Why should we hire you?
Are you a sales guy? If not, trust me, answering “why should we hire you” is not easy. We have some great Interview tips and sample answers for this tricky question. Also do not forget to check out our other interview questions and sample answers. Learn From The Experts!
Can you sell yourself? If the answer is yes! you are blessed. I bet a lot of job seekers don’t know how to answer this question. Talking about yourself in a professional way without sounding like a self-obsessed individual can be tricky.
Job interviews can be tricky, not just for job seekers but also for the interviewers. If your interviewer is not sure about you or needs some extra help, he might ask you “why should we hire you?”. Remember he is trying to compare you with another candidate. And if you fail to convince him, you’re done
Purpose of this question
I have interviewed over five thousand plus candidates throughout my career as a recruitment professional. I often ask this question to my candidates. Not only when I’m confused about them but also when I want to give them one last chance to impress me.
Why should I hire you? This is my last attempt to make my mind about the candidate. I want to know how prepared the candidate is. If he/she did his homework.
I often tell my job seekers to prepare well for the job interview. You need to learn as much as you can about the job role you are applying for, about the company background and the founders. I’ll tell you why it’s so important. Interviewers aren’t interested in knowing what or who you are, the purpose of the whole interview process is to find that one person who can handle that job efficiently and without much training and supervision.
This question “why should we hire you” is a great opportunity to tell your interviewer why you are a better choice than the competition.
This question is often asked at the end of the interview. By now, the interviewer knows pretty much everything he needs to know about you. You believe you are doing pretty good so far. You are expecting an offer by the end of the interview. You thought, By now, he has already decided whether to hire you or not. But if you still hear this question coming from your interviewer, you are in trouble.
“Why should we hire you” is an indicator that so far you have not been able to convince the interviewer that you deserve to be hired for that position. And the interviewer is willing to give you one more chance.
If you do not come up with something very convincing, this interview question “why should we hire you” can ruin your chances forever. I also consider this question an alternative to “tell me something about yourself”. The sole purpose of both the questions is to identify the key differentiator from other candidates.
Other ways this question can be asked
- Why should I hire you?
- Why do you think you are better than the other candidates?
- Why do you deserve this position?
- What qualities do you have that we will not find with other candidates?
- What can you do for us?
- What makes you the most suitable candidate for this position? etc.
When I ask this question, I want to know how good the candidate is at presenting himself. I have seen candidates blowing this opportunity by saying the same thing that others have already said. If I find the job seeker unprepared, or low on confidence, or lying, I’m done with him/her. Most of them are unprepared, they do not understand the importance of preparing for a job interview.
How To Answer “Why Should We Hire You?
The secret of cracking a job interview is “preparation”. Read the job requirement 3-4 times, note down the key requirements, and match them with your skills, experience, and expertise. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. If you score well, If you do not score above 8, do not apply. Work on that skill, first. A well-prepared job seeker understands the job requirement, knows what he needs to bring to the table to secure that job offer.
Ask yourself a few questions before you go for the job interview, what are the skills I’m really good at, what are my achievements, and why should I be considered for this position.
By asking the question, the interviewer has allowed you one more opportunity to sell yourself. The secret of answering this question well is to know what to talk about. There are multiple questions behind this one question “why should we hire you?” you need to talk about the following things in order to answer this question well.
- You need to tell him how you are going to do your job and deliver exceptional results
- You need to convince him why you are better at managing people or working in a team
- You need to talk about your skills and experience that can exceptionally reduce the cost or increase the revenue of the organization
- The interviewer is waiting for you to explain to him how you are going to make his life easier.
I’m sure, by now you have realized how critical it is to apply the overall strategy of uncovering the interviewer’s requirement before you answer questions. If you know the employer’s greatest needs and desires, this question will help you cement a top place over other candidates because you will be prepared with better reasons for hiring you than anyone else is likely to, reasons tied directly to his needs.
Why should we hire you is the most important question of your interview because your interviewer is trying to answer the same question in his mind before making a final decision about your candidature. So help him out! Walk through each of the job requirements as you understand them, and follow each with a reason why you meet that requirement so well.
