No matter how well qualified you are for the job, landing the role is as much about fitting in with the company doing the hiring as it is having the right experience and relevant training. The interview is your only chance you get to present your wondrous talents and attributes, and being prepared for the non-work specific elements is important to your chances of success. This is the point in an interview when you can be thrown a real curve ball. Questions like “give us reasons to hire you,” “why should we employ you,” or “what can you bring to our company," can really catch you off guard if you aren’t prepared. Here are 7 ways to answer the question why should we hire you.
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Discuss Your Skills
This is the perfect opportunity to reiterate your key skills and point out any that you haven’t so far been able to work in to your previous answers. That can make all the difference for getting hired. Make sure you make them relate to the job.
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Know the Company
This question is one of the ways that an employer can use to weed out those who really want the job and to work for the company from those who just need a job. One of the ways to answer the question why we should hire you is to demonstrate you have done your homework. Work in a tidbit of something relating to how you would approach a current issue or how you could contribute to a major project, etc…
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Prove Your Ambitions
Similarly to the last point, make your professional ambitions clear. Discuss the motivation and dedication that you have for the profession and the open position. You are looking to make a career move, not just a change of job.
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Talk Yourself up
Another of the ways to answer the question why should we hire you is to focus on your soft skills. Let them know you are a good motivator, that you are a team player, that you can work unsupervised. All those little things elevate you above candidates of equal experience.
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Be Clever
Be clever when you craft your answers. Use phrases like, "I can add value to your company," "I bring with me experience of X that I feel would enhance," and "I can give your company the advantage of..." That will let the hiring manager know that you care about the position.
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Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.
Relate Your Experience to the Job
One of the clever and uber-focused ways to answer the question why we should hire you is to take specific parts of the job and identify how your experience directly relates to it. Demonstrate some success stories from you past. You can choose examples from the job description where you can show strong skills and past achievement.
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Dazzle in the Summation
Lastly, one of the most important ways to answer the question we should we hire you is to dazzle them with your final summation. A variation on a theme is - “The job is tailored to my abilities, experience and knowledge base and I believe I can maximize my skills to the benefit of the company as well as improve my own professional standing.“ Knock 'em dead any way you can!
Remember: This is not just the chance to repeat your résumé. This is your chance to distinguish yourself form the other candidates who of course will also be looking for their own ways to answer the question why should we hire you. And, watch that body language too. How do you shine in a job interview?
Top Photo Credit: Matthew Gidley
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