Tell me something that's not on your resume: how to answer it
Share one specific thing about you that your resume can't show, such as a side project, a responsibility you carried, or how you learned a skill, and tell it as a short story with a concrete detail. Then link it in one sentence to why you'd be good in this job. Keep it to about a minute and avoid anything too private.
What the interviewer wants to find out
Your resume tells them what you did. This question asks who did it. The interviewer is looking for three things the page can't show:
- How you behave when nobody is grading you. What you take on by choice.
- Something memorable. After eight interviews in a day, "the one who rebuilt a bike shop's booking system for free" is easier to remember than "the one with the marketing degree."
- Whether you can tell a short story well. It is a soft test of how you communicate.
It is not an invitation to share your life story or your family situation. Think of it as a bonus line on the CV that you get to say out loud.
How to pick what to share
Run your options through this filter. The best answer is true, specific, and quietly connected to the job.
| Kind of thing | Works well when | Be careful when |
|---|---|---|
| A side project or small business | You can name what you made and one result | It sounds like you'll leave to run it full time |
| A responsibility outside work | It shows reliability, like running a family shop on weekends | It reveals private health or family details |
| How you learned a skill | The method says something about you, like teaching yourself Excel to fix your club's accounts | The skill is already listed on the CV |
| A challenge you got through | You can tell it without asking for sympathy | It is still raw or very personal |
| An unusual job or experience | It taught you something the role uses | It needs a long explanation |
| A personal habit or interest | You do it seriously and can talk about it in detail | It is generic, like "I love travelling" |
If two options tie, choose the one that is easier to picture. Concrete details stick: a number, a place, an object.
A three-part answer
- The thing. One sentence. "Something not on my CV is that I've run the scoring and fixtures for my local cricket league for four years."
- One moment. A short scene that shows what you did. "Two seasons ago the volunteer who did it quit a week before the start, so I built the whole fixture list in a spreadsheet over a weekend, around 40 teams' ground availability."
- The link. One sentence, not a lecture. "It's probably why I enjoy operations work. I like being the person who makes a messy schedule actually work."
Aim for 45 to 60 seconds, roughly 100 to 150 spoken words.
Example answers
These are examples with made-up details. Use your own.
A software developer
"Something you won't see on my CV: I volunteer at a weekend repair café, fixing laptops and phones for people who can't afford a shop. Most of the job is explaining what's wrong to someone who's anxious about losing their photos. I've got a lot better at explaining technical problems without jargon, which I think matters in a role where I'd be working with the support team."
A graduate applying for a sales role
"In my second year I sold handmade notebooks at weekend markets to pay part of my rent. The first month I sold four. I started asking every person who stopped what they'd use a notebook for, and changed my pitch around that. By the end of the year I was selling around 60 a weekend. That's the part of sales I enjoy, figuring out what the person actually needs."
A career returner
"During my time away from paid work I was treasurer of my children's school parents' association. I took over accounts that hadn't been reconciled for two years and got them clean before the audit. It reminded me how much I like this kind of detailed finance work, which is a big part of why I'm applying."
Topics to leave out
| Avoid | Why |
|---|---|
| Health, religion, politics, pregnancy or family plans | They are private, and they can distract from your fit |
| A side business that competes with the employer | It raises questions about your focus or conflicts |
| Anything that needs a disclaimer, like "this might sound weird but..." | If you have to warn them, choose something else |
| "I'm a perfectionist" or other disguised strengths | It sounds rehearsed and answers a different question |
| A list of five hobbies | Depth on one thing beats a list |
| Something you can't talk about for two more minutes | They will follow up, and a thin story collapses |
Expect a follow-up
Interviewers usually dig into this answer because it is unrehearsed territory for most candidates. Be ready for:
- "How did you get into that?"
- "What was the hardest part?"
- "Are you still doing it?"
- "How would that help you here?"
Practice it out loud with someone who asks these. Speaking Coach's interviewer can read your CV first, so it knows what is already on the page and will push on the new part of your story.
Questions people ask
Can I talk about a hobby?
Yes, if you do it seriously and can give one specific moment. "I run" is thin. "I trained for my first half marathon by running at 5:30 before work for four months" says something. See how to talk about hobbies.
Should it always connect to the job?
Lightly. One sentence linking it is enough. Forcing a big connection ("and that's why I'm a natural leader") can undo a good story.
What if my life outside work is quite ordinary?
Look at how you do ordinary things: the family budget you run, the friend you helped learn to drive, the club you keep organised. Specific detail makes ordinary things interesting.
Is this the same as "What makes you unique"?
They overlap. "What makes you unique" asks for a combination of strengths. This question asks for a story the CV leaves out. Prepare one of each.
Can I mention a difficult life event?
You can, if you can tell it calmly and briefly, and focus on what you did. If it still feels raw, choose something lighter. You don't owe anyone that story.