The Question That Can Win (or Lose) Your Next Job Offer

[Music] Welcome to the EQUIPT interview podcast, where we turn confusion into confidence. I'm your host, Josh. The best candidates don't just prepare, they prepare the right way. I'm all about helping you do exactly that. Let's hit you, EQUIPT. Hey everyone, well, it's been a little while since our last episode, but I'm really excited to be back. Over the last few months, I've been refining what EQUIPT interviews all about. Practical, simple ways to help you build confidence and stand out in your next job interview. And starting today, you'll notice a few small updates to the show, such as breaking things down into a couple, specific segments, each episode, things like that. But the goal is still the same, to make you more confident and better prepared than ever. Today's episode is built around two segments. First, an interview intel. We'll look at how companies are slowing down hiring, even though job postings are up. And then in the playbook, I'll break down exactly how to answer the question, why should we hire you? And how to do that with confidence and clarity. So let's kick things off with that segment I call interview intel, where we talk about what's happening right now and hiring and job interviews. So think about this. Have you noticed the interview process taking longer lately? Well, if you are, you're not imagining it. Apparently, a recent job search transfer port found that the average time between your final interview and your first offer has jumped 22% this year. That means the waiting game, those anxious, fun-filled days refreshing your inbox waiting for the phone ring, that's now stretching into weeks. So why is this? Companies are slowing down. I mean, budgets are tighter, hiring teams are smaller, and every offer goes through more layers of approval. But here's what I want you to hear through all that. This slowdown doesn't mean you're doing something wrong, at least not specifically. It means the rules of the game are potentially shifting and those who know how to stand out during the quiet in between time. They're the ones who win, and that's what I want you to be. So think about it. Most candidates maybe just wait and they vanish after the interview. They send one thank you email, possibly, and then disappear. But most top candidates, they'll try to stay visible. They follow up thoughtfully, reinforce their fit. Continue to show the hiring manager that choosing them isn't a risk, it's a relief. So if you're stuck in the waiting game right now, don't sit still. Use the window to reengage, clarify your value, and remind them why you're the obvious choice. In other words, be intentional, something we talk about a lot at E-Cooped Interview. But so that's all after, right? That's all after the interview is done. But better yet, prepare the right way to stand out even before you get into this waiting game next time. In today's episode, we're going to talk about exactly how to do that part, how to be proactive in your prep, proactive in your interview, and how to keep your confidence steady throughout. And now a quick pause. Remember, confidence isn't luck, it's preparation. If you want a shortcut to prepare smarter, grab my Equipped Essentials ebook at equippedinterview.com/books. All right, let's jump back in. All right, now it's time for our playbook segment, where we will dive deep into how to answer the question, why should I hire you? And how to do it with confidence, like we talked about before. And why prepping for it is good for every other answer you give during the interview. So let's get into it. When hiring slows down, competition intensifies. All right, it's just math. Fewer openings mean every interview counts even more than before. In a tight job market, you need to articulate your value more clearly than ever. And it's important even in a great job market. Even when hiring might be slowing, that just means managers are being more selective. Here's how to convince them that you are the one worth choosing. Let's shift gears a little bit. When you do get an interview, you can't afford to show up average. You can't sound like everyone else, right? You need to make it crystal clear why you're the best person for that job. And I always teach you to do this in a way that makes you stand out from everyone else. And that brings us to the most important and largely most understood interview question out there. So what should I hire you? Now if you're lucky, and if you've been listening to me for a long time, you've heard me say this before, if you're lucky, the interviewer might ask this question outright. Because I think it's a great opportunity. It's a golden opportunity for you to sell yourself, be 100% explicitly clear as to why you're the right person for the job and you get the chance to tell them. That may not always happen. But if it does, I want you to be expertly prepared for it and intentionally prepared for it. But even if they don't ask it, they're thinking it. Trust me. Thinking about it in some way, shape, or form in the back of their head, the front of their head, out loud or silently, they're thinking about, why should I hire this person in front of me virtually or sitting across the table? Every hiring manager, every recruiter, every business owner sitting across from you is silently asking, why them or why you? Why not the other 50 people who applied? Why not the person with maybe more experience than you or a degree