“Why should I hire you?” This question may or may not be asked by the interviewer directly to you. But, it is always the question on his or her mind throughout the time they spend with you, and it is to your benefit as a savvy candidate to be aware of this.
There are two aspects of candidates that the employer evaluates – eligibility and suitability. Eligibility includes education, training, skills and work experience that the candidate offers. Suitability is the combination of personal style, traits and characteristics that someone brings to the job and to the organization.
When the employer identifies their specifications, they usually include both eligibility and suitability requirements. For instance, an ad that you might see on the Internet could look something like this….
“General Manager: Strong business background with a minimum of 8 years experience in a professional services environment. Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred. We are searching for an ambitious, highly motivated self-starter. The successful candidate will be responsible for driving change in a dynamic environment. Must have excellent team building and interpersonal skills.”
It is generally easy for the employer to initially sort through and separate the eligible candidates, based on the information provided in their resumes. People either have degrees or they don’t. They either have the desired number of years of experience or they don’t. This will generally narrow down the candidate pool to determine who will be invited for interview.
Once in the interview, however, the employer is attempting to verify not so much the eligibility issues as the suitability issues, also known as “fit factors”. These are much harder for the interviewer to identify and validate. Sometimes, when a question appears to be addressing an eligibility issue, the interviewer is actually listening for suitability traits for which they are looking, perhaps without even letting you know that that is their agenda.
What kind of suitability traits and skills are employers seeking? Here is a starter list that candidates should be aware of: team player, interpersonal skills, flexibility, ability to handle conflict, adaptability, communications skills, self-confident, willingness to accept responsibility, initiative, positive attitude, analytical, solutions-oriented, customer-focused, etc.
Some of these traits are observable to the interviewer, such as communications skills and positive attitude. The interviewer will frequently attempt to flush out the other critical factors by the questions they ask. Some don’t know how to ask the right questions in the right way to gain this valuable information, but hope that during the course of your conversation you will reveal those traits to them.
Some traits, such “team player” or “customer-focused,” for instance, are very hard for the employer to validate. Why? Because everybody claims to be this way, knowing it’s a hot button for the employer. But let’s face it, not everybody’s personality has these assets. If you truly do have the required suitability skills for the job you are interviewing for, you must weave these into your responses with examples. It is not convincing enough just to say, “Yes, I am very customer focused in my work.”
Some interviewers, toward the close of the meeting will put candidates on the spot by asking them directly, “Why should I hire you?” They may ask this for several reasons. One is that they are hoping that you know yourself – and their needs – well enough to put the two together and be able to articulate it to them. The second reason is to show your ability to respond to the pressure of this question in a self-confident manner.
Additionally, the “Why should I hire you?” question offers the interviewer the opportunity to evaluate your skills of persuasion. These are relevant for all positions, not just sales. In any role, if you have a great idea, or need to have someone respond to something, you will need to have the ability to influence others to listen to, and hopefully take action upon, your idea or request.
It is important to remember that the employer’s challenge is to identify the best candidate for their position. They are looking for the qualities – both eligibility & suitability – that will make them feel confident that you are the right person for their company and for that job.
