Why should I hire you?
Why should I hire you is a question that can be asked at any point during the interview. The question is very broad, so the danger is you start talking about something that the interviewer is not really interested in.
I have sat in many interviews and asked “Why should I hire you?” and the candidate starts talking about skills and experiences that have little or nothing to do with the job that I am interviewing them for. This is a wasted opportunity to sell yourself and you get a black mark in the process
The interviewer is looking to find out:
The interviewer is looking for you to answer two key things:
- Do you understand my problem (s)
- What skills and experience do you have that will help me solve them
If you don’t know that much about the job, then list your key strengths while highlighting what this means for the business.
Hopefully, you have done your research and spent time thinking about the job description, so you have an idea of the potential problems the hiring manager has. Interviewers quite often give an outline of their key problems before asking this question. Make sure you are listening and mentally taking note of the key points.
In the answer, list your key strengths and achievements that are relevant to the role being applied for and the problems the hiring manager has. By doing this you are matching the solution (hiring you) to the problem the potential employer has. This is a key part of selling yourself.
This interview question can also be used to test your confidence if it is phrased aggressively or as a challenge to you.
This is an open question, so you need to balance demonstrating your skills and keeping the answer concise.
A good summary is better than a long story.
This leaves plenty of opportunity for the interviewer to ask follow-up questions if they want to
Why should I hire you? – example answers
Junior Manager
From the job description and your explanations, I understand your current customer service team is struggling, with high staff turnover and you are looking to hire a new manager to get the team back on track. (you could pause to wait for a yes or a nod from the interviewer)
I have spent the last 6 years in customer service in two companies. I have manged teams for 4 of those years I joined my current company when it also had problems with the customer service team, and I was asked to improve the performance. It was one of the key reasons I joined.
It took me 6 months to get the team back on track, through training, changing a problematic staff member and improving a number of the processes. I worked hard at making sure the team were happy and supported. I think happy staff make happy customers. The customer NPS score relating to customers services doubled in that time and I got a great appraisal grade.
Senior Manager
From the job description and your explanations, I understand that you are looking for a Head of Supply Chain that can help you expand your European operations and you want to reduce the product cost by at least 5% without impacting quality and lead times.
I expanded the European operations in three of my previous roles. These included sourcing and negotiating with manufacturers in Eastern Europe to supply products. I found and set up partnerships with 3rd party warehouses based in Germany, Spain, and France for distribution in those countries. So, I have specific experience in the countries which you are looking to enter over the next 3 years. I have set up supply chains other countries as well.
I work hard to train my team and pass on my knowledge. This makes a massive difference to the overall team output. For instance, in my current role, we managed to reduce the product cost on average by 8% over the course of 18 months. We improved the quality overall and reduced lead times in the process. We achieved this through careful negotiation, consolidation of supply and supplier changes.
These savings went straight through to profit, which allowed us to invest more in the business and growth increased by 15% as a result. This increase is showing in the public accounts if you would like to check. The board, as you can imagine, have been delighted with the changes.
I would love the opportunity to deliver similar or better results for you.
Practice answering the interview question
It remains important to practice your answer to “Why should I hire you?” out loud, just like an actor would learning their lines. It may be better to learn the key points to include rather than learning word for word, so it come across as more natural.
Make sure that you use your words and story. By all means copy the structure of our answer.
Practice makes perfect as they say.
Good luck
