When you first start searching for a job and get invited to a couple of interviews, you may feel overwhelmed at first, because it is all new to you and sometimes new things can be a little scary, so it is a completely normal feeling.

But after some time and couple more interviews you will probably get used to the concept and manage to anticipate almost every question they are going to ask you.

You will probably practice at home with your friends and think you are ready for anything they throw at you.

But that is where you are wrong.

Thinking that you already know everything and that there is no question that can confuse you.

And then you hear that one question, that can stun you and leave you thinking for a couple of seconds, which is of course enough for the interviewer to notice that you have been pretending and that, in fact, you are not so sure about yourself as it may have seemed before.

That one question is, of course, different for every one of us, but for me, it was the question “Tell me something funny and interesting about yourself”.

It is not a hard question, the problem is, I wasn’t quite prepared for it.

That is why in this text, I am going to explain how to answer that and some other questions, how to mention some fun facts about yourself in your resume and during the interview.

So stay tuned and let us start!

BUILDING AN INTERESTING RESUME

Before you even get to the interview phase and get asked some interesting questions, first you need to send your resume.

Since it is the first thing interviewers are getting from you, and it is the first thing which should give them an idea of what kind of person you really are, then you should probably make it look good.

But, as with anything which is new, it can be really hard to do it.

Not because the process of making the resume is hard, but because you are probably fresh graduate without any or with a very small amount of experience in your hands.

That is why you need to show what your real strengths are, not just by including some internships you might have had or small jobs, but also by including some interesting facts about you because those facts can tell a lot more about you as a person than any other thing you might add.

But here’s the catch, how to know what kind of hobbies and activities to put in the resume?

Some may be irrelevant, some inappropriate for the job you are applying, so you should tread carefully when choosing which ones to put.

Generally, since the resume is used as a picture of the first impression, you need to make it so that it represents the best version of you.

Apart from all those necessary stuff, like name, education and contact information, you should add skills that are relevant for any potential job, so they don’t think you are a complete ignoramus, or in other words that you do not know a thing.

Next, after you sorted out important skills and abilities, you should think about some hobbies and interests.

People usually put all the same ones, like reading a book, watching movies, bicycle riding etc.

And it literally becomes a nuisance to read it!

However, if that is what you do, of course, you should put it there, but apart from that, you must do some other interesting things.

Try to think about it and put those hobbies that represent the best of you.

Through your interests and hobbies, the interviewers can get a glimpse of information about your personality, which means a lot to them.

For example, people who play basketball in their free time are often good team players, which is a trait a lot of companies are looking nowadays.

Or for instance, people who like reading books tend to be trapped in their thoughts, which can often be both bad and good.

The good side is that they tend to think more, which can be used to think of some new ways to improve business. On the other hand, the bad note is that too much thinking can drive them away from the real goal, which is what most employers would want to evade.

But you get the point.

Whatever you choose to put in your resume, will eventually represent one part of the puzzle which is your personality, so that is why you need to think it through very carefully and put those hobbies and skills which represent the best of you.

This short video shows you how to make a perfect resume and what are the most common mistakes you can make while building both your resume and cover letter.

MOVING ON TO THE INTERVIEW

Having your first interview can be a bit scary, you might feel a bit nervous and overwhelmed, but do not let that stop you.

Interviewers know that feeling, everyone has gone through the same process.

So just relax and be the best version of yourself.

Now, remember, interviewers do not want to hear what they had already read in your resume. They already got that first impression picture.

Now they want you to confirm it and expand it a bit more.

In order to do that, you need to be prepared for it and act professionally. I have several tips to help you with that.

1. Honesty

One of the most important things, not just for the interviews, but also for life, is, to be honest.

When I say honest, I do not mean honest about every little thing, because we all know no one is 100% honest. What I mean, you need to be honest about yourself and your skills and abilities.

You may lie about what you can do, what types of work you have done in the past, but eventually, it will come out and be revealed unless you are some psycho who lives surrounded by lies and deceit.

