Job Interviews: Why Should I Hire You?

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This is the worst of questions, and the best of questions.

The worst because it's one that many (perhaps most) candidates are unprepared for and often botch. It causes clueless candidates to say the darnedest things (Because I live nearby) or mumble threadbare clichés (Because I'm honest and show up).

The best because it's an invitation to repeat your strengths and other factors that distinguish you as the perfect person for the job.

Moreover, because it's usually the last question, your answer may stick in the interviewer's memory.

Your basic answer relates the work (in the workplace or in school) that you've done to the work you're going to do. It covers your unique combination of specific skills, knowledge (including education and training), and experience. Get ready to own this question with the help of these four steps:

1. Review your research on the company. Review the job description.

   When you lack a job description or research, ask questions: Can you tell me a bit about what problems you need solved? What would you expect the person hired for this position to accomplish in the first six months?

2. Show how the work you've done relates to the work you're going to do. Or, if you're a rookie or a career-changer, show how your skills cross over.

   Explain how your education qualifies you. Make the connection memorable with behavioral storytelling. Refer to your personal commercial or branding brief.

3. Mention shared values, which you glean from the company's mission statement and reputation: I totally agree with and applaud the company's strong stand against setting up debt traps for the nation's working poor.
4. Declare your interest in wanting the job.

Here are three examples of how you might style your answer:

• Your job posting says you're looking for an administrative assistant who can help keep the IT department functioning smoothly. That's what I've done almost all of my career, which means I have 12 years' experience in exactly this function. I am very familiar with software, contract administration, and sleuthing out trouble spots. My former and present employers say I helped them grow their business each year. I feel confident that I can do the same for you.
• You told me earlier in this meeting that your main concern in filling this position is that the customer service trainee manager focuses on improving communications with our customer base. I can do that! During my internships at X and Y Corporations, I observed a number of techniques that you may want to think about implementing here. For example, (name two techniques). The techniques are credited with boosting customer satisfaction and retention by 14 percent.

  In addition to my management studies (name them) that provided the useful knowledge to do this job better than the typical applicant, I showed leadership in restructuring the mechanics of my college's student government office while serving as secretary. Additionally, I was one of five senior students voted most likely to succeed in business. I want this job, and I hope I have given you the reasons why you want me in this job.

• As I understand your needs in this law firm, you're looking for an attorney who can provide specialist topnotch legal research to meet a challenge to one of a client's best-selling drugs. In addition to my five years of general research experience at respected law firms, my work on the Excalibur vs. Marston case last year was described in law journals as central to the client's win.

  I share your enthusiasm for chasing down every last lead to maintain quality advocacy, counsel and integrity in client service. I've got my eye on this position. How do I rank in the candidate pool at this point?

As you work out your own unique response, you may have to think on your feet if the interviewer surprises you with new facts or a call for skills you hadn't anticipated. In the meantime, review the basics to answer Why Should I Hire You?

ShowStoppers

• Prepare at least three key reasons to roll off your tongue that show how you're better than the other candidates.
• Use specific examples to illustrate your reasons.
• Tell something unusual or unique about you that will make the interviewer remember you. You can use a branding brief, described in the sidebar, "New tool: The branding brief," for this purpose.

Clunkers and Bloopers

• Dance around this question (Because I want the job.), leaving without really addressing it.
• You would be an asset to the company bowling team; you have a winning smile; you are tired of living with your parents; you can lie with a straight face; your house payment is overdue; your brother needs help paying off his gambling debts.
• Say, "Because you're trying to fill a position."