How to Answer the Common Job Interview Question: Why Should We Hire You?

If you’ve been to a job interview, then you’ve probably been asked the common question, “Why should we hire you?” This question can come in many forms, such as “Why do you want to work here?” “Why do you want to work for us?” or “Why do you want to work at this company?” It’s all the same question, and you need to give the same answer each time.

But here’s the thing: This question is actually a really good one to be asked in a job interview. This is your moment to shine and make a case for yourself. During formal job interviews that are very structured, you don’t really get a chance to speak freely. You spend your entire time answering very specific formal questions. So, this question is your chance to shine and really be able to say whatever you want to make a case for yourself.

Before we get into how to answer this question, we need to understand something about recruiters. Recruiters are paid to find candidates that meet a list of requirements. That’s their job. They don’t write the requirements; they are given a list of requirements, usually by a hiring manager or a client. Hiring managers are a little bit different. They’re the ones that write the requirements and give them to the recruiter. If you end up getting the job, chances are the hiring manager will be your boss.

So, when you’re asked, “Why should we hire you?” a good answer is to say, “Well, as I understand it, you’re looking for somebody who…” and then you go down the list of job requirements and say how you satisfy each one. This is the answer that many big dollar resume writers and hiring consultants will give you.

But I would like to add an optional extra to end off: show a little bit of personality and a little bit of desire for the position. Maybe you could say something like, “Well, I’ve always wanted to work at an organization like this for this reason. So, that’s why I’m hoping you’ll select me.”

An important note here: If you get called in for a job interview, you’re going to have to be doing some preparation for the interview. One of the things that you need to do is make sure that you print out the job description, which has a list of the requirements. What I would recommend is taking a highlighter and highlighting maybe one word on each of the requirements so you can quickly scan down that list. Then, when you’re in the interview, make sure that you have that paper in front of you, among perhaps other papers. When you get asked this question, when you go down the list of requirements, you have the paper in front of you, so you know that you’re speaking to each one, and you’re not forgetting or omitting any of the requirements.

To sum up, when asked the common job interview question “Why should we hire you?” your response should include how you meet each requirement of the job description. Additionally, showing a little bit of personality and a desire for the position can help you stand out from other candidates. By being prepared and having the job description in front of you, you can be confident that you are addressing each requirement during the interview.