"Tell me about yourself."
“談談你自己吧。”
This seems like such an innocuous question, but many novice job candidates have a hard time giving an answer. Even experienced interviewees can sound like canned ads for the jobs they are interviewing for. Employers ask such open-ended questions so they can see how candidates will present their skills, abilities, and ambitions.
這看起來是最無害的一個問題，卻讓很多初入職場的人煞費苦心尋找答案。即使是經驗豐富的求職者的答案也可能聽起來像一個應徵工作的沉悶廣告。僱主們問出這樣開放式的問題就是想看看求職者如何展現他們的技術、能力和野心。
Four Common Errors
四個常見的錯誤
First, here are common pitfalls to avoid:
首先，這裏有一些常見的陷阱要避免：
1. "True Confessions": Focus on positives. For example, if you're going to talk about why you are interested in this position, convey your enthusiasm for the new opportunities -- not that you are looking to get away from your current boss. Keep your interviewer's view of you in a positive light.
1.“完全坦白”：你應該集中在積極的方面。比如，如果你要談到爲什麼你對這個職位感興趣，傳達出你對新機遇的激情——而不是你要從現在的老闆身邊逃開。讓面試官對你有一個積極的印象。
2. "Home and Personal Life": You are here to convey your skills as an employee. Disclosing personal information, such as how many children you have, won't get the right message across.
2.“家庭和私人生活”：你在這裏是要做爲員工來展示你的技術的。透露你的私人信息，比如你有幾個孩子之類的不能傳達出正確的信息。
3. "The Commercial": Some people have read interviewing books or been trained by career counselors. They may give a 30-second commercial which shows their skills being tailored to the job needs. These often sound too canned and may be too limiting in showing the candidate's abilities.
3.“太廣告”：一些人讀過面試方面的書或者接受過職業顧問的訓練。他們可能會給出一個30秒的廣告來顯示他們所具備的技術簡直是爲這份工作度身定做的。這些通常聽起來都太沉悶刻板了，在展示求職者的能力方面又太有限。
4. "I'll Tell You Exactly What You Want to Hear": Remember that the interview process is one of finding a mutual fit. You'll avoid later problems by selling your true strengths and traits, not those you think the interviewer is looking for.
4.“你想聽什麼我就說什麼”：記住面試是一個期望實現雙贏的程序。你要通過出售你真實的能力和品質來避免以後的問題，而不是你認爲面試官想要得到什麼你就說什麼。
What Interviewers Want
面試官想要得到什麼
Now that you know how not to answer the question, here is guidance on how to ace it.
現在你知道面試官不想聽到什麼樣的答案了，下面教你如何輕鬆拿下這個問題。
The interviewer is looking to see how your skills and personality will fit into and help their organization. So a good starting place is to understand yourself and your personal strengths, and then be ready to tailor these traits as part of your answer. You can try the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (free online at ) or the Myers Briggs Type Indicator to help understand your personal style.
面試官期望看到你的技術和個性能怎麼適合並且幫助他們的公司。所以一個好的開始是瞭解你自己和你個人的力量，然後把這些轉化成你答案的一部分。你可以做做Keirsey Temperament Sorter或者Myers Briggs Type Indicator小測驗來了解你的性格特徵。
Review your assessment and highlight areas that demonstrate skills you enjoy using. Write down verbs that show you in action and nouns that show qualities that you exhibit. Next, write down three adjectives that describe you. Then, think of a time when you solved a problem. Employers like to hire people who show initiative. Then organize these items into a 30-second "commercial."
回顧你的評估，重點集中在那些你願意使用的技術上。寫下一些展示你行動的動詞，還有一些展示你的品質的名詞。接下來，寫下三個形容你的形容詞。然後，想想你解決過的一個問題。僱主們喜歡僱傭有主動性的人。然後把這些組成一個30秒的“廣告”。
Four Sample Answers
四個成功的回答模板
Here are four examples of each of four basic personality types using this information when talking with various interviewers:
下面是四個樣本，當他們和不同的面試官打交道的時候，每一個都使用了這個信息來展示他們基本的個性。
Gina, an aspiring accountant, wanted to emphasize her organizational abilities, dedication, and timeliness. She answered, "Last summer I worked as an intern for XYZ Accounting. I was known for being thorough and accurate in my work. We were in a big rush to make a deadline and I noticed that one page was missing from the master I was copying. I let my boss know. We found it, and were able to get the pages in order and the report printed in time for his meeting. I'm sure that my attention to detail and to high-quality work will be an advantage for your company."
