The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business Career Management Office and representatives from recruiting companies offer advice for answering the "why should we hire you?" question.
Think about the 3 good reasons why you should be hired. Keep your answers brief and provide an example... relate to the company and the job description. What sets you a part from your competition?
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You know, a lot of employers will ask a question something like, why should I take the risk
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in hiring you? And essentially, they've been asking that the entire interview
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And this is an opportunity for the student to really think about what are three good
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reasons to hire me, and then to back those reasons up with examples
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But they have to keep it brief. For example, they might say, you know, they looked at the job description, and being organized
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is an important quality the employer is looking for. They should bring that up at this point, and give them an example that backs the fact up
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that they are an organized candidate. So give me a couple of reasons, a couple of qualities that you have as a student, and
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why it will match my position, or why it will match my company
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So for example, we are looking for supervisors. You're going to be managing people
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Maybe bring something up in your background, and say, hey, I was the manager at this fast
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food chain. I know what it's like to deal with different people
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I know there are different motivations, and I feel that that would fit really well in
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your environment, because this will be similar. When we get to that final point, you know, why should I hire you
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There are a couple things we're looking for. What sets you apart
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What's your personal brand? Why you? And what we want to see is, one, you know what your abilities are
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You're confident in the position. And two, you know that you're a good fit, that you've done your research on the company
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and you say, you should pick me because I'm offering ABC, which I know you're looking
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for, and I like your company vision and mission, and I want to be part of those as well
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When I ask a student, usually around the end of the interview, you know, why should I hire
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What I typically say is, is there anything else that you would like to tell me that would
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convince me that you'd be a good fit with our company? That's the opportunity to kind of bring out some of the things that you are particularly
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proud of, that you think that would be a good indicator that you'd be good for the company
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but you haven't gotten the chance to really express yet. So this is, again, much like the beginning of the interview, that opportunity is yours
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to basically take it and say, here are the things that I really think, you know, that
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you should really be focusing in on me about for this company. I think there are a few reasons that I would fit really well with your company
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First of all, I am very motivated. For example, coming to Ohio State, I knew I wanted to do accounting and business and
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worked really hard to get involved in the business school, but while here, realized
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my interest in health, global health, or just health care here in the United States, and
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so I took initiative to get involved volunteering at the hospital, joining the health care cluster
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here at Ohio State. I have a project at Nationwide Children's, and I'm actually working at the hospital as well
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So combining business with my own passion has really been very beneficial to me, and
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it has given me great experiences and opportunity, and that's something that I could only have
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through being self-motivated and really chasing after my passions and dreams and working hard
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to combine those. I think my motivation would serve me well working for you because I would follow what
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I am passionate about in the company and would work really hard to get things done in the
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best way possible. Another reason I think that I would be a really good fit for your company is that I am very
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honest and have, stick to my ethics and integrity. For example, last year, my freshman year, Barnes & Noble here charged me twice for an
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economics book, and so I told them that I only bought it once, could they please remove
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the extra charge, and they actually removed both charges. So I had an economics book that I wasn't paying for, and so I emailed them and told them
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no, I really do have one book, just not two, and so that was 115-some dollars that they
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did end up charging me, but that's what was right, so I took care of that with integrity
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and again, I think that really serves well in the corporate world. Also, I'm very passionate about community service, and I noticed on your website that
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you have a clean water initiative in the Dominican Republic, and I've actually been to the Dominican
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Republic and I'm very interested in just helping the community, and I think I'd really fit
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well in a company and culture that values that commitment to other people and corporate responsibility
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And finally, I'm very appreciative of diversity, that's one thing that Ohio State has really
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taught me, is just diversity is so beneficial and comes in many forms, and of course, ethnicity
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and background, but also just where someone has grown up or different ideas, and I've
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traveled through classes at Ohio State to Mexico and London and Greece, and really enjoyed
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the diverse culture there, and I've also been an English conversation partner, talking to
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some Chinese students and helping them improve their English and learning about their culture
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and I just really enjoy learning about other people's culture and backgrounds, and I know
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your company is well recognized for its diversity, and I would really enjoy accepting that and
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working to maximize the opportunities that come from diversity. So, in summary, I would say my motivation and integrity at community service and diversity
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interests would make me a good fit for your company. Thank you very much
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The interview candidate did several things well when providing reasons why she should
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be hired for the position. First, the interview candidate provides qualities and skills along with values that prove she
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is the right person for the job. Second, she provides an example to support each reason why she's a good match for the job
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Third, the candidate explains her fit with the company's culture by explaining how she
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shares some of the same values around community service and diversity as her potential employer
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Finally, she helps the interviewer remember her main points by summarizing her answer
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The only way to improve this answer would be to shorten it by focusing on three reasons
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she should be hired rather than four. Plus, she could be more direct in sharing her supporting examples when backing up her
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reasons to be hired
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