"Tell me about yourself."

　　“谈谈你自己吧。”

　　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。

　　这看起来是最无害的一个问题，却让很多初入职场的人煞费苦心寻找答案。即使是经验丰富的求职者的答案也可能听起来像一个应征工作的沉闷广告。雇主们问出这样开放式的问题就是想看看求职者如何展现他们的技术、能力和野心。

　　Four Common Errors

　　四个常见的错误

　　First, here are common pitfalls to avoid:

　　首先，这里有一些常见的陷阱要避免：

　　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”：你应该集中在积极的方面。比如，如果你要谈到为什么你对这个职位感兴趣，传达出你对新机遇的激情——而不是你要从现在的老板身边逃开。让面试官对你有一个积极的印象。

　　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”：你在这里是要做为员工来展示你的技术的。透露你的私人信息，比如你有几个孩子之类的不能传达出正确的信息。

　　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。“太广告”：一些人读过面试方面的书或者接受过职业顾问的训练。他们可能会给出一个30秒的广告来显示他们所具备的技术简直是为这份工作度身定做的。这些通常听起来都太沉闷刻板了，在展示求职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。“你想听什么我就说什么”：记住面试是一个期望实现双赢的程序。你要通过出售你真实的能力和品质来避免以后的问题，而不是你认为面试官想要得到什么你就说什么。

　　What Interviewers Want

　　面试官想要得到什么

　　Now that you know how not to answer the question, here is guidance on how to ace it。

　　现在你知道面试官不想听到什么样的答案了，下面教你如何轻松拿下这个问题。

　　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 www.keirsey.com) or the Myers Briggs Type Indicator to help understand your personal style。

　　面试官期望看到你的技术和个性能怎么适合并且帮助他们的公司。所以一个好的开始是了解你自己和你个人的力量，然后把这些转化成你答案的一部分。你可以做做Keirsey Temperament Sorter或者Myers Briggs Type Indicator小测验来了解你的性格特征。

　　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."

　　回顾你的评估，重点集中在那些你愿意使用的技术上。写下一些展示你行动的动词，还有一些展示你的品质的名词。接下来，写下三个形容你的形容词。然后，想想你解决过的一个问题。雇主们喜欢雇佣有主动性的人。然后把这些组成一个30秒的“广告”。