4 Great Ways To Answer The Question “Why Should We Hire You?”
Putting yourself out there and looking for a new job is one of the harder things we do as adults, and one of the most stressful parts of it all is knowing you’ll have to do a cold interview.
You can practice all you want, but when you’re staring down a stranger expecting the right answer to a question, everyone freezes now and then.
If someone asks you why they should pick you over the other candidates, here are 4 great options on how to answer.
4. Be prepared.
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Vicki Salemi, a career expert with Monster, says you need to be ready with talking points ahead of time.
“You need to convey you have the skills and experience to ace the role, speak with enthusiasm, and passion and then bring it back to the employer.”
Also, don’t be shy about your passion for the role you’re interviewing for.
“When I worked in corporate recruiting and candidates were nearly identical on paper, decisions boiled down to soft skills and who the hiring team liked better. I heard hiring managers say ‘They had a hunger in their eyes,’ or ‘fire in their belly.'”
3. Stay humble.
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SiriusXM interviewer Ken Coleman says the right combination of enthusiasm, confidence, and humility are key.
“If you are applying for a job in which you can use your top talents to perform the work you love to do and produce results that matter to you, then smile big, and with enthusiasm reply, ‘This is what I want to do and where I want to be. I have the talent to execute this role and the passion to maximize this role for the team and the organization.”
2. Don’t be shy.
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Salemi says, though, that while you do want to be humble, it’s also ok to brag a little.
“You can say something like, ‘You should hire me because I’m an excellent performer and excel in the skill set required for this position. I’ve done XYZ in my current role and have valuable experiences already,’ and then go into why you’re a fit for them. Make it easy for them to connect the dots so by the end of this answer they’re thinking, ‘This sounds pretty convincing!'”
1. Try to imagine what you would want to hear.
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Career coach Elana Konstant says it can be helpful to think of the interview from the employer’s perspective.
“What does your interviewer need to hear to recognize that you are the right candidate? Rather than focusing on what you want to get across, focus on what is affecting the employer – company challenges, upcoming projects, industry changes, and so forth.”
You’ll need to spend some time researching the company ahead of time, but the extra leg work could definitely pay off.
This is such a nice list.
I’m going to do my best to commit it to memory!
