I mean, it’s not like I don’t have some good points. I’m even aware of what they are most of the time. Yet, despite having practiced, I can never think of any of them when asked directly.
(I have the same problem when dating, which probably explains several things)
To make matters worse, I asked the reverse of the “Where do you see yourself in five years,” question, which normally implies that the asker has some ambition and thoughts for the future. But for a job that dosn’t have any real promotional track, it just implies you won’t stick around. Dolt.
That’s ok. It’s not THAT important. It’s only the capstone for six months of temp work, and the only posiblity that’s come up that wouldn’t require a 70 hour work week.
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Interviews are just like dating. Or like dating would be, if every negative stereotype about the opposite sex were true.
I hate job interviews. They are like, but ten thousand times worse than, the worst blind date. And I always get very nervous, which makes it harder for me to judge the interviewer’s opinion of me, so I just agonize for days until I get an offer or not, not having any clue of how I did. Good luck, though, maybe you didn’t blow it as bad as you thought, and you’ll still get an offer?
If you’ve got the balls and the ability to back it up, “Because you don’t want to be the one that passed on me five years from now”
Works great in certain businesses - like mine (music production) - probably not so much in a HR-y kind of place. Freelance creatives are a different breed.
If you’re the least bit charismatic, confidence & ability coupled with not being afraid to speak your mind is a pretty powerful gambit. I used to try to convince them to hire me. These days - with my career getting some legs - not being afraid to walk away from a deal is the most powerful asset I have.
I am a quick learner - This shows your training will be minimal.
I am a self started - I won’t sit around waiting for you to train me, I’ll take initiative
I am a team player - I am co-operative and respectful of others, even if I disagree
I am very organized - Will not cause disruptions to current sytems
and most importantly
I WANT TO WORK HERE
This is a trick question. The interviewer is NOT looking for a specific reason. They are looking for reasons why you would be a good employer.
Think about it, pretend your a boss. What qualities would you want in an employee.
And really the last point you need to drive home.
I WANT TO WORK FOR YOU.
You don’t have to put it so bluntly. You can use tact.
For instance, I usually say something like
I was impressed when I walked in at how friendly and productive the other employees seemed and how nicely they treated me even though I’m just an applicant. This must be a great place to work.
A friend was in an interview that was going really well. When they asked “Why should we hire you?” she just smiled and said, “Because I’m awesome.” They hired her.
But Markxxx’s answer is probably a better way to go.
Back when I was having those types of interviews, I found the best answer was something flippant and funny. “Because I’ll work my ass off for you” was the best-received.
Luckily, I haven’t had that kind of bullshit question in an interview in years.
Markxxx has the great canned answers. If there is a specific attribute that is good for the job, call that one out. But yes, “I want to work here” is good.
If you expand, you can talk about how this is a good fit for both of you “I think this is going to be a good fit for both of us. You need someone who can come in and pick up this job quickly. I’ve done similar work and am a fast learner. I’m a hard worker and pretty easy to get along with. I want to work for this company because it has a great reputation in terms of treating their employees well - and I love the easy commute I’ll have.”
I had an interview once that started off with this question.
My honest answer was ‘I don’t know whether you should or not yet. I don’t know enough about your company to know whether I’d be a good fit here. Would you mind asking me again at the end of the interview when I’ll have a better idea?’
I know how the OP feels, especially because there often doesn’t seem to be one right answer to the question. I’ve tried “Serious” (Because I’m a proactive team player who reorganises paradigms as I transcend them on a going forward basis*), I’ve tried “Flippant” (Because I guarantee you I’m 57% more awesome than the other candidates), and I’ve tried varying other approaches on the spectrum between them, and whichever one I choose will be wrong.
Some days it feels like you can’t win…
*Obviously that’s parody, but merely for the purposes of illustrating a dull and cliched point
As a corollary, I used to always the question, “What makes you a better candidate than the others we’re interviewing?” And I used to blow it.
Until, that is, about 7 years ago. A friend was telling me HER answer. “I don’t know without seeing what their qualifications are. It’s possible they’re a better fit.”
So far, I’ve used that answer on 4 separate occasions, and got the job after each interview.
Well, in my case it’s easier because I have a rather specific niche. FWIW I don’t answer with personal attributes, but by educating them about the elements necessary to make this process successful. You want to show them that you understand what they need better than the other applicants. Everybody and their brother is going to come in there talking about themselves. Show them that you are thinking about filling their needs, and they’ll do back flips for you.
This has the added advantage of not feeling awkward for a naturally humble or even insecure person.
“Because you need someone who can do “X”, “Y”, and “Z” for you.”
To clarify: It’s not I don’t know what to respond, it’s that I can never come up with it at that moment, despite having prepared for it in advance.
Thus the whole dating analogy.
I didn’t blow the whole interview, but it could have gone better. Hopefully six months of doing the job, and extra stuff, with no problems will count for more than a less-than-perfect interview performance.
I just wish I could believe that it would.
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I used to do the hiring at my last job. That at least was a customer service position, so the whole ‘hiring decisions made mostly due to how they can sell something in a formalized setting’ made a certain amount of sense. It got much less reliable when they gave us a string of canned interview questions . . .
This is where having the iPhone app “Random Charlie Sheen Quotes” will always give you an appropriate answer. “We are the High Priest Vatican Assassin Warlocks” “Rhymes with winning, that would be us.”
I hate getting resumes where the goal is all about using ones skills or increasing ones knowledge.
The simple answer to why should I hire you?
Because I’m going to make the company more money and /or I am going to make the life of you, the boss, easier.
That can go all the way from “I know technologies which will reduce your costs and improve your quality” down to “I will always show up for work on time, so you will never have to scramble to fill my position.”
If you don’t know how to answer this question, I submit you haven’t researched the company well enough and are putting yourself at a disadvantage.
“I want to work here” is not a good answer. In today’s economy, at least, there are probably a few other candidates who do also. Now, if you have an answer like you’ve been a customer for a long time and have long admired the company, that might be good.
But this is not about your needs, this is about the needs of the hiring manager.
Have some examples of jobs with no promotion track at all? Even a burger flipper can aspire to being a manager. You might be lying through your teeth, but it might do.
I suppose in certain jobs the answer to why hire you might be “I can read and write, and I can add two 3 digit numbers in my head without my brain exploding. So, you won’t have to correct my work.”
I wouldn;t recomend this on a date but I always take a legal pad in a leather portfolio with me on an interview. I write key points I want to make based on their requirments for the job, I write questions that I want to ask (always have questions you want to ask) and if you have a point you want to remember, I don’t see why you couldn’t put that at the top of the page. The portfolio has extra resumes, my cheat sheet of job history and my pen.
Also rehearse your answers just before going into the interview.
The question I hate most is what is your worst trait. I usually say I have terrible handwriting so I try to type everything I can
