How to answer “tell me about yourself” for a CV-blind interview

[AspiringSol]

Hello! I’m going to be doing a CV-blind interview soon and have also encountered questions like this in the past but I never feel like my answers have been wholly satisfactory…

I’m not sure how much detail to go into - like do I talk about my passion for law? Other passions? My journey into law? Past work experiences? Extra curriculars at university? School? Childhood? Should I just stick to a brief succinct format of three key things like with other answers? Does anyone have any advice Thank you so much!

 

[Romiras]

The great thing about CV-blind interviews is that you really get to craft your own narrative. Using the things on your CV and outside of it, you can target things you'd like to present first, or with great detail. Your interviewer will largely be looking to tick off certain qualities that the firm is looking for: organisational skills, commercially aware, motivated for a career in law, interested in the firm, etc. Use the format to your advantage - so when you have a question like that, you can try to build an answer that targets some of the things I've mentioned.

For myself, I really hated answering the 'why law' question because I found it so inauthentic. If I was asked "tell me about yourself", I'd give a whistle stop tour of my education journey and then discuss how I really enjoyed my law degree, which in turn confirmed my interest in law. This allowed me to pull upon what I've said in an earlier question when I'm asked "why law", or alternatively, allows me to sidestep the question altogether.