“Why Should We Hire You?” – An Ultimate Answer Guide

Each question in a job interview is an opportunity for the hiring manager to gather information about the potential candidate. While there is a plethora of questions that you may come across depending on the applying position, most interviewers will likely to ask you this  basic question: “Why should we hire you?” To ace this question, you must prepare a perfect summary of the best reasons that will make you stand out.

Purpose of This Question

Even experienced professionals are not well versed in selling their skills and talents. Hence, the interviewer asks this question to give you the opportunity to present yourself in a more creative and unique way as compared to what is stated on your CV. It also allows you to be more open and direct during the presentation. Since this question is set up to be open-ended, you can determine any angle or professional background to share when constructing your answer.

The Perfect Pitch

The best approach to answering “Why should we hire you?” is, of course, to emphasize the aspect which makes you the perfect candidate for the job. First of all, share your strategies on how you prepare for the position. Then elaborate on what qualities that make you the most suitable candidate for the role. Your pitch should last for 2-3 minutes at most, once you have summarized about yourself, wait for the interviewer to respond with a follow-up question.

It’s worth noting that with every point you make, do conclude with a short pause. This is to allow time for the interviewer to give a nod as an indicator for you to proceed with the next point instead of rushing through your entire pitch. Remember to elaborate the information with intricate details or examples (of your actual experience) to give more depth before jumping into the next point.

Be mindful that you may be interrupted by the interviewer at times, this is a sign that you have got his or her interest about yourself. This is a good opportunity for you to dive deeper about that particular quality of yourself while holding onto your interviewer’s curiosity.

Related: What to Do When You Just Had a Bad Job Interview?

Below is the step-by-step guide to nail the question “Why should we hire you?”

1. Prepare the DraftTo prepare for this interview, the first step is to review the job description in order to collect the information. Your education background, essential technical and soft skills, hands-on experience in relevant tasks that match the job requirements are the core details that you need to be addressed. Get a read on the job position and identify the key qualifications that the company is looking for. Compare the qualifications to see which areas that you excel in to ensure that you are the right person for the job. Share your career accomplishments to show your interviewer what you have done to conquer and achieve your success.
2. Structure Your PitchNow, choose up to three or four points that make the most solid foundation for you. Apply those points to develop your personal ‘sales pitch’. You don’t have to write an entire script to memorize, instead, focus on capturing the important keywords that you want to explain.Ensure every pointer you make have to be geared towards the employer’s need to assure the interviewer that you’d make a good fit. For example, you are a well-known journalist and you can offer stories that no other freelancer could offer because you have personal contacts you can reach out to for any potential collaboration.Don’t forget to keep the pitch relevant to your past experience. For instance, if you describe yourself as a person with competent leadership skills, share your story where you lead your team members to successfully completing a project.
3. RehearseOnce you are confident with the points that you want to touch on, it’s time to practice. Memorizing the script will not do any good. In fact, you will end up sounding like a robot. The best approach is to fully familiarize with the structure of the presentation until you know the ins and outs.Also, when you are rehearsing, always project a tone that will give the interviewer a positive impression of you as an enthusiastic and confident individual.  It will help you to demonstrate the right attitude for the job, which makes an added advantage over other candidates, especially against those with the better qualification than yours.

Sample scenario 1: For Fresh Graduates
“I have the education and the mannerism to be productive in this sales executive position. I have over six months of working experience in sales during my internship. I was responsible for maintaining a good relationship with customers and suppliers while being proactive in collecting customers’ feedback and market research on the current trend and keeping the company updated.

During my senior year at Lincoln University College, I have been working part-time as a promoter, where I reached out to new prospects and existing customers to promote new products. I was inept in maintaining a friendly tone to attract new customers. Because I enjoyed my time working in the sales industry, I am truly excited about the prospect of furthering my career in the field with your company.”

Sample scenario 2: For Professional
“First off, I have the experience and skills that you are searching for and I am confident that I can make substantial contributions to the software development team with my expertise in programming.

I am also passionate about the endless possibilities in the IT field, and I desire to develop a product that will improve the quality of the recruitment industry as mentioned on your website.”