"Tell me something about yourself," is a common job interview question that many people struggle with answering. There are several key tips to keep in mind when answering this question. Planning how to answer this question before it arises can provide a job seeker with confidence and an advantage over less-prepared job seekers the interview process.

Stay on Topic
It's human nature to want to talk about yourself and many job seekers take this question as an opportunity to share their accomplishments. Being captain of the baseball team when you were in high school doesn't score you any points when interviewing for a job, unless you're interviewing for a coaching job. Whatever you say about yourself, make sure that it directly ties into the job duties of the position in which you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a secretarial position, it would be appropriate to say that you are an organized individual and can multitask well, as these abilities are great assets to a secretary.

Remain Professional
When the interviewer asks about yourself, he doesn't want to know if you're married, have children or love puppies. Remember that this is a professional job interview and refrain from using this as an opportunity for a free counseling session by sharing your personal secrets. Instead, mention a professional highlight that your interviewer would be interested in. If you are applying for a sales job, it would be appropriate to mention that you were the top salesman in your previous position or had a knack for selling your previous employer's hardest-to-sell or most-expensive item.

Mention Strong Points
Use this question as an opportunity to mention one of your strong points that hasn't yet come up in the interview. There is no guarantee that your interviewer will actually read your resume, so don't assume that just because an important fact about your professional history is mentioned on your resume that your interviewer will know about it. If you won any awards or was the best at something, either academically or professionally, this is the point in the interview in which to mention it. Think of this question as an open invitation to brag a little bit about your accomplishments and show your potential employer how much of an asset you would be to the company.