Why Should I Hire You? A Hiring Manager's Confession

Don’t you just hate that question? Man, now I have to actually brag about myself… What am I going to do?

I know there are lots of you out there who really have a hard time bragging about yourself, but if ever there was a time to it’s now. As a hiring manager I have conducted probably hundreds of interviews and I have only ever seen one; maybe two people answer this question right. Let me clue you in on a little secret, I’m going to tell you what I do when I am being interviewed. It’s so simple you’re going to say why didn’t I think of it sooner.

I take a notepad inside a professional portfolio with me to any interview. Does not matter what the position if for or what type interview it is. I have my notebook handy but what I’ve already done is jot down my three biggest strengths and my three biggest accomplishments. I number them and put them at the top of the page.

I do this so when I look down I can refer to these things because inevitably I’m going to forget something during the interview. Ok so I have my list of three strenghts and three accomplishments and when they say “Why should we hire you?” You have your reasons right there!Anything you haven’t already discussed is fair game. You can say well I was a top-performer in my last position consistently exceeding sales goal targets every quarter. Or you can say I’m very detail-oriented, I have over 20 years expertise in accounts payable. Your answer should really depend on the position.

You have to become adept at discovering exactly what it is their looking for in a candidate and then show them why you have that particular qualification. For example, in human resources management it was key that I had experience reducing turnover and increasing employee retention. So when they asked me why they should hire me I said because in my last position I reduced their turnover from 50% to 12% in the first quarter saving them over $50,000 in new employee on-boarding and recruiting costs. And then I listed two other reasons.

Always give them three reasons. It makes you more well-rounded. Less than three may come off that you don’t have enough experience. More than three like you’re too wordy.

Having the notepad with your strengths and accomplishments jotted down will also help you answer some other tough questions like:

Name your biggest accomplishment during your career.
What are you most proud of during your career?
Name three strengths you have?
Tell me about a weakness and how you overcame it.

You can reference your list to assist you in answering these other tough questions.

You should also have some basic info about the company written on your notepad to review before the interview and reference during it.

BEWARE – DO NOT STARE AT YOUR NOTEPAD WHEN THEY ASK YOU A QUESTION!!

Yes, they will notice. But as they are talking you should be jotting down notes. It makes you appear attentive and interested in the position. Plus you can review your notes while you’re jotting down what they’re talking about – easy reference without getting busted.

I believe this one tip will help you take your interview skills to the next level and hopefully help you prepare better so next time you win the interview and the offer.

Best wishes in your job search.