realized that I really enjoyed working with innovative technologies and creating products that make users' lives more convenient and secureand I decided to pursue my passion at FutureTech as I saw opportunities more for professional growth and the implementation of ambitious projects there.

Grammar point: Please note that all sentences in Setting are constructed using the Past Simple tense in the affirmative form. Here it is necessary to remember some irregular verbs and that the ending -ed should be added to regular verbs.

I started, I worked, I realized, I understood, I wanted, I saw

Next, we build a story about ourselves, gradually approaching the present and talking about the current role, avoiding irrelevant experience. We move on to the 2nd step of the framework.

2. Rising Action – Raising the stakes. We describe the current role and achievements, interaction with the team, answering the question: How? How I currently perform product tasks, what job responsibilities I have, what measurable results I have achieved. Briefly describe your role now using the following elements:

   • Current Project: We describe the most significant project at the present time.

   • Team Interaction: We mention with whom we interact in the team (eg, engineers, QA testers, business analysts, designers, marketers).

   • Product Development: Explaining your role in managing product development from idea to launch

   • Client Interaction: We show how we interact with clients, learn their needs and receive feedback

   • Agile Practices: Mention involvement in work meetings and how we track the completion of product tasks

   • Key Metrics: We point out the improvement of important KPIs obtained based on data from product users.

Sample: “I'm currently working on {design its details}, supporting {department/department}. I work in a cross-functional team, which consists of {team members}, and orchestrate the product's development end-to-end.

My responsibilities include {list responsibilities, mention agile principles in work}.

We rolled out the first version of our product {time}, and data coming from the customer suggests that {Key KPI} increased by {% or quantity} within the {period of time}.”

Example answer: “ I'm currently working on a project called “EcoTrack,” which is designed to help businesses monitor and reduce their carbon footprintsupporting the Sustainability and Compliance division. I work in a cross-functional team, which consists of developers, QA testers, business analysts, and a scrum masterand I orchestrate the product's development end-to-end.

My responsibilities include interviewing my clients to understand their needs, documenting their responses, and sharing it with the rest of the team. I follow agile principles to organize meetings to discuss requirements and check progress.

We rolled out the first version of our product in January 2024and data coming from the customer suggests that energy efficiency increased by 25% within the first three months.

Here you should not go into too much detail and use too much technical jargon, but focus on your role and only dilute your speech with so-called “buzzwords” (signal words), which are familiar and vividly illustrate your experience, and it is even better when the signal words are taken directly from the job description. You need to deeply reveal your experience in behavioral questions (behavioral questions, which are written about here), and during self-presentation only mention key achievements.

Grammar point: Note that the sentences in Rising action are constructed in the affirmative form using the Present Simple and Present Continuous tenses when talking about roles and responsibilities, and the Past Simple when talking about results.

Present Simple: I work in; My responsibilities include; I follow

Present Continuous: I'm working on

PastSimple: We rolled out; energy efficiency increased

And here we approach the highest point of the narrative, the “point of no return,” explaining our professional transformation, just like the hero of the film, in the spirit of “having gone through all these thorns, I became so cool that I can no longer do it the same way, now I want it in a new way and here’s why.”

3. The Conflict/Climax. The final element of self-presentation that brings the story to a logical conclusion and answers the question Why? Why am I here and now, why am I considering a new career opportunity, why this particular company, why me.

Sample: “While I have learned {the most important skills and abilities}, I realized that I should be looking for more opportunities {what new opportunities am i looking for}.

I now have the confidence that I could {what i can do best}, and I believe it's time for me {why do i need a new role}.”

Example answer: “While I have learned invaluable lessons in product development and team collaborationI realized that I should be looking for more opportunities to lead innovative projects and drive strategic initiatives.

I now have the confidence that I could successfully manage complex product lifecyclesand I believe it's time for me to take on greater responsibilities and make a more significant impact in the industry.”

Grammar point: Please note that the sentences in Climax are constructed in the affirmative form using the Present Perfect (about results), Present Simple (about beliefs), Past Simple and Future Continuous (about goals) tenses.

Present Perfect (about results): I have learned

Present Simple (about beliefs): I have the confidence, I believe

Future Continuous (about goals): I should be looking

Congratulations, your self-pitch is ready! If you need feedback on your self-presentation, you can write to the author of the article here.

How to tell about yourself? Method 2.

I will tell you another way to write an effective self-presentation, if you already have a confident command of English, then you can structurally create a self-pitch with it. It also consists of 3 components and is a short version of the first method. All 3 components are linked together using linking words. There is a simple worksheet that will help you do this, it can be found at the end of the article.

So,

Part 1: Who you are. One sentence to introduce yourself professionally. Say the title of your current role or an overarching statement of the kind of professional you are.

One sentence about your professional identity. Who are you / What is your current role / What are your strengths?

Part 2: Your highlight reel. 2-4 points that make you stand out based on the role you are interviewing for, with more emphasis on recent achievements.

2-4 points about what makes you stand out professionally, your most recent achievements that correlate with the vacancy.

Part 3: Why are you here? 1-2 sentences about why the company and role is a compelling opportunity.

A couple of sentences about why the company and the role you are interviewing for is a great opportunity for you.

Example answer:

Part 1: Who are you?.

I am an experienced Product Manager with a strong background in leading cross-functional teams and delivering innovative tech solutions.

Part 2: Your highlight reel

(Bundle) In my previous projects I:

• Directed the launch of a mobile application that achieved 1 million downloads within six months, significantly enhancing brand visibility.

• Led a team in developing a machine learning feature that improved customer personalization and increased user retention by 20%.

• Managed the end-to-end product lifecycle of a B2B platform, resulting in a 30% increase in client acquisition and a 35% boost in revenue.

Part 3: Why are you here?

(Bundle) Now, I'm searching for a new challenging position and:

I am drawn particularly to your company because of its commitment to innovation and its impressive track record of industry-leading products. I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to your dynamic team and help drive the next phase of your product development and market success.

You can pick up the template Here

Now, having studied 2 ways to create a self-pitch, you will easily answer the interviewer's question “Tell me about yourself”. But how can you be sure that your self-presentation does not have grammatical and semantic errors? As was said earlier, you can contact the author of the article or resort to ChatGPT, copy the text of your pitch there and set the necessary prompts –

Rewrite the following text without mistakes

Fix mistakes in the following text

Check the text for mistakes and fix them

More content on the topic of preparing for an interview in English in IT can be found in my public

Cheers