吉娜是一位有抱負的會計師，她想要突出她的組織能力、奉獻精神以及和職位的匹配程度。她回答說，“去年夏天我作爲實習生在XYZ會計師事務所工作。我在工作中耐心和準確廣爲人知。那時我們在做一件非常趕時間的事情。我注意到我正在複印的材料中缺少了一頁，我告知了我的老闆，我們找到了這一頁，讓材料都按順序排好並及時打印出了這份他要在會議上使用的報告。我相信我對細節的關注和高質量的工作會對貴公司有好處。”
Brian was interviewing for a customer service position, and emphasized his versatility, fast response time, and energetic problem-solving abilities. He answered in this manner. "I've spent 10 years in customer service. People want solutions, and they want them quickly. I'm known as a guy who gets things done. One of our dealers had a customer interested in a luxury used sports car that needed a particular part. He'd had no luck through his usual channels and asked me for help. I made a few calls and the part was on its way to him from across the country in two hours. The sale went through. I'm really energized by solving problems for people."
布萊恩曾面試一份客戶服務的職務，想要強調他的變通、快速反應和解決問題的能力。他是這麼回答的：“我曾從事了十年的客戶服務工作。人們需要解決問題，並且希望快速的解決。我是一個能解決問題的人。我們曾有一位顧客對一輛需要特殊部件的豪華運動型轎車感興趣。不幸的是通過他的正常渠道不能解決這個問題，所以他向我求助。我打了幾個電話然後這個部件在兩小時內就從全國各地上路了。銷售進行得很順利。我在爲人們解決問題方面是很有辦法的。”
Interviewing for a Manager of Employee Relations position in a large company, Inez emphasized her ability to work in teams and to coach others to success. Her answer: "This department requires knowledge of legal liability and requirements for businesses. Both employees and managers are uncomfortable with employee relations issues. Education of all parties given with a large dose of tact is necessary to keep problems to a minimum. In my last position we were able to forestall a potential lawsuit. One thing I particularly pride myself on was being able to solve issues of employee/supervisor mismatch. Helping them understand their roles, responsibilities, differences in strengths and weaknesses solved many problems. At times it was necessary to reassign the employee to a different manager so they could continue to be of value to the company. I'd like to bring my knowledge to serve this company."
爲了一個大公司員工關係經理職位面試的伊奈茲要突出她團隊合作和引導別人成功的能力。她的回答是：“在這個部門工作需要具備法律責任和商業需求方面的知識。員工和經理對員工關係方面的問題都會感到不安。所以老練的教育各方是很必要的，能把問題的影響減小到最低。我在之前的公司曾阻止了一次潛在的訴訟。我對自己特別驕傲的是我能解決員工和上司的矛盾。幫助他們瞭解他們在解決問題時的作用、職責和強勢及弱勢。有時給員工換一個上司也是必須的，能讓他們繼續爲公司貢獻價值。我很願意用我的知識爲這家公司服務。”
Tony was applying for the Manager of Information Systems. He emphasized his ability to analyze systems and strategic issues and to create innovative and pragmatic solutions. He answered, "In general, people who are attracted to IT are self-educating problem solvers. But the rate of change and pressure on the staff can be so high that people get burned out. One of the innovations that I used at my last company was giving spot awards to individuals who volunteered to show new techniques to colleagues. Many people in IT concentrate on their own projects and don't pass information along and the spot awards have encouraged a more communicative environment. I'm now looking for a new challenge in a larger sized company and believe I would be a good fit for your needs."
託尼申請一個信息系統經理的職位。他突出了他分析信息策略方面以及在創新務實的解決問題的能力。他回答說，“通常做IT的都是自學解決問題的。但是變化的速度和員工的壓力可能太大會把人們壓垮。我在之前的公司採取的一個創新是給那些願意教同事新技術的人發獎勵。很多從事IT工作的人都只關注他們自己的項目不會分享信息，這個獎勵可以鼓勵創造一個交流更多的環境。我現在希望在一個更大的公司尋找挑戰，我相信我能很好的適應你們的要求。”
In each case, the person answering the question gave a true picture of how he or she solved problems and brought value in their last situation. None portrayed themselves in a phony style. Each of them received a job offer.
在每一個答案中，回答這個問題的人都給出了他們如果解決問題爲原公司創造價值的真實的場景。沒有人用虛假的風格打造自己，他們最後都得到了想要的工作。