If you, however, lie, that would have to be a masterfully crafted lie and you would always need to have it somewhere in the back of your head, so you wouldn’t accidentally reveal it.

I noticed that people usually lie about their skills.

Even some skills which are really trivial, easy to learn, but they still lie, instead of them just learning it and then put it in their resume. One example is a skill in Microsoft Office.

I know at least a dozen people who lied about having a perfect knowledge of Microsoft Office package just so they would get the job.

And then when they did get the job, they were asking their friends to help them with doing some trivial stuff in Word.

Employers, of course eventually learn everything, so some of my friends got a warning to really master it or they’ll get a proper goodbye note.

And really, by lying about things like this you do not lie to your employers, you are lying to yourself. You are hurting yourself, and your own sense of dignity.

So, instead of lying, you should work on yourself and be honest about yourself during the interviews.

Of course, that does not mean you should tell them everything, just the things you think would represent you in the best possible way.

By leaving out some things which could make you look bad, it does not mean you are lying, it just means you left out some things which are not so important for them to know.

2. Be Interesting

People don’t usually think about this, but it is very important to stay positive and keep interviewers interested in you because you are not the first person they interview and you probably won’t be the last either.

They already heard most of the stories you might tell them, so the conversation can often get pretty boring for them to listen to the same thing over and over again.

That is why you need to act lively, pique their interest, be different than other people.

There are many ways of doing this, from telling an interesting story to just showing your inner self and talking with your body.

Hand gestures are a very common way of doing this.

It may surprise you, but people who wave their hands around while talking and explaining some things tend to be more interesting to the viewers.

One thing to note though.

Do not try to fake it, by randomly waving your hands, because they will notice that.

It is not something you can do on purpose, it would look very fake and would seem like a bad act.

If hand gestures are not your thing, you should probably seek some other way of being interesting during long conversations.

Another way is to change your voice tone regularly. Importance of tone is really not overrated.

People who talk in a single tone for a long time tend to get boring and their listeners can really just turn off from the conversation and think of other things.

Lastly, one more thing to notice when you are in a conversation is that you should talk about something in chronological order, how it happened.

When people tend to change between several points of a story or even between several stories, it can be both boring and overwhelming to listen to all that.

That is why you should stay on the path and tell the story bit by bit, how it all had happened.

Of course, try not to tell some unimportant stories.

After all, you are at a job interview, not in a bar with your friends.

Try to stay on the topics which could be important for your potential job, otherwise, the interviewers might just lose interest.

3. Confidence

Imagine yourself as someone who is looking for an employee.

Now, on one side you have this person, willing to take responsibility and who is confident in its ability.

And on the other side, there is a person who is not sure what it wants and always hesitate to answer your questions.

Now, who would you choose? Of course, the answer is person number one.

Why?

Because you need a person of confidence, who can be entrusted with a wide range of responsibilities.

That is why you need to build yourself to be a confident person.

You need to show the interviewers that you are the right person for the job, that you are confident and responsible, that you can be trusted and that you are willing to work for the benefit of the company.

One way of doing it is to really be that kind of person, but I know that it is not that easy, especially if this is your first job interview.

But you need to defeat that fear of failure inside of you and present yourself the best you can, so they could see you as a confident young person.

During the interview, just relax and try to talk in a normal, casual voice, so they wouldn’t be able to sense that fear and nervousness inside of you.

Of course, since you will probably be talking to the people you have never met before, it is not a good idea to completely relax, because you can say something which you weren’t supposed to say and then all your hard work would fall into the water.

4. Do Your Research

Before coming to an interview, make sure to prepare yourself, not just for the questions they might have for you, but for the other things too.

You should try to find out more about the company itself, when it was founded, by whom, what is its main field of business, some known facts and perhaps try to analyze recent financial reports to reach a conclusion about how the company conducts its business.

If the teamwork is an important part of your job, you should try to break the ice and show how good you are when it comes to working with a lot of people or just working in small, but the close team.

Teamwork is one of the most important traits nowadays.

