By Interview Question Team in Job Interview — Jan 30, 2023

Why We Should Hire You For This Role Instead of Someone Else

There are 2 solid reasons why an employer would pick you for the job. Here are sample answers and examples to back your case.

This article aims to help you convince your potential employer (who is likely also your job interviewer and hiring manager) to shortlist you for the role you have applied for.

We want to do this by persuading him or her that you are better than your competition.

To support your case that you are the best pick of all the job applicants, we are going to consult the 2 reasons below.

These reasons support why you should are the best in specific areas.
These reasons are also accompanied by sample answers you can customise and then memorise. Then, take advantage to verbally quote them in your reply during your own job interview.
Use these examples and cite them to elevate your reply to the interviewer.

Let's get started.

Hyper-Relevant Work Experience

Everyone has some kind of experience as long as you have lived and breathed. But the best candidate and the person who eventually gets selected needs to be great.

In fact, he needs to be the cream of the crop in extreme specificity and relation to the exact job the company hires for.

The work experience or life experience you had; How closely related is it to the job they are going to pay you to do?

Even if you have won awards, prize money and even crowned champion internationally, these do nothing to uplift your applicant profile if they are irrelevant.

Do not be humble. This is where your typical career tips lead you astray. You need to showcase your brilliance when presented with opportunities to do so during your job hunt. The employer is outrightly comparing you to other applicants. "Why should we hire you and not someone else?" - This is the job interview question they have in their heads.

Plus, the interviewer is not going to probe or be patient for you to come into full bloom. There might by a follow-up question, or there might not be. Go hard. Go all out. Extravert-edly be the best from the first glance.

How You Can Make Your Interview Responses Hyper-Relevant

To make a response extremely relevant to a job application, it is important to customise your resume for each job you apply to^[1]. This means highlighting the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the role you are applying for.

When asked about how your previous experience is relevant to the role, discuss the skills you developed through your experiences that apply^[2]. If there are any irrelevant positions on your resume, explain how they are still applicable by tailoring your resume to make them sound more relevant^[3].

When crafting the message, always include a clear and persuasive call to action (CTA) at the end of the message that directs the interviewer to take action (to select/not select you)^[4].

Sample Answers with Hyper-Relevance

Introduction (2 Examples)

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I believe I am the best candidate for this role because of my unique combination of skills and experience.

You are telling the hiring company your blend of soft and hard skills are relevant skills, and form the core skills particularly useful to them. These distinguishes you from an ordinary entry-level candidate for you are able to conjure innovative strategies and unique perspectives.
This is a good first step to turn an interview into a job offer.

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I am confident that I am the best candidate for this role because of my extensive experience and qualification. I understand that you have made multiple hires with experience in A and other hires who have experience in B - and here I offer direct experience in both and I am able to tie both fields of knowledge together for I have basic skills in both. Both sectors are important to the company as they form the bulk of the revenue in the last 2 quarters and I believe the deliverables I produce will be no less subpar than what is developed by your current team.

In this answer sample, you want to get straight to the point with a firm stance.
Show them that picking you is the best choice they've made that day as what you have directly relates to their immediate and long term business goals. It will contribute to the bottom line performance (You need to believe it too!)
Companies at the end of the day will heavily put weight on the real dollar profit gains for the organisation.

Elaboration (6 Examples)

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I have a strong background in customer service, having worked in the B2B SaaS industry for over five years. During this time, I have developed excellent communication and problem-solving skills, as well as an understanding of how to provide excellent customer service.

You want to point out your consistency of work experience in the same field (customer service) and same industry (B2B SaaS), as the knowledge and skills from all the previous roles stacks up. This can form a key section in your response to their interview question when they ask why they should pick you instead of another person.

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Additionally, I have a degree in business administration and a certification in project management, which gives me the knowledge and expertise to handle any tasks related to this role.

Education remains important as it creates a mental benchmarking of a qualified candidate. Express your certifications in such away that it proves your ability to produce high quality work.
A good education also shows a solid foundation in theoretical principles and practices, which can be prerequisites for job listings in certain industries.

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I have a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and over five years of experience in customer service, sales, and marketing. My experience has given me the skills to effectively communicate with customers, build relationships, and develop strategies to increase sales.

