"So Tell Me About Yourself"

“So Tate, tell me about yourself”

I am constantly asked this question, and the answer is harder than it seems. When an employer asks me this question, I have thirty seconds make an impression. The first impression is extremely important, and it is my job to answer this question with ease and assertiveness. I want to paint a picture of who I am as a person. My goal of my thirty second pitch is to engage the person and create a want to ask me more questions.

In my foundations class, we practiced this question intensively. While I feel like I have a good answer, I can always improve it. In my opinion, a first impression is almost as important as the rest of the interview. If the initial judgment from an employer is positive, then the tone for the interview has a solid foundation.

Confidence is key.

If I come in with a confidence and polite tone, I know that I can make a good impression on someone. The idea behind this question is something to consider. A person who asks this question wants to hear, in around thirty seconds, who one is as a person. Employers hear hundreds of answers, and they are looking for an answer that stands out from the rest of the applicants. The reason an employer asks this, in my opinion, is that in the business world one has to interact with a customer. A customer will judge the rest of the conversation based off of the first thirty seconds of the conversation—just like the interview question! When I first heard this question, I did not think there was an importance to it. I could not be more wrong. This question is extremely important, which makes it even more important to have the best answer.

Finding the best answer includes many steps. One must look at his or her self from a different perspective and find the top three or four qualities to showcase. Choosing one’s top qualities is not easy. The goal is the showcase the main aspects of yourself in a calm and natural manor. If I can do this, then I will make the best first impression possible.

While it is important to have the best answer possible, the most important thing is to be genuine. My goal is to have an answer that is conversational. I want the listener to feel enticed and eager to learn more about me because I seem genuine and real.

Practice makes perfect, and it is true! Every day I make it a goal to practice my elevator pitch. Each time I do it, I find something to improve and work on to make it better. With enough practice, I know that I will have an elevator pitch that will not only impress an employer but also showcase who I am an as individual.

Pre-Med--A Painful but Necessary Experience

When I looked back on my freshman year, I struggled with the idea that I wasted 13 hours of classes. I was a pre-medical major, and the biology and chemistry classes mean nothing toward my major. It means I cannot double major, add a minor, or apply to the business school at the same time as the other students.  All of the information that I slaved over for months was now irrelevant to my education. I figured that I did not learn during my time as a Biology major.

I could not be more wrong.

These are the things I used to say to myself when I decided to switch majors. Now, I see it through an entirely different lens.  My freshman year, I worked harder than I ever have toward a subject in school. I had long nights of studying, early mornings of studying, and more studying.  It was brutal, but it was what I thought I wanted to do with my life, so I stuck with it. I told myself that if I worked hard enough, I would succeed. Little did I know, if I put this same hard work toward a subject I loved, I would achieve much greater results.  After switching into different classes, I still put in the same amount of hard work, and the results are unbelievable. My entire life changed. I began building new relationships, smiling more often, and building identity capital. I joined a few clubs, adding to my resume the things that exemplified who I was as a person.  This is the section of my resume that will make the biggest difference.

I could not be happier.

Looking back at the science courses I took, I realized I built a skill no textbook could teach me—hard work. When I apply the hard work toward something I truly love, the results are beautiful and impressive. A few weeks ago, I attended a Neeley seminar on Entertainment Marketing. I absolutely loved it. The speaker had students walk to the front of class and role play meeting a famous person. She developed our personal communication skills and focused on the small details that could make or break a first business meeting. I love this. I thrive off of an interview setting, using my charisma and personality to engage with a person. She made us work with a partner and treat them as if we had two minutes to impress him or her. I focused on my handshake, keeping eye contact, and asking genuine questions with an honest tone. I thrive off of learning how to engage with people on a deeper level.

After the seminar was over, I figured I had finished learning. I was wrong. Afterwards I spoke to the speaker for an additional thirty minutes, and she asked me questions that make me think. She wanted to know what I wanted to do with my life and why I wanted to do that with my life. I loved it! I was able to work on my communication and interviewing skills, and I felt like I walked away a better applicant for an internship next summer.

Every time I leave seminars like these I am reassured with my switch from pre-med to business. The business environment is where I thrive and opportunities to improve my skills and connect with people give me energy. I am constantly reminded of what I learned as a pre-med student, however, and I am thankful for the experience. Pre-med pushed me to work hard and allocate my time accordingly. I truly believe that if I started in business I would not have the work ethic I have today. The business environment requires someone to be innovative and a hard worker, and pre-med gave me those skills. Sure, the hours of classes will not add to my degree, but the idea of never having to deal with a hydrocarbon again puts a smile on my face.