Why Should I Hire You? By: Jun Loayza
Under: Interview tagged with: interviewing, nervousI have a big problem with companies or people who give job seekers very general information about interviewing. Yahoo Jobs writes about how the “Why Should I Hire You?” question can make or break your interview chances. This is true, but they don’t really do anything to prepare a nervous job seeker. They give general advice like “use the story approach” or “demonstrate your accomplishments.” If you are a nervous job seeker, does this advice ease your nerves? Most likely… No.
So I’m here to tell you how to really approach this question and score big points with your interviewer:
Overview
This question tests how you handle yourself under pressure, your level of self-confidence, and your ability to be clear, concise, and direct. Be calm and self-assured when you respond. Believe in what you say. Sometimes this question is the tipping point, and the interviewer will make a decision based on what you say. At other times the question is merely a way to test for additional characteristics. Either way, it is among the most important questions you can receive, so develop a strong response.
Key Points
- Talk directly about your strengths and how it will bring value to the company
- Stay cool, calm, and collected
- Differentiate yourself from your competitors
- Confidence is everything minus 1. Smile, be enthusiastic about yourself and passionate about working for the company
- Your answer should be about 2 minutes (You want to keep it short because you want to be clear and memorable about why your interviewer should choose you for the company
Approach
- Offer one concrete quality that can bring value to the firm
- Show how your strength is real and “stronger” than those of your competitors by describing a key example of how you used your strength
- Choose a quality that is unique and shows your personality. A few examples are ones that relate to work ethics, technical skills, or a real passion you have for the firm and its work.
- Tailor your response to the firm and its industry
- Each firm and each industry values different characteristics, so share the ones that are relevant
- End with passion
- Be enthusiastic throughout your answer and end with passion for the company
- If you believe in your response, then the interviewer will believe in your response
Remember, the interviewer is only looking for two things:
- Can this person bring value to the firm?
- Can this person fit within the company culture?
If you can demonstrate these two qualities effectively, then the job is yours.
Popularity: 63% [?]
July 19th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
“Remember, the interviewer is only looking for two things:
1. Can this person bring value to the firm?
2. Can this person fit within the company culture?”
This may be true if you are interviewing for a job at a larger company with dedicated HR people. But even then you will probably be interviewing with your direct report at some point (I would hope) and as someone who has interviewed and hired a lot of people I don’t think people actually think that way. Or at least no one I have met in real life does.
As an interviewer for somebody who is going to work for me my bottom-line question is “Will this person make my life easier or harder?” That means a lot of things: Will this person be able to understand and undertake directions without a lot of hand-holding? Will they solve xyz specific problem that we have that we are hiring this person for? Will they be somebody I can trust to pull things through and solve problems on their own? And on and on. The “bring value” thing is a tad corporate-speak. Almost anyone can “bring value”. I think more like “Will this person make it easier for me to get my projects in on time, or will they become an incredible time-suck in whom I will invest a ton of time and then eventually have to let go only to be back at square one.” Will this person be worth my investment, even more so if I am the owner, but a manager makes an *incredible* investment in time in bring new employees on if they are any good at all.
Remember that many of the people interviewing you don’t interview for a living and they are as worried about making the right choice as you are about getting the right job. Most time, it takes only a couple of questions to get the heart of what the problem is that you are there to solve. Unless you are the millionth interviewee (and even if you are but nobody has asked) that person probably can’t wait to tell you in great detail what sort of help they need. We would love you to tell us exactly how you can solve our exact problem so we can visualize it and see you as the solution. We *want* you to be the answer, we *want* this to be the last interview so we can get back to our jobs, but our quality of life is at risk if we make the wrong choice.
So while I think all the above advice is valid I think if you think of it from the interviewer’s viewpoint a little more it can be easier to get to what they really want out of a candidate.
Also here are a few other random tips which are just my opinion:
1. Eliminate “ums” and “uhs” from your speech. Practice with a tape recorder if you need to, and do it in front of people so you know you won’t fall back into old habits under pressure.
2. Try to match the speaking rate of the interviewer at least to a reasonable degree. Chances are that someone who talks fast will be irritated and have a more negative viewer of someone who speaks slowly, thinking them a dullard, or someone who speaks slowly may consider a fast-talker less thoughtful.
3. If you are ten or more years younger than the interviewer, do not try to use any schmooze or flattery tactics, no matter how charming you think you are.
Just my thoughts.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hello Brent,
Thanks for the response and added advice! So Jun, modified my version a bit, but originally, the two things that I claimed a company looked for was:
1) Can you create unique value to the company
2) Do they like you or not
Which is the less corporate, or less formal, way of saying it. I agree recruiters don’t necessarily think that in their heads, but that’s what it usually comes down to. When you say “can this person make my life easier” it is pretty much can he do the job well (creating unique value) and would you enjoy interacting with him. Even though I agree with your statement, I think it is more difficult for job-seekers to work on “how can I seem to make his life easier,” then “how can I seem more likable and click well with him” and “how can I show my abilities to create unique value.”