This isn’t just an important job interview question. It isn’t just a common job interview question. This is the only job interview question any employer has ever asked you.
Wait a minute! I’ve been on a few job interviews. They definitely asked me more than one question.
No. Not really. You were only being asked one question. It was just worded about 50 different ways.
Every job interview question is a another way for an employer to ask you why they should hire you.
Make sure your job interview answers tell them why. Here are the three most important reasons you’ll need to convince an employer why they should hire you:
Do You Have The Skills?
There are two ways to show you have the skills necessary to perform the job well. Through formal training (i.e. degrees and certificates) and hands on experience.
If you only have one or the other then emphasize the benefits of the skills you do have. Most people I know never fit perfectly into the job description requirements.
Job descriptions are written for perfect world scenarios. In a perfect world the job candidate should meet all the requirements. In the real world that rarely happens. So play up to your strengths and minimize the weaknesses.
Remember a job search is a sales process. You’re either selling an employer on why you are the solution to a problem or being sold on moving back in with your parents because you can’t find a job.
Be the solution.
Do You Have The Experience?
Some jobs have strict experience requirements for you to qualify. But most don’t. Many experience requirements are flexible and mostly used to weed out totally unqualified people who are just wasting time by applying to the job.
You have to be able to show the employer you know how to meet the demands and challenges of the position.
Lets say your most recent work experience is as a waitress. Now you want to apply for a fast paced but entry level office position.
You need to show the employer how you would be perfect for the position due to your experience anticipating customer needs, performing multiple tasks simultaneously, and exceeding customer expectations to maximize profit.
And you thought you were just getting refills!
Will You End Up Embarrassing Me?
This is a big issue that I rarely hear anyone discuss about the hiring process. Everyone cares about how they are viewed by their peers, including hiring managers.
Hiring managers might get some of the credit for hiring winners but they definitely get all of the credit for hiring the losers. Every hiring manager is afraid of hiring “memorable” employees.
It seems like every office has a “cat lady” who refers to each of her two dozen or so cats as her children. Then there is that one guy who makes everyone nervous because he looks like he could snap and go “postal”.
It may be fun laughing at them privately but no one ever wants to take responsibility for hiring them publicly.
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