This is your moment, seize it. Your answer should focus on the key requirements and your matching skills, education, experience, and achievements. Focus your answer on the below-mentioned points to make the most of this opportunity.
- Relevant industry experience
- Your past notable achievements and awards
- Soft skills and technical skills required for the position, and how good you are at them
- Align the company’s vision with your future plans
I always advise job seekers to talk about numbers. Interviewers love them. If you can tell me how you reduced the TAT in your last organization or increased the MOM, YOY revenue, I’d love to have you on my team. It doesn’t matter if you are a fresher with no work experience looking for an internship or carry decades of work experience, you always have something interesting to talk about.
Do’s and Don’ts before you answer “why should we hire you”
do not make the same mistakes as others, here is a list of do’s and don’ts before you answer “why should we hire you”
- Prepare for this question: it is very likely that you will be asked this question, you must keep a few pointers ready to talk about.
- Don’t respond with generic answers. I personally don’t like candidates who waste this opportunity by telling me how smart they are or how qualified they are or how they are going to work hard and blah blah…trust me they all talk about the same thing. Interviewers are not interested in it.
- Sound confident, but DO NOT sound overconfident or show-off. it’s time to brag about your skills, achievements, and qualifications in the most humble way possible.
- Do not memorize: Some people feel preparing for a job interview means memorizing the answer scripts of the job interview questions. DO NOT DO THIS! Practice it with a friend or someone in your family.
- Do not oversell: the interviewer is expecting a brief answer backed with references and numbers. Talk too much or try to oversell yourself. And you are doomed. Eventually, the interviewer will lose interest and you’ll lose the opportunity.
Answering this question is like preparing a sales pitch. Prepare an answer, put yourself in the interviewer’s shoe, and ask yourself, would you buy it? Share it with a more experienced friend or a family member, ask them for opinions and you might come up with a perfect answer.
For more behavioral interview questions and answers, job interview tips and advice, check out our blog section.
Sample Answer “Why should we hire you?
why should we hire you best answer 1: For Experienced professional
“As I understand your requirement, you are looking for someone who can manage your sales and marketing division. As the requirement says you need someone with a strong background in sales and marketing activities with (relevant industry experience).
This is where I’ve spent almost all of my career, I’ve up to 15 years of experience in this area with x company.
I believe that I have the right contacts, methods, principles, and successful management techniques, as well as any person, can in our industry.”
“You also need someone who can expand your (Division). I have successfully helped my last organization achieve triple the number of YOY sales. I’m confident I can do the same for you.”
“You also need someone to boost your online sales business, someone who knows how to sell in e-commerce space and digital marketing. Here, too, I believe I have exactly the experience you need. In the last five years, I’ve increased online sales from $600,000 to $2,800,000, and now we’re the country’s second-leading marketer of (Products) in the E-commerce space.”
Sample Answer 2: Why should we hire you for the customer service position
That’s a great question! I believe you are looking for a customer service associate that can handle the customers with empathy, is quick, and able to cross-sell other products too. Correct?
(If the answer is yes?)
In that case, I’d like to tell you how I retained a customer for my last employer, who had decided to discontinue our services. How I ensured that his complaints were resolved and I also turned him into a premium customer by recommending him a support service that made his life easy with us. And thus I ensured he walked away with renewed confidence in our company and our services.
Sample Answer 3: Why should we hire you for Digital Marketing
Thank you for asking this question. I’m sure you would want to hire a person who you can trust for this position. Based on what I have learned from the job description, I believe the company is looking out for an expert digital marketer who can increase the website traffic and bring more leads to the sales team.
At my previous company, I successfully increased their organic website traffic by 2400% and leads by 250% by implementing targeted content marketing, and social media optimization techniques.
I’m excited to use my digital marketing skills, SEO, and SMO expertise here at your company.
Before I end this I must warn you not to present fake numbers or achievements. You must not lie. find your strength, figure out a strategy, and present a positive story. IT is your best opportunity to outsell your competition.
Do you have a better answer for “Why should we hire you? let us know in the comment section!
