In the interview, applicants are sometimes asked miraculous questions. For example, what animal they would be. Or what secret superpower they would want. One can argue about the meaningfulness of such questions. One of the typical questions in job interviews is this classic: “Why should we hire you?” And, of course, what is meant is: “Why you – compared to the many other qualified candidates?”
The question sounds nasty, but it’s not at all. There is a lot of subtext in the question – and question applicants should ask themselves anyway.
Why are HR managers asking the question?
The question in the interview signals: Formally, all invited applicants meet the essential requirements and necessary qualifications for the vacancy. Now it’s about differentiating the applicants. That is precisely what is behind the applicant’s question.
As soon as HR managers ask such open questions, they want to gain as much information as possible about the applicant. There are usually many more questions in the subtext of such questions. Alternative formulations can be:
- Why are you the best candidate for this job?
- What makes you so sure to fit the job?
- Why do you fit perfectly into our culture?
- What makes you different from other applicants?
- Why are your qualifications ideal?
- How will we benefit from your cooperation?
- What added value can you offer us?
- What can you achieve that others cannot?
The HR manager may also ask one of these questions instead of the classic above. Sometimes the exact opposite is even used:
“Why shouldn’t we hire you?”
Ultimately, all variations are always about this core: How do you differ from the rest of the candidates and applicants? What makes you special. It would help if you had a good answer to that. This is also an enormous opportunity. Your answer is not just about cunning, eloquence, and personality. Based on the details and depth of element of the answer, HR managers can usually get a good picture of your motivation and future working methods.
How do I find the perfect answer?
Quite simply: first by brainstorming. Ask yourself – always from the company’s point of view:
- What are my main strengths for this job?
- What unique experiences can I show?
- Which unique selling points can I mainly shine with?
- What added value can I create with it?
- What impressive successes speak for me?
In the second step, you should structure these points, concentrate on a maximum of four arguments and support them with practical examples. Convince yourself how you.
- Contribute valuable impulses to the company.
- Master any challenges and therefore deliver above-average results.
- Integrate into existing teams and processes.
- Work reliably and carefully.
The trick is not to answer in general but as precisely as possible and simultaneously get to the point. Don’t talk for a long time – get straight to the point. In total, the answer should not take more than five minutes.
Please avoid these mistakes.
“Why should we hire you?” Well, it’s very simple.
- “Because I’m the best for the job.”
- “Because you’ve already convinced my documents.”
- “Because I’m better than the others!”
In general:
- “Why do you still have doubts about it?”
Applicants should avoid such flippant sayings in the interview. First, cheeky, second, hollow. There is no substantial argument in this. Convincing is different. Quite a few applicants make another mistake at this point: They repeat their resume, tell about their training and garnish the whole thing with a few adjectives and soft skills of the type: “I am a team player, resilient, loyal.” Wrong.
This is a “first-person perspective”. It doesn’t convince anyone. Good salespeople know that someone who takes their counterpart’s perspective and explains what benefits they can bring and what problems they can solve uniquely is captivating.
Even if you put it colloquially: Don’t sell “yourself” in the interview, but sell the employer a solution, a benefit, extra features that your attitude brings with you. In short: keep an eye on the employer’s wishes and focus your response on them.
Your qualifications and skills are only the basics that make this offer possible and credible.
The third mistake is to use only one setting argument. Example: “You should hire me because I am good at organizing myself.” No matter how convincing the argument may be. If your competitors have more to offer, you are out.
So it is better to present a mix of strengths, unique selling points, experiences, and previous successes.
So don’t just reel down some strengths catalog, but look for conclusive and somewhat impressive successes that underline why you bring the key factors for this job and this position with you and how you will use them. Evidence can be yours:
- Industry experience
- Contacts in the branch
- Problem-solving skills
- technical skills
- Leadership experience
- Further education
- Awards received
Why should we hire you? Good answers
Do you see the question “Why should we hire you?” Not an attack or an insult to question your fundamental suitability, but rather a chance to stir the drum again, stand out positively from the competition and the crowd, and a few valid ones. Present arguments in your response. It should be at least three.
Here are a few examples of formulations:
Example 1: Confident
In total, there are at least three arguments in favor of hiring me: First, I have qualities like , , and _ that I believe are essential to the challenges of this position.Second, I have relevant experience in the field of _ and _, which currently only a few skilled workers have.Thirdly, that, in turn, enables me to solve your current problem. I worked intensively on your website beforehand, and during my research, I noticed that I could optimize your page code with just a few changes and greatly simplify it. This not only shortens your loading times, but the page will also run smoother overall and will rank better on search engines. An enormous competitive advantage for you - which also saves a lot of money.
Example 2: solution-oriented
For me, my goal orientation and creativity and my practical experience speak as . For example, I already have a few good ideas on modernizing your overall market presence on the Internet and emotionalizing it in your social networks. With this, you will not only achieve greater reach but also increase the interaction of the fans. That, in turn, increases your visibility and ultimately sales. I was able to do something similar for and thus increase sales by _ percent.
Example 3: factual
I have dealt intensively with your job advertisement in advance and meet all of the mandatory requirements specified there. Also, I not only bring my five years of experience in the field of _ with me. I know many of your current challenges from other positions and therefore know how to solve them and how to not. That saves a lot of time and money for all of us. Besides, I can identify with the values and products of this company to a high degree. This will hopefully lead to long-term and promising cooperation for us.
You can see from the examples that the perspective is strongly customer-oriented or company-oriented. With this, you convince more than with adjectives and self-attribution. Practice your answer until it fits smoothly – without sounding like it has been memorized. Regardless of the eloquence: You should remain authentic.
Leave all doubts behind and be confident in yourself. This kind of confidence is much easier when you have a modern resume. Update your resume using our targeted resume template tailored to persuade HR managers with its design and content structure.
