How to Answer the “Why Should We Hire You?” Interview Question

Congratulations, you’ve written a great resume, gone through the grueling process of applying, and finally made it into the interview stage! As you prepare for the behavioral interview questions, you think through how to answer “Why should we hire you?”. This is a favorite question among interviewers as organizations look to understand what makes you more capable and valuable compared to others in the running.

Answering “Why should we hire you?” in Job Interviews

It’s helpful for interviewers looking to narrow down their selections for a successful hire, and can be favorable to you, if answered wisely. According to Business Insider, one out of the 27 surprising things that affect where you get hired after a job interview is how you stacked against your competition and whether they interviewed on the same day. While it may be easy to compare oneself to others, there are key angles that can support your answer while leaving the focus of others out of the discussion – and keeping the spotlight on you.

This article will outline the best ways to effectively answer the question by providing examples for why you are the right candidate and helping you highlight your value to the company.

Provide Interviewer Examples for Why You are the Right Candidate

Find Examples from Past Job Experiences

Come up with examples of your work or projects relating back to the role or job you’re interviewing for, and how it would benefit the team you’re hoping to join. Providing concrete examples of a time you performed one or several responsibilities listed in the job description in either your current job, previous jobs or external experiences, can help you gain credibility and “candidate fit”. The interviewer will likely understand how to utilize you, and visualize you already working for the company, rather than trying to place you in the role.

Bonus: Resolve a Problem for the Job You’re Interviewing For

It’s always a good idea, as a bonus, to think through a problem that the company is facing, and how your previous work can support them to find a solution and your role in resolving the issue. This kind of preparedness shows your eagerness and excitement to join the team and helps you stand out in a professional manner. They say perception is reality and having a positive attitude towards resolving problems by seeing them as opportunities tells the interviewer you are a great contender.

Focus on How You Bring Value to the Company

Asking yourself “what value do I bring to the company” allows you to go into the interview thinking about what makes you unique without having to make it about the competition. Value can be defined in various forms. You can think of value as: qualities and strengths, unique experiences, achievements, gaps within the team, different skills, contacts, and more.

Familiarize Yourself with the Team

It is good practice to get familiarized with the job’s team members. Search the team members on LinkedIn and think about what you would be bring to the table that can be complimentary or unique. For instance, if there is a gap for a creative mind in an analytical position, highlight how you can be tactical about your job but can think through problems in a creative way alongside an example.

Bring up Your Achievements

If you have memorable achievements in your resume, this is the time to highlight them in a humble way! Bringing up a time you were recognized for something can provide value to the company. Do you have a different skill, such as, know a language that could help the company expand to new markets? Do you have contacts in the industry that will be of value to the company? Thinking about different forms of value and highlighting them during the interview is a great way to view your answer to this question as opportunistic.

Know Your Worth

As described in our How to Negotiate your Salary article, knowing your worth, whether in salary discussions or when convincing your interviewer you are the right hire for the job, is crucial. For instance, there are in-demand technical skills you may possess that make you a far more valuable hire than others. According to CNBC, one of the 25 most in-demand technical skills of 2019 includes UX design. If you are interviewing for a role, for example, that would benefit from UX design, you happen to be a UX design expert, and there is a shortage in the market, your worth has just gone up! Leveraging this knowledge will allow you be better prepared in answering this question and focused on highlighting the skill sets and strengths that increase your value.

Final Considerations

Personalize your answer to ensure the real ‘you’ shines through. Ending your answer with your hopes of joining the team and company puts the interviewer(s) at ease. It is usually what the company will remember. Be opportunistic, humble and express how you could be helpful to your hopeful new employer.

Maria Gold is a Content Manager/Writer for Empire Resume. She is dedicated to helping educate and motivate people with the latest career articles and job search advice. Her interests range from writing to programming and design. She is also passionate about innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.