Simple Past Tense
Simple Past Tense is the form of a verb used to describe an action that happened before the present time and is no longer happening. It is usually made by adding -ed. We use the past tense to talk about:
● Something that happened once in the past:
- I met my friends in 2019.
- We went to Bali for our holidays.
● Something that happened several times in the past:
- When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every day.
- We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
● Something that was true for some time in the past:
- I lived abroad for ten years.
- She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.
● we often use expressions with ago with the past simple:
- I met my wife a long time ago.
We use did to make questions with the past simple:
- Did she play tennis when she was younger?
- Did you live abroad?
- When did you meet your friends?
- Where did you go for your holidays?
But questions with who often don't use did:
- Who discovered Covid-19?
- Who wrote Don Quixote?
We use didn't (did not) to make negatives with the past simple:
- They didn't go to Spain this year.
- We didn't get home until very late last night.
- I didn't see you yesterday
(+) S + verb 2 + o.
(-) S + did not + verb 1 + o.
(?) Did + S + verb 1 + o?
The short story “Tell me about yourself”
● Choose the Right Starting Point for Your Story (IMPORTANT) Your goal when answering, “Tell me about yourself,” is to give a brief, concise walkthrough of your career story that will show off relevant pieces of experience.
● Highlight Impressive Experiences and Accomplishments
As you tell your career story, explain key accomplishments you’ve achieved, work you’ve done, skills you’ve learned, and key career moves you’ve made.
● Conclude by Explaining Your Current Situation
Finally, the best way to finish your story is to bring them up to speed on your current situation.
● Keep Your Answer Work-Related
When employers ask, “Tell me about yourself,” in an interview, they usually want to hear about you as a professional. So the safest approach is to keep your answer work-related and share your career story, rather than personal details.
Example of the Short story “Tell me about yourself”
“I graduated with a Business degree in 2010 and was offered an account management position at a telecommunications company I had interned with. I loved working with customers and managing and growing my accounts, but the industry we were in just wasn’t very appealing to me. After that, I stayed a full year and learned a ton about how to build and manage accounts successfully and I ended up becoming a top performer in my group before leaving. I left at the 1-year mark to pursue a very similar position within an industry I’m much more excited about healthcare. I’ve been at this healthcare startup space for 2 years with this company and I feel ready to take my career to the next level so that’s why I’m currently looking for a new opportunity.”
