The Job Interview 1: Why Should I Hire You?

I am not a HR expert,  I have been in a few job interview panel. I have been interviewed myself but what I am writing about today is based on resources, experiences and now, I see things from the employers perspective.

Why Should I Hire You?

The most common, first response to this would be, a list of qualifications and summary of achievement and experience. What next?

Lets pause for a minute;

I read an article recently from observer.com and they talked about FEATURES and BENEFITS. 

It says, your background,  experience and education are just features and they are what got you to the door of the interview.

As for benefits, that is what will get you the job

Here are other ways these questions would have been asked;

How would you benefit my company?

What other thing can you bring in, to add value to my company and  help it grow?

What will you do differently, to improve my company? 

in this situation, the interviewer wants to know your benefits to the company.

It is obvious the whatever you have, someone else have got it, Is there something else that makes you different?

Always answer this question with benefits first, followed by the "relevant" features. 

Example - For a customer relationship job interview.

Benefits

• I will develop a data process for clients and enable real time update of their status with the firm. This will include the profile, current, past and future relationship, prospects and opportunities.

Features

• In my last job, I developed a client stream database so we had a consistent and streamlined client information and relationships regardless of who is on the job. I will give you an upgraded version of this. It will help manage your firm's relationship with your clients.

Make sure you streamline your answer to your work experiences

When next you are asked, Why Should I Hire you?

How different will your answer be?