from a different, better bigger school than you and your answer or your inability to answer will tell them everything. This question gets right to the point. It's your chance to close the deal and maybe that's how you should think of it. Think of it like the final round of a sales pitch, except the product you're selling, obviously, is you, your capabilities, your value that you bring to the team. So before we get into this framework, when I walk through it, before we get into some of that strategy, here's a mindset I want you to hold on to and think about. This isn't about arrogance, it's not about bragging, it's about clarity and confidence. Because if you can't clearly explain to someone else why they should hire you, you can't expect them to figure it out all on their own, on your behalf. And that's why so many candidates go wrong. They prepare for questions and answers, but not for the question behind the question. And really think about why are they asking me this question. What problem is this person trying to solve by asking me this question? What are they trying to do here? So today, I want to walk you through a four-step framework to nail this every single time. And it's simple, it's repeatable, and it works across all industries. But it's something that is really important for you to think about and do and practice, yes, if you get the question. However, I want you to keep the second part of mine too, as we walk through this framework. And that second part is even if you're not asked the question directly, why should I hire you? Getting through this exercise and getting clarity in your own mind around what it is that you bring to the table and all the things I'm going to talk about in a moment, if you get clarity in your own mind around what those answers are, that's going to help you answer all the other questions that you get asked during the interview. It's going to help with all of your other prep. It's going to help you come up with the narrative that's important as to why are you, the right person for this job, helps you think through your own strengths, your own background, what's unique about you, things like that. Every single other answer you may get asked, or every other answer that you're going to prepare for, the story that you plan to tell, all of it comes from this type of framework around why you want the job, why you're a good fit for the job. So if nothing else, walk away from this episode today with the realization that even if you don't get asked the question, why should I hire you prepping for it and prepping for it the right way is the way to prepare for almost every other answer. All right, so let's dive into this framework here. Step one. on your skills, so start here. Always, always start here. Ask yourself, what specific skills does this job require and which ones do I bring at the table? I mean, it's obvious, right? But don't just repeat what's in the job description. Dig into what they're really hiring for. What, what specific behavior, skill, it could even be a specific experience. What is it they're really hiring for? And there could be a lot of them. Right? There could be laundry list. You've, you've read job description sometimes or short, sometimes super long. You need to extract what do you think are the most important ones of this of this job that you can really highlight if you're given 10 seconds, 30 seconds to highlight your skills. So if it's a, let's say leadership role, they probably want someone who can influence communicate, execute on results, develop others, things like that, extract those out. Make sure that you're very clear on Heyer. If you're going for leadership role, and you're asked, why should I hire you? Start with what you bring to the table of those key skills. If it's a couple different examples of an analyst role, they need someone who can translate data into insights, make decisions, influence others, similar to leadership. If it's, if it's a customer facing client, facing rather looking for, for empathy, relationship management, composure, underpressure, you name it. You're hopefully know some of the skills, the top skills that that hiring manager is likely looking for. And once you know those, great, just connect them directly to examples from your experience, if you want to call it out, but you also don't have to call out example after example after example, an a question like this. But as you're prepping for the interview, you're thinking through, okay, if I'm asked, what are, why should I hire you? Start with skills. Think about what are those top two, three skills that you bring to the table that are just non-negotiables and you have to start with that if you get this, this question. But it also, like I keep saying, and I keep drilling this in, will help you prepare for other questions like, hey, what are your strengths? You mean example of a time when behavioral type questions start with skills. It could even be something like this. All right, why should you hire me? Well, you're looking for someone who can bring structure to ambiguity. That's been my specialty. In my last row, I had a lot of project where we had no road map and tied deadlines. But by week four, we had a working process and measurable results, measurable results because I communicated strongly and I influenced the people around me to move forward at the right pace. That's how you bridge what you've done to what they need. So that's a starting point, right? That's just