Handle this question with ease: “Why should we hire you?”

One of the main things to remember when giving a why should we hire you answer is showing why you are the best candidate for the job without appearing cocky or arrogant. You need to be able to explain why the employer should select you over other candidates without going over the top or bragging too much about your abilities. If you can demonstrate that you are clearly the best option without actually saying it in that way, you are almost guaranteed to land the job you want.

Respond to “why should we hire you?” with confidence

Although you don’t want to appear over-confident when you respond to this question, be careful of acting coy and struggling to give them what they are looking for. The objective of this question is to really understand why you think you are the best fit for the job on offer, as the interviewer can then get a good idea about who you are and what you think the job is going to entail. Confidently explain the relevant skills and experience you have by relating it to things you have done in the past – these can be based on work experience or events that have taken place in your personal life.

Match your answer to the role

The interview process is ultimately a comparison between your skills and those required to successfully take on a vacant role. Make sure that your response goes in a direction that makes sense, as it is all too easy to get side-tracked and start talking about characteristics or qualifications that are not relevant to the role. Make sure the job interview questions that follow on from this part pick up on positive statements you have made about you as a candidate, as this will only serve to convince the panel that you really are the best option. The best answer will be one that refers to the duties you would have and demonstrate how successfully you could complete them using your skills and knowledge gained from past experience.

Make them choose you over other candidates

There is no point simply stating that you are good at all of the things that would create a good employee, as this will be what most of the other people being interviewed are doing. In order to stand out at a job interview, you need to show that you are unique and that you possess skills or characteristics that are hard to find. For example, if you have extensive experience in a particular aspect of the role, make sure you go into detail about how you gained that and how you continue to develop it in your professional or personal life. The best answer will be one that sticks in the interviewer’s mind and makes them remember you for all the right reasons.

The best sample answers

Use these sample answers as inspiration for your response:

• My experience in the industry in a number of countries has given me a depth of knowledge that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve by staying in one place.
• The services that your company provides are extremely similar to the ones in my previous role, so I am confident that I could hit the ground running with limited support from my superiors.
• The job listing mentioned that managerial experience is required and I have over five years’ experience leading both big and small teams. I know what type of manager employees respond to and how to handle different personality types in the workplace.