To nail your job interview, you need to know how to answer the toughest interview questions. “Why should we hire you?” is one of them. It might seem easy and silly on the surface, but this question carries more power than someone can give it credit for.
Hiring managers ask this question on purpose, and your answer can make or break your chances to get a job.
What the Potential Employer Wants to Know?
Basically, companies hire employees to solve different problems – from organizing business processes and improving profitability, to pushing sales and promoting brands. Every interview is actually an assessment session, where a potential employer reviews dozens of applicants to determine the one, who has the strongest knowledge, experience and grit to solve these problems.
By asking “Why should we hire you?”, a hiring manager wants you to prove that you are much more skilled and competent than other highly-qualified candidates. In fact, an interviewer gives you a chance to sell yourself as the best fit for the position.
How to Answer, “Why Should We Hire You?”
To make sure a hiring company chooses you over other candidates, here are three steps to follow to get the most out of the “Why should we hire you” inquiry:
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Understand their needs
As a great product caters to the needs of a consumer, a great candidate caters to the needs of a potential employer.
To understand what the organization is looking for in an ideal employee, study the job posting first. Keep in mind that the top bullet point of a job description is definitely most important one and reflects the pain points the employer wants to relieve with a prospective team member.
Pay special attention to the knowledge and experience required. What level of education is needed? Which skills are critical for the job?
Also, spend some time on studying the company’s mission and goals, as well as search for the latest news about your potential employer in the media. It will help you to better understand the business and where the company is heading to.
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Match your experience to their requirements
So, now you know what the employer is looking for in an ideal candidate. Next step is aligning your experience and background to the job requirements.
When the hiring managers ask you “Why should we hire you”, just get straight to the point with your answer and talk about the parts of your experience that are most relevant to the vacancy.
Mention the top requirement listed in the job posting and tell an interviewer how your competence and experience meet this requirement. Support your answer with examples of your previous accomplishments in the form of numerical results.
For example, if a company is looking for an e-commerce manager to boost its online sales, you might tell the following:
“In your job posting, you have explained that you are looking for an e-commerce manager who is able to grow a brand sales. At my previous position, I have developed and launched an effective mix of online sales promotions that increased the brand’s revenue by 73%. I was twice awarded performer-of-the-year for my innovative approach for increasing revenue and profitability. If hired, I will apply my skills and strategies to boost sales and profit gains in this position”.
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Ask THEM a question
Now it’s time to turn your interviewers’ power against them. In a good sense. Use what you know about the company, share your observation and throw a question back.
For example, you may say that from what you’ve read in the news two months ago, the organization had lost a contract with one of the biggest online marketplaces in the U.S. This loss definitely had a huge negative impact on the company’s bottom line. Ask them what actions they’ve been undertaking to make up the gap in revenue and regain previous sales volumes.
This approach will make a potential employer take you seriously. First of all, you know much more about the company than stated on the corporate website. Second, you look at the big picture of business and understand the consequences of every change. And third, if you ask them what they are doing to solve this problem, you might have some thoughts about this too. So, make sure you are ready to answer your own question if they ask in return: “If hired, what would YOU do in this situation?”
Conclusion
Hiring managers are not so sweet and welcome as flowers in May. They throw those tricky questions at you, making you feel lost and confused at some point. On the other hand, every question you get attacked with, is a chance for both parties. For a potential employer it’s the only way to find out if you can solve their problems. For you, it’s a great opportunity to prove that nobody can solve these problems better than you can.