How to Introduce Oneself in an Interview

How to Introduce Oneself in an Interview

This is often the first question of an interview, and also the first elimination round in a campus interview process. Given below is a structure of an effective self-introduction:

1-    Ideology, value-system or something that you really believe in

2-    Key skills and core competencies

3-    Professional profile and experience, including significant achievements

4-    Education, specialization and key learning

5-    Other technical or managerial skills gained through off-the-job experiences

6-    Summary of introduction, re-emphasizing skills, aptitude and attitude

General Guidelines

1-    Everything should be relevant (related) to the job you have applied for.

2-    First make a list of all the items (ideology, skills, experience, education, other expertise) and then start writing the actual introduction.

3-    Highlight achievements.

4-    List items chronologically, latest first or most important first.

5-    The key skills can be found in the practical syllabus of your professional course.

6-    Your introduction should set you apart from the crowd.

7-    Do not supply unnecessary information.

Ideology:

A quote, a popular saying, lines of a poem or song, or any sentence that tells the interviewer what kind of a person you are. Be honest and leave the rest to the experts.

Key Skills and Core Competencies:

Chose your area of interest (job applied for) and list the skills that are important for that field.

Job Profile, Work Experience (if any) and significant achievements:

A fresher would not have any actual, regular work experience. Talk about your internship (Industrial Training), and any practical work exposure you may have had. Pinpoint what you learnt from these experiences and your important moments on-the-job.

Education:

Talk about important achievements (rank, attendance, marks, scholarships, honours) and specialization. Don’t focus too much on school education unless it adds value to your profile.

Highlight your understanding of the practical application of theoretical inputs.

Other Technical, Managerial Expertise (acquired off-the-job):

Computers, languages, soft-skills, specialist software, volunteer or social work may be included here. Know all the basic functions of a Manager (planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, leading, controlling & evaluating) and link your experience with these functions.

Give supporting examples (incidents, events) to validate your claims of expertise.

Summarizing:

Repeat all the important parts of your introduction and conclude by saying that you believe you are the right candidate for the job.

Also invite the interviewer to seek any additional information about your profile.

A sample introduction is outlined below:

(Before the introduction\interview, ensure that you get to know the names, designations and departments of each member of the selection panel. This can be done by listening carefully and writing down the details (name, designation & department), when the recruiting team begins their college presentation about the company or else, you may ask for their visiting cards in the interview room. Avoid using vague sirs and ma'am! Address everyone by their correct name, spoken with the correct pronunciation.)

“Respected Mrs. Gupta & Mr. Sharma,

I am thankful to you for giving me this opportunity to express and explain the key points about my candidature.

I would like to begin with my motto\ideology\values\principles in life.

“None of us is as smart as all of us.”

 This was said by Eric Schmidt, Ex-Executive Chairman of Google. I, too, am a firm believer in the power of a good team.

Next, I would share with you my area of interest and my key skills in that area, that is Front Office Operations and Management. Broadly, I can categorize my skills into communication, technical, organizing, people and self-management. Under communication, I am a multi-lingual speaker and an active listener. I am good in telephone handling, taking reservations and complaint handling. My technical skills include identification and use of the following equipment used at Hotel Front Office and Business Center; EPABX, Computer, Fax, Photocopier, printer, scanner and paper shredder. I have learnt the Front Office module of Property Management System by IDS Fortune (Training version) and I can work in MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Paint.

In organizing skills, I can use the forms, formats and registers in Front Office operations, recording and filing of documents, scheduling of work and maintaining of Log Book, guest account etc. I have handled the filing of C form with local FRRO during my internship and I can handle check-ins and guest services during stay like mail & message handling, baggage handling and providing information and directions.

My people skills are guest handling and coordinating with my co-workers and other departments. Last, and certainly not the least, my skills related to self management are, stress management and time management.

Next, I would like to tell you about my professional experience. I am a fresher and I have only the experience of 22 weeks internship with hotel Marriott Jaipur where I got a chance to learn about the four core areas of hotel operations. I did 4 weeks of specialization training in Front Office and Airport Transfer services. I learnt the hotel phraseology, the brand standards and standard operating procedures of a leading, luxury international hotel chain. I received the “Trainee of the Month” award in July, 2015.

Moving on to education, I have done my 10+2 in commerce stream which has helped me in grasping the financial aspects of a hospitality business, including the bookkeeping system, legal considerations and Management Information System.

In my college, IHM Hajipur, I have consistently scored above 70% in Front office exams, theory and practical; internal as well as external. I worked on a research project in my 6^th semester, “Quantitative Assessment of the Service Quality Standards” and it gave me an insight into the process of acceptable bench-marking of hotel SOP. I have regularly attained an attendance percentage of 90 plus and have volunteered for college functions and activities. I was also the Class Representative for two terms.

Talking of my additional skills, I have joined online French course to augment my communication skills. I also use the Google app Duo Lingo to learn bits of other foreign languages and sometimes I use Google Translate services. I did a 1 month computer course during summer vacation to learn basic computer application, to improve my typing speed and use of Windows keyboard shortcuts so that I can increase my efficiency while working on a Hotel Property Management System. I also worked at a Fast Food Chain outlet to learn about the Billing system and inventory management.

I would like to summarize my self-introduction by drawing your attention to the 5 areas of my skills, aptitude and attitude. I have the practical skills required for an effective Front Office Assistant, and my internship and other experiences have helped fine-tune and upgrade the existing skills.

This is all about me.

If there is anything else that you would like to know, I would be more than happy to answer.