Answering "tell me about yourself" without rambling

"Tell me about yourself" is not an invitation to summarize your life. It's an interviewer giving you thirty seconds to set the frame for the rest of the conversation — and most candidates waste it either rambling chronologically from their first job or reciting the resume the interviewer is already holding.

A structure that works reliably: present, past, future. Where you are now and what you do day to day (one sentence). The piece of your background that's most relevant to this specific role (two or three sentences, chosen for this interview, not generic). Why this role, specifically, is the logical next step from where you are (one sentence). That's the whole answer — under ninety seconds, and it ends by handing the interviewer a reason to ask a follow-up question instead of a reason to check the time.

The rehearsed feeling most people are trying to avoid usually comes from memorizing exact sentences rather than memorizing the structure. Know the three beats and the specific facts that go in each one; let the exact wording vary each time you say it out loud. That's what makes it sound like an answer instead of a recitation.