One of the most frequent questions you might get in every job interview is ‘Why should we hire you’. I can’t remember a single time I wasn’t being asked this, even it’s a part time job, full time job or internship job. It’s your time to show them your ability, confidence and how well you fit that position. This is an important question which affects so much in the final result and is always being asked nearly at the end of the interview.
Even if you aren’t being asked ‘Why should we hire you’, they would definitely give you some other alternative versions of this question which can be answered the same, such as:
– Why do you want this job?
– What can you do for our company?
– What you think sets you apart from other candidates?
– Why do you think you are a good fit for this position?
– Why you are an ideal candidate for this position?
Tips you must know when being asked this question
RIGHT
The recruiters want someone who fit the position the best. They either want applicants who is lower or too much higher than expected. Therefore your mission is showing that you know what the job requires and you can do it well. Tell truthfully about your ability and past achievements.
WRONG
No one needs Taylor Swift singing at a small wedding (who is able to pay for it?). So casting yourself as a god who is too excellent is wrong. Confidence is good, but be careful, don’t make yourself come off as arrogant.
RIGHT
Your answer should include just the most impressive highlights, which means 3 or 4 top reasons is enough. When mentioning each reason, describe shortly about it.
Your top bullet points should be:
– Your experience in the industry
– Your professional skills
– Your soft skills
– Your best accomplishments or awards
– Your education or degree
WRONG
Make an endless list of dozen things you are good at, list strengths without context or telling them about some strengths which is nothing irrelevant to the job.
RIGHT
We must take time to research about both what the job requires and the company. The question ‘Why should we hire you’ is not only to show how you fit. The interviewers also want to find out if you really want the job, if you have known what the position entails and what the company values are. Through this, they can tell how much your seriousness is and make sure you’re not someone who come for the job just because of the money.
Start your research by reading carefully the job description to know which qualities they are looking for. Then read the company’s website and search for their information (products, company value, company culture, etc) as much as possible.
WRONG
Some people think that their experience in past job interviews are enough for them to get through this question easily. If you think that every company in the industry is almost the same and just repeat what you have said before, you will be regret.
Some other helpful tips:
– This answer should be longer than other kind of answers. But don’t make it too long (the recruiters don’t want to hear a presentation). Your answers should last for one or two minutes.
– Uniqueness makes great impression
There might be 10 candidates who also said before that they have the same strengths as you. Making yourself stand out among others is a must, especially when interviewing for a competitive position. Think well about some special extra value you have.
Sample questions & answers
You might think there are just some usual forms to answer this, but things are not really as easy as you imagine. Each case, each job and and each recruiter might require differently. However, you can check out these sample responses. Remember to tailor your own answer to fit your particular position, abilities and experiences.
Why should we hire you?
Traditional way:
“I’m confident that I have all of the qualities and experience that your company is looking for in this role. You can find in the CV my background of leading successful projects for big companies such as Unilever, Honda, etc. My long time experience in the industry have helped me develop good relationships with many developers, vendors, and senior managers. I’m driven to deliver high-quality work in this position, which fits me perfectly.”
Unique Way: Tell anecdotes to impress them with your qualifications
When being interviewed, anyone can say that “I am good at teamwork,” but not everyone can prove it in details. One of the coolest way to illustrate your strengths is telling a story about how you used them to negotiate a deal, get positive outcomes or get a great achievement. This kind of answer also wisely shows your experience.
Sample Answer:
From what I have read in the Job Description, your company is finding an administrative assistant who is good at both interpersonal and communication skills. I strongly believe my ability and experience aligns well with this requirement. I’ve been trained for a long time and already skilled at communicating with diverse people through almost every platforms: phone, email, and in person. When I worked as an administrative assistant for an university last year, our department organised an international conference. I was the point person for all conference participants and attendees in five months. I answered at least 30 questions each day via phone, email, and in person. After the conference’s success, I received a commendation from the principal for my friendly demeanor in all communication related to the conference.
Why do you want this job?
We should mention this even if the interviewers don’t ask. This question is not necessarily be answered the same with the question ‘Why should we hire you’ but one of good ways is to do so, which means telling them that you fit their expectations.
Sample Answer:
You’re searching for an experienced coder who can manage big software projects, and that’s exactly what I have been doing for a living in the last 7 years. In the past, I managed a project which has $1 million budget and lead a teams of 15 people including developers, engineers, and even creatives. We successfully brought 6 software products to the market in just 2 months. I think I am the one you are finding. By the way, I love your company culture and really believe that this job will make me be excited about coming to work everyday.
What challenges are you looking for in a position?
There are many ways to answer this: express your motivation, show your eagerness to learn new things, or just demonstrate your skills.
Sample Answer:
- In my previous jobs, I had been managing and editing company’s web pages and other social accounts. The customer’s information we got from these platforms is always high. I look forward to continue using my web editing and publishing skills to bring the best result to your company if I’m hired.
- I know that this customer care position requires friendly manner. I am motivated to make sure that your customers have every problems resolved. I have 6 years experience and had taken care of more than 100 customers in my previous company. Last year, I received 98% positive customer ratings.
What can you contribute to this company?
We recommend you giving examples of what you have accomplished in the past to make the interviewers believe that you can achieve more in the future if working in their company.
Sample Answer:
- I am sure that I can contribute my skilled coding ability to bring your company website into a new level. Just about last year, I developed a new friendly method for customer to choose products online which led to an 25% increase in total sales. I would love to bring these amazing result to your company too.
- At my last company, I lead the human resources department in 3 years and had always made sure everything related to human resources in the company worked well. If I have the chance to work for your company, I am willing to give most of my knowledge from 5 years experience to other people and exchange views of how we can improve working environment here.
Useful words & phrases
List of things frequently required in jobs:
- Experience: length of time you have worked in related industry
- Soft skills: communication, teamwork, leadership, presentation, creativity, etc (depends on specific job)
- Educational credentials: bachelor degree, master degree, foreign language certificate, etc
- Personalities: honest, easy-going, trustworthy, committed, methodical, focused, etc
For example, here are some sentences to describe your experience:
- I have (length of time) experience as a (job/position)
- I have worked in (industry/company) for (length of time)
- For the (length of time), I have been working as a (job/position)
Kinds of achievement you could tell interviewers:
- Certificate or award you have received
- Great results you have brought to your old company
- Great reviews from your old bosses/colleagues/customers/partners/etc
Video example
The best way to practice for a perfect interview is searching for as much samples as possible. But as we all know, interviewing is not about what you speak but also how you speak. Sometimes reading is not enough. Watching example videos is a very cool and effective way to know what you should do when facing your future in a nervous interview room.
But where do we find them? eJOY is here to help you! Dozens of videos related to what’s you are looking for are all on eJOY for you to explore. Searching is super easy! For example, if you are looking a way to answer the question ‘Why should we hire you’, you don’t need to find interview videos in general then hope it will appear somewhere. All you need to do is type ‘Why should we hire you’ directly on the searching tool, then every video which includes this sentence will appear.
And here are some examples for you to practice right away:
We hope that this blog post will help you find a perfect response to the important question ‘Why should we hire you’. If you want to find out more about how to answer other job interview questions, check out these:
How to answer interview salary questions
How to answer “Why are you leaving your current job”
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