Please Describe Yourself

The Graduate School interviews have started and I must admit, I really enjoy them. It is very stimulating to talk with potential colleagues about myself and our mutual work. One of the questions that one always receives during an interview of any sort is, "Tell me about yourself." I always struggle with that question because it can have so many dimensions. I think about this question a lot actually. It is one of the most basic yet complicated questions in existence. As I finished one phone interview the other day, I spent the rest of the afternoon reliving the interview in my mind. It went well, but I kept thinking about the "tell me about yourself" question. As I was driving home from work, I thought of something that really does make me quite unique that I had never really thought about.

I am incredibly curious about new things and have to find out the answers to my questions, especially in settings that appear banal.



Here are some examples.

Earlier that day I went to an eye specialist for an exam. The doctor was an "opthalmic specialist" and I immediately wondered what percentage of his customers were referral-based (doctor to doctor). When the nurse was administering tests to me, I wanted to know how much schooling she had to have to do her job. When I left, I saw a 100 gallon fish tank in the lobby and I wanted to know who picked out the decorations and the fish for the tank. (Needless to say I inquired about all three of these.) So here I was, going through a number of tests about my eyes, and I was more concerned about the fish tank than what the tests actually measured or were looking for.

Later that day I happened to run into the gentleman who refills our snack machine downstairs at work. My mind was so overrun with questions about his work that I started asking him a few questions. I wanted to know how many snack machines he fills in a given week, if he refills other kinds of machines as well, and how large of an area does he cover. He was very excited to converse with me and was happy I was taking an interest in him.

The way I've characterized my inquisitive nature here seems to indicate that people would find me annoying. Maybe they do, but I have found that people are genuinely excited that someone is interested in their work, and more than willing to share information. It also makes one very knowledgeable about how the world works in many important ways that often go unnoticed despite occurring right under our noses. I guess this aspect of who I am never really hit me until these graduate school interviews...