Tying qualifications in with your work and successful projects shows you are able to port transferable skills from school to create a positive outcome valued by a past employer.

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I am also highly organized and detail-oriented, which makes me well-suited for this position. My ability to multitask and prioritize tasks efficiently will be an asset to your team.

Key skills (like organisational skills and ability to multitask) can be skimmed off the job's job description. This example can be seamlessly prepared beforehand, during a mock interview to ensure you get it right during the real interview.
Make sure that the skills you mention are the same ones they are looking for in the hiring process.
Tailor the said skills to respond to "Why should we hire you and not someone else?"

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I have a proven track record of success in similar roles, having achieved numerous milestones and awards throughout my career.

Having a record of key milestones in your career journey shows you have paid special attention to how you want your professional career to develop and the direction you want it to take. It shows you have gone the extra mile to do well before and your awards prove it.
Keep good eye contact and posture when you say this to make it a strong answer, where it is more convincing and confident response.

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Furthermore, I am passionate about learning new things and take initiative when it comes to finding solutions to problems.

Being ambitious and open-minded is a good mindset to have, especially with all the relevant experience you bring in. For a hiring manager, introducing a new member into an already talented team can be a challenging task, but with someone who possesses relevant qualities, it can lead to a positive impact and contribute to the growth of the team.

Conclusion (2 Examples)

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Overall, my qualifications make me an ideal candidate for this role and I am confident that I can make a positive contribution to your team.

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Overall, my combination of customer service experience, business knowledge, organizational skills, and ability to work independently or collaboratively make me an ideal candidate for this role.

Culture Fit, As If You Knew Them Already.

The second reason is culture fit. Prospective employers pick candidates and give these people job offers because they think alike.

Plus, researching the company is insufficient. You may know the stats (regions they operate in, EBITDA, audience) but in any given business day, getting someone who thinks in the same line, breathes in the same rhythm and sings the same song is far more important.

During the job interview process, hiring managers are paying close attention. To your reaction, intonation (rate of speech), tone (trembling voice, irregular nervousness). These subtle body language tells them whether you are comfortable being around them.

If the company culture is having a social night every last Friday of the month and you are a reclused person, then you don't seem to fit in. Not a fun person? Then no thanks. Introverted people can still get the job if they prioritise their jobs in such a way that "hey I like my job enough that I want to mingle with my team". That's a team player here.

Sample Answers Showing a Strong Culture Fit

"I work best in environments with many rules and established work processes"

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Third party logistics companies are guided by strict regulations as many work procedures are bound by the Customs and Tax laws. I believe that having time-tested practices is great for incremental processes improvement in day operations. These established practices also ensures the stability of revenue flow for the company which is still fundamentally key for us to be financially bouyant.

Being able to describe the environment in which you work best and relating it to the work you are applying for shows you know what kind of job you are getting into. This makes the interviewer more comfortable in hiring someone who is well informed.

"I work best in environments which are fast-paced"

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The computer programming, design and application development space requires us people in the industry to keep up with the tech. New packages and languages come up every 1 to 2 years. The old is often replaced. For example, Photoshop was the early 2000s, then we had Sketch and browser based Paint-esque webapps. Now, even Canva has layering and custom brushes, and these are already used by your team.

Pointing out specific examples which are exactly what they use/do/know about shows you understand them for who they are. It shows the emotional intelligence and aptitude awareness on the industry, the company and the role, in increasing specificity.

"I know you have a collaborative culture, I like it and I work well in it"

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I believe that "if you want to go far, we've got to go together". Team work is really important to me because I know I've got a lot of strong points which make me a great team player and a subject matter expert in certain areas. However, I am not blinded to say that I have no or few weaknesses. The worst weaknesses are those I don't know of and having a team ensures with a colourful skill set that we back each other up. I am aware of that and I like that teams at this company stick together and work together. Teamwork! I think that's a great way to do more and to do great.

Demonstrating that the hiring company is big on collaboration and why that is so important to you shows that you are in-sync with them in terms of mindset. Reinforcing the commonality with soft skills and people skills you are aware of and equipped in makes you an even more formidable and possibly ideal candidate.