The '*Tell me about yourself*' (TMAY) question shouldn't be daunting, but it often is. It seems unfair that anyone would be asked to sum up who they are in a single statement. But, what makes the question so challenging isn't the part where we summarize our experience; rather it is the undertone of 'why should we care about you?' ## How I Crafted My Response I've taken the initiative to revise how I answer TMAY. I had several goals: - Provide a well thought through answer that was in alignment with who I am but is appropriate for professional interactions while still taking into account who I am as a person. (I hate the question: "What do you do?" 🤮) - Use this as a means of preparation for interviews and networking conversations where TMAY tends to come up regularly. - Use my prep to also create a video version of my answer that I can share in certain contexts. - To post about my TMAY strategy and learn in public by sharing what I've done and soliciting feedback from friends and colleagues. Based on my prep work, I used several questions to guide my process. Here are a collection of questions that helped me to gather my thoughts. ### Questions to Guide Your Process - What personal experience sparked your interest in your field? - When did you first realize this work mattered to you personally? - What challenge or curiosity from your past still drives you today? - When did you realize your work had bigger impact than you initially thought? - What are you really good at doing? - What hobbies or interests actually inform how you work? How? - How do your personal values show up in your professional decisions? - What unique perspective do you bring because of who you are as a person? - What would you want people to say about the impact you've had? - How do you want to grow both personally and professionally? ## The Answer I Crafted Here's how I used these questions to craft my own response. I'm sharing it not as a template to copy, but as an example of how personal experiences can become professional strengths when *thoughtfully* connected. ### My Crafted Response > Hi, I'm Christopher Wagner, and I've spent the last twelve years in diagnostics product development, specifically in oncology liquid biopsy. > > As I look back, I realize my path and passion started early. My grandma, who I called nan, and who I was close with, died of cancer when I was young. I was old enough to understand, but young enough that I was shielded from some of the more unpleasant moments. As I look back, this was a gift because it stoked my curiosity and my drive to do something about cancer! As a teenager, I got involved as a volunteer at Fox Chase Cancer Center. I spent over 1000 hours volunteering at Fox Chase over multiple years. I learned that great patient care takes a village, and that the best organizations, prioritize human connection and creativity alongside science and medicine. At Fox Chase this took many forms, but one of the more unique ones was Afternoon Tea (in the early 2000's). This was an opportunity for people across the organization to come together. I now realize that it wasn't about the tea, or the cookies, but rather about creating space and prioritizing connection between people who all had different jobs but wanted to be united in a single mission. > > After graduate school, I joined a small team working on a microfluidic device. The team would grow into a fully fledged diagnostic company. While there, I progressed from research scientist to product innovation leader; as a foundational member of the team that took our liquid biopsy platform from concept through FDA clearance to commercial launch. Joining at an early stage was exhilarating and I had a unique opportunity to grow with the company, experiencing many the stages of growth and product realization with a single technology. This started with optimizing prototypes in the lab but led me to training the clinicians and ultimately refining product strategy based on user insights. > > As I've progressed through life, I've developed what I call a 'what's missing' mindset: whether I'm cooking, trying to make a better cup of coffee, or identifying product gaps. Professionally, this has helped me measurably reduce service visits by over 20% and accelerate product launches by focusing on the disconnect between what development teams think users need and what actually improves their workflows. > > It wasn't until one particular visit to a collaborating lab, located on an upper floor above patient treatment areas, that I realized just how much my work could benefit clinicians and impact patient outcomes. That's when the game changed for me. > > Despite this challenging job market, I am dedicated to finding a product management role at a growth-oriented diagnostics company where I can continue bridging technical innovation with real user needs, particularly in oncology applications. My goal is to put more good into the world than I take from it—building tools that give patients and providers the clarity they need to make better decisions. ## Why This Works I am still learning and refining this approach, but here's why I think this works as an answer. I do my best to connect by being a bit vulnerable and sharing motivation that is very real for me. While the tone is professional I try to weave in some of my personality. I also have tried to share some specific tangible examples and try to provide specific examples, which show that I've spent more than 5 minutes thinking about this. Overall this exercise took me a couple of hours and I went deep journaling on the topics above and then took the aspects that best characterized me. I hope you try to upgrade your answer soon too! What personal experiences have shaped your professional perspective? I'd love to hear how you approach this question. Please feel free to [connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/c-wagner/), or [shoot me an email](mailto:[email protected]) if you want to discuss further.