by Christopher D. Lee, Ph.D., SPHR
“Ask the Expert” is your chance to get advice and insight from experts on specific questions you have about searching for a job, interviewing, dealing with problems in the workplace, and advancing your career. Featured experts range from HR professionals who specialize in conflict management and bullying to job search experts who can share insight on how to secure interviews and impress search committees.
Question: How do I respond wisely when the hiring committee asks me, “Why should I hire you”?
Answer from Christopher D. Lee, Ph.D., SPHR: There is an adage that says the answer is always in the question. This question gives the candidate a golden opportunity to make a compelling argument, toot their own horn, or provide some distinguishing qualities that will separate him or her from other applicants. The hiring committee may have two or more promising candidates and cannot easily decide who to hire. It may also be asking the candidate to represent themselves in the best possible light. Or, it may not have all the information it thinks it needs to make a good decision. In any case, the question tells the respondent that the committee wants or needs to be further convinced. The answer is then a prompt to provide additional information. This information should be both factual and persuasive.
Factual data is one’s bona fides: the things that have prepared the person for the new role — their credentials, assignments, and accomplishments. The persuasive parts are the intangibles that are often the differences that make all the difference. These are one’s personal characteristics, values, style, and passions. They also include the candidate’s relationship to the institution, its mission, geography, people, or other connections, intersections, and similarities that make others feel the candidate would be invested in the position or community.
One might respond, “In addition to having previous positions doing similar work, I have a passion for your service-learning commitment, and I have always incorporated experiential components in all of my classes.” The best part of this question is that it is easily answered by the candidate who has prepared himself or herself for the interview. One should have already answered this question for themself during the application process. Good advice is to have written down the elements of this answer in one’s interview preparation notes.
The prepared answer can be given in response to this question or the dozens of other ways the question is phrased. This question in some form is asked in almost every interview. “Tell us about yourself and why you are interested in this position.” “How does this job fit with your career goals?” “Why do you think you are the best candidate for this position?” “What parts of your experience have best prepared you for this opportunity?” These are all versions of the same question — “Why you?”
Even if it is not asked, one should provide the answer to this question in some way during some point in the interview process. Because after all, the answer to this question is the whole point of the interview process itself. The hiring committee is asking itself, “Who should we hire and for what reasons?” One does him or herself a favor by being prepared for this question and answering it with a well-reasoned response that contains both facts and persuasive arguments. It is a bonus if those arguments are congruent with the intangibles related to the job, department, or institution as to build better rapport with those who inquire.
