"How would you describe yourself in three words?"

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Throughout my professional career, I've always been working for either a Startup or an incubation business within a public company. When I hire someone, or sometimes when I am being interviewed as a candidate, this is one of most frequently asked questions:

"How would you describe yourself in three words?"

It sounds like a simple question but it can reveal a lot about who you really are, and whether you would be a good fit for the job.

Here are my answers:

1. Optimistic

Startups and new business will inevitably face challenges and should always expect the unexpected. 

When I interview someone for a job or mentor someone in my team, I look for the signs to make sure that this person is optimistic about what we are doing in the long run, not just being enthusiastic about the next project or the next salary.

Being optimistic is not a nice-to-have, but a must-have: Products could fail, markets could change, customers could come and go, and funding could dry up. As an entrepreneur, every day is different and some days are much longer than other. Only when you are optimistic will you see that solutions are always more than problems, and there are always more than one solution for every problem. 

2. Tenacious

I started school earlier and then skipped a grade in the high school to attend a top Engineering college at the age of 15 as the Class President of a prestigious Gifted Youth Programme. To this day, I have been perceived by some as a "whiz kid" as if I were born with a super brain. 

I feel flattered. But I don't buy it too much. Rather, I have always considered myself as someone with normal IQ who's always willing to put extra efforts once I set my goal. And I don't quit or give up easily.

Take long distance road cycling - one of my passionate hobbies - as an example. When I first started in 2009, I saw most of my friends climbing up Old La Honda Road easily when I had to stop multiple times just to catch my breath. I put on extra hours to train, borrowed cycling books to read, and talked to anyone who can teach me. 

Soon, I could finish this 5km, 1,290-feet elevation gain classic route in one ride within 30 minutes. Before long, I rode 60, 100, 150 kms, and eventually I finished more than 4 century rides (100 kms for each ride) in a cycling season after over 30,000 kms training rides. 

Needless to say, I treat my work or anything that I pursue with the same tenacity. With that, I get things done.

3. Sense of humour

From my LinkedIn profile, you won’t find it. But for those who know me well and have worked with me, they know a little secret of mine. 

I greatly admire people with great sense of humour. Not just those who know how to crack funny jokes, but those who know how to laugh even at the toughest moment. Quite often, they laugh at themselves and accept humiliation and imperfection of their lives, and just move on. 

It's not easy to do so when you are young and ambitious, but it's even harder when you think you are well accomplished and know-it-all. Many people with advanced degrees (especially MBAs) and big job titles in the past, in particular, are too self-conscious to laugh at themselves for mistakes and fixed mindsets. But this doesn't work well in Startups or new business that nobody is truly an expert and so mistakes and failures are almost guaranteed.

The secretive thing you won't find it on my LinkedIn profile is that I had been practicing improv comedy for years. With a professional instructor whom at one point was rubbing shoulders with Robin Williams on the same stage. Every Wednesday night, I would meet with her and some 10 to 15 fellow students - age ranging from 22 to 80 - for two hours to learn and practice improv comedy routines. We played, jumped, rolled on the floor, shouted, performed, challenged and supported each other. 

Most importantly, we constantly laughed at ourselves. And we said "Yes, and..." a gazillion times, no matter how bizarre that the situation we are at.

Because this is improv comedy; and our human life is, by and large, an improvised comedy.

By Niandong Wang, Business Development Executive, FinTech, SaaS.

Edited by ‘Dele Dele-Olukoju, Marketing Communication strategist and publisher of the online Marketing Communication Digest. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria. @deleolukoju +234 807 481 2389.