Has an interviewer asked you, “Why should I hire you?”
No one has ever asked me that question. I’ve been asked about my favorite color (red), my biggest mistake at work (not showing enough humility earlier in my career), and my GPA from high school (I don’t remember). I was asked to name my personal hero (I don’t have one), describe my recruiting philosophy (“fast”), and to share the best experience I had when living in London (eating Indian food for the first time).
No one has dared to ask me why they should hire me. I don’t suffer fools gladly, and I don’t need your job — or any job — badly enough to play that kind of game.
Neither do you, Suckers. Don’t put up with that nonsense.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
i’ve totally been asked that question — for my last job (which should tell ya something about that question).
i had indian food for the first time in london too! (i love london…..)
all the best!
deb
The question is just so lame. I remember when my high school boyfriend applied for a job at the mall back in the early 90s. As part of the interview, he was asked to sell the store manager a pen. I think he just shrugged his shoulders and the interview was o-v-e-r. I was so proud. I didn’t want to date a boy who could sell a pen, and I certainly don’t want to work for a company that expects me to sell my background like it’s a used car.
The best (worst) interview question I ever had was when a HR director, yes, an HR director, asked me if I liked to work with women. She said the HR department was all women and how did I see myself working with all of them.
Another goodie was when the owner of a company asked me if I liked to fire people because that’s what this person would be doing a lot of for awhile.
At my last Very Big interview, that very request was thrown at me right at the end.
I was stunned.
The interview had been going splendidly; I was rocking out all kinds of good answers to thought-provoking questions. They asked me great “big picture” questions, as well as nitty gritty queries about some of my technical skills.
Then, almost as an afterthought, they threw in “Why should we hire you?”
I said some sorta “great blend of this that and the other” and “good fit for your org” blah dee blah. I caved. I’ll admit it. I’ve been interviewing for jobs since last October. I’m tired.
Of course, they haven’t gotten back to me (do recruiters ever follow up? With anyone?). I guess my used car pitch wasn’t snazzy enough.
I don’t have a huge problem with this question. It’s not as daft as “what’s your biggest weakness?” Everyone knows to reply with some lame canned fake answer. “Golly, sometimes I get so enraptured by filling out triplicate forms that I forget to submit my overtime hours. And sometimes I need to take time off of work for my favorite hobby of live organ donation to corporate executives.”
@Bryan We all know you don’t like women, small children, butterflies, or puppies. You are evil.
@Perrik My biggest weakness is that I care too much. It’s very difficult for me to delegate because I like to take so much ownership of my work. I’ve been criticized for working too hard and not taking enough personal time for myself. What can I say? I’m guilty as charged.
@Lisa F* them. You’re better than that, and you don’t want a job where they try to throw you & stump you before they pay you!
This last job search was not too bad in the interview questions department; however I’ve been asked my biggest weakness, my biggest pet peeve (th? I mean how do you answer that without coming off like a whiner?) and I quickly ended an interview that included a question about whether or not I planned on getting married and why I was divorced (apparently their little background check pulled up all sorts of stuff they weren’t supposed to ask about.)
My stock answer to “why should we hire you” is “I’m not sure you should”. I mean, really, we’re just getting to know each other right now, aren’t we? Let’s not rush to the alter just yet.
The answer is simple. You shouldn’t. You should reject my brilliance because it doesn’t quite fit with “the way things are done around here”. Then, because we’ve been squirreling your contact details away in our VPCD (Vast Potential Client Database
I’m actually right there with HRWench – I have been asked this question before, usually by someone trying to cover up that they didn’t read my resume or do any preparation for the interview, or by someone who’s a little intimidated and trying to put me in my place. (Interviewing for an HR job is THE WORST, in terms of dumb games.) So – my response generally is, “I don’t know enough about you to answer that question, so let’s not worry about why you SHOULD hire me, maybe you shouldn’t. Let’s keep talking and see if we click, then you’ll know why we should work together.”
@hrWench Your style and sense of humor get you through those conversations. Me? I’d make a scrunchy face — just like eating a lemon.
@Bad Consultant Oh man, I love the Bahamas.
@FrannyO Again, a thoughtful response and totally classy. I don’t know how you do it.
@KellyO Why are you divorced? What did your parents think? Why don’t you like puppies? What do you have against fuzzy kittens? Why do you hate your grandparents? It’s all on the background check. We know all about you!!!!!
Heh… Our former HR former Director asked in my interview if I had a girlfriend, if I was seeing anyone and the same question again and again, rephrased in different ways.
I assume she had doubts that I would be willing or able to relocate easily, but maybe she just really liked me.
(I’d have thought the fact I didn’t once ask about relocation expenses would’ve been a clue, but then I don’t work in HR!
)
I generally just read your columns and move on, but today, I needed to reply.
Isn’t it safe to say that MOST interview questions suck? Not just this one, but the ones about weaknesses, 5 year plans and every other contrived question thats been beaten to death on job boards and blogs and in recruiter prep sessions…
But what do you do with it when any of them are tossed in your lap? Everything else about the interview seems right – the rapport, your research on the company, even a few people you know who already work there seem genuinely happy. Are you saying refuse to answer the question, since you don’t have to play the game, even if it means missing out on the job?
Or worse yet – what if you are the person who has actually dared to ask that question – with no malice intended. In the interest of full disclosure – I have asked it a time or two. I’m not in HR, but in a manager position, I do interview people for my team. I ask it (or something similar, I don’t think I have ever used the words verbatim) because I genuinely wanted to know why they thought I should hire them. Their resume might not have all the skills or experience I wanted, or something in the interview may not have been 100% dead on, and yet, I’m still interested – I see that question as a way for a person to point out something that may not have come up in conversation, or something they think is a strong asset they bring to the table. Are you saying I should write the person off rather than asking a “nonsense” question?
Hello curious observer. I’m here to tell you that the interview process is a crap shoot. We follow the STAR method, we ask behavior based questions, we check references, and we check out guts. We screen for drugs and we screen for compatibility, and most of the time it works out just fine. There’s no perfect way to do this, but we put too much stock in our screening methods. I’ve come to believe that most human beings will do just fine if given a set of tasks & responsibilities. I think the interview process gives us a formal veil to screen for knowledge, skills & abilities but what we’re really screening for — as managers — is something more intangible and/or less precise than a job description.
My last employer told me that she hired me because of my confidence. She knew that I could handle any issue, and that was important because I was required to travel and be thousands of miles away. Before that, I was hired because I worked with my previous boss and she needed someone reliable. If it’s as simple as making a 1:1 match, employers would forgo the interview process and administer tests. (Some have, actually, and I read that the retention rates were on par with those companies who hired using behavior-based interviewing methodologies.)
The only answer I like: “Because I’m effin’ awesome…that’s why! You checked my references, you know!” (and then I’d follow up with making the manager give me a high five) More importantly- “Why should I work for you?”
Thank you for the reply Laurie. I agree interviews are a dice roll – it is about chemistry as well as capability, and none of us can every really be sure if a person will work out until they do – or don’t.
I don’t think I have been asked that question but here is what comes to mind…..
Why should you hire me? As you can see from any SHRM conference, most HR professionals are narrow minded management tools who get off on saying,”NO.”
I relish any opportunity to talk management out of their idiotic ideas and would rather find a solution versus barking out a lazy, “No.”