That is why it is really crucial to present yourself as a team player, even in jobs that do not require too much teamwork, because eventually, you have to talk to the people no matter what type of job you are involved with.

Apart from that, while researching the company, try to find out what are the main traits that the company values.

That way you can not just present yourself as a team player, but you can also prepare yourself and mention some other qualities you might have that match with the traits that company is looking for in their new recruits.

That way they would know they have found the person they need and they would be more reluctant to accept you as their new employee.

5. Social Media Profiles

As it is the same with every aspect of the business, there is no talking about anything, not even interviews, without mentioning the social media.

Social media has become one of the most important parts, not just in people’s lives, but also in conducting business.

That is why it is important not just to present yourself in a good way through the resume and the interview, but also through your social media profiles.

There is a good chance that the interviewers would probably check your social media profiles prior to the interview itself, so they get a bit clearer picture of who they are dealing with.

That is why you should keep your social media professional, clean all the unnecessary stuff and make your social media profiles like that so they would send a positive picture to the viewer.

You should care especially for some of the most popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Those are the platforms that are often checked by employers.

Now, there are several ways of making your social media look good and professional, so you might want to watch this short video made by Lauren Berger, where she explains how to do that.

Another thing worth noting is that you should have the real information shown on your social media profiles.

So that you cannot come in a situation where the interviewers ask you something, you reply and then they say that you claim different on your social media.

So it is the best to be consistent in everything you write and everything you do on social media.

WHAT INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MYSELF SHOULD I SAY?

And now we finally come to the final question, which is to help you what sort of fun and interesting information about yourself you should share during an interview.

When I first got asked this question, I was stunned for a couple of seconds, then I started talking something which was already said in the resume so the interview was basically over, I was able to see it in their eyes.

That is when I started thinking about that question, and what would I really say next time. So let me help you with that.

First of all, the main goal here is not just to tell some random story in order to be interesting.

The main goal is to get a job. And to get a job, your story must have a meaning and be related to the job itself.

So what you should do is tell a story, which has a point that is important for the job you applied for.

So, now when that is settled, let us jump to the point and mention some interesting facts.

1. Mention hobbies you have.

The first thing you want to mention if asked is some of your hobbies.

Interviewers are interested to get to know you, to get to see what kind of person you are, and one of the best ways to do it is by analyzing your personality through your side activities.

Just remember, make sure to mention hobbies you are really passionate about and those who make you look good, the interviewers would get to see the best version of yourself.

Another reason you may want to include just these hobbies and activities is that companies often tend to introduce new employees via e-mail message which is sent to all other employees, where they state your information and your personal interests.

2. Things or people you like.

Almost everyone has a personal hero or a favorite person who influenced their lives in a very positive way.

Interviewers tend to like these kinds of stories so you may want to tell them one.

Mention your personal hero or if you really do not have one, you can talk about some people who positively influenced your life and made you the person you are today.

Just make sure not to mention Batman, trust me, it is not a good idea!

3. Mention some funny moment you experienced.

Everyone likes some funny stories. Interviewers are people too, so they like it as well. So it is a good idea to tell one or more funny moments you have had in your life.

Try not to prolong it for too long, keep it short and interesting. Try to choose the topic with a hidden message which could be related to the job you applied for.

The story itself could be a bit embarrassing as well.

Everyone like juicy stories, so it is nothing to be afraid of. It is actually a good idea to do it because it would show them that you are a modest person.

4. Do not fear to tell a fear.

Ah, this title sounds kind of weird but the point is what the title says.

It is not a bad idea to share some of your fears with the interviewers, because there is nothing to be ashamed of, everyone has their own fears.

Of course, try not to lower your chances of getting the job by telling the fear which could be related to the job.

FINAL WORD

That was it, folks! I hope this would help you with your job interviews.

Have confidence, be yourself and you will have nothing to fear.

Just remember these tips and I am sure you will succeed in getting that job you really want.

How to Mention Fun Facts About Yourself in a Job Search

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