one. Step one, focus on your skills. We're not done. We have four, four steps that we have to think through in a very condensed time frame If you do need to answer this question directly so step two focus on your own passion and excitement Higher managers want someone who can do the job obviously But they also want someone who actually wants the job this part is where you show your genuine enthusiasm I mean let's be real energy cells if you're calm confident yet genuinely excited It's contagious. They'll picture you bringing that energy into the team You could say something like what really excites me about this opportunity is how closely it aligns with the kind of work I love doing coaching people solving complex problems seeing progress every day and here's the trick your tone Matters just as much as your words, right? And you could say those things, but you could say them with a lot of apathy It could come across Really strongly that you just have super low energy. You're not really interested in being there and and that's the thing You don't need to fake enthusiasm. You do need to show it hiring managers can tell a difference between someone reading off a script They might have in front of them during the virtual interview and someone who truly wants to be there absolutely comes across I interview a ton of candidates that just have Really low energy when they come into the interview it hits you like a ton of bricks It can come across as the candidates just not really caring to be there I mean even if it's not true, right? Like so if you have the really low energy and you know that about yourself you got to practice and change get input Along the way that if you're doing a mock interview or just getting a trusted friend somebody to to give you input as they observe you in action Because even if it's not true that you've Notes I were to to join the team it can come across that way if you're very laid back to reserved in an interview You I need to see excitement if I'm interviewing someone because again the perception comes across as you're just not really interested in the job That instead you're more interested in simply leaving whatever job you have now more so than what you're looking forward to in the job you're interviewing for So if you actually are excited about this role great you need to make it show on your face tell your face make it show up It needs to show up in your voice and your body language everywhere energy is key and it has to be true Like I said before you can't fake it But you need to show and actually say it loud your excitement your passion bring up the energy and In a question like why should I hire you you start with your skills great, but then you're gonna tell them you're so excited to use those skills Right, so that's how this all gets put together All right step three you need to focus on what's unique? This is where you stand out. I mean ask yourself. What do I bring that most people don't? Maybe for you it's a it's a blend of experience. Maybe it's your your background or maybe even your personality for the type of role that you're going for I don't know, but the side projects you've done something that something that gives you an edge Maybe it's a specialized credential or certification in your industry Maybe it's a title you've held that very few candidates would likely to have had also I don't know but Yeah, for example, it could be something like this. I spent time on both the client and the internal side of the business That gives me 360 degree view of how decisions are made and how they impact real people That's helped me build better processes and stronger teams by having that unique perspective and I'm excited to bring that to you and your team Okay, maybe that's something unique something unique that your competition may not be bringing in the type of role that you're coming from coming into You've had two different perspectives right internal external different sides of the business great That's one example. I'm sure there's plenty of things you can think of but you gotta focus on the unique What is what a why bring and spend time thinking about this? There's a difference there between just saying a skill you have but then also some a unique skill experience title background something and That's the word I want you to take away from this step three is unique focus on the unique and you're not just listing credentials You're you're not just listing things you're connecting them into a story and it's your story something unique about you and Story stick they'll remember you right you want your story to stick with that hiring manager So step four and the final step make their decision easy So it's an interesting final piece here. This one separates good candidates from great ones and it's the it's really a game changer Remember the hiring manager has risk to they have risk to not just you you're your risk is obviously Hey, I'm not gonna get the offer their risk is they hire someone that wasn't the right fit They don't they don't know that's why they're asking all these questions to try to uncover who's going to be the right person for this job And are they gonna do a good job for me every new hire? It's a bet hopefully a good one But they're wondering if I choose this person am I making the right call? Well, they perform in real life like they they are saying telling me in the interview or they saying the things that are true Well, I'd be back here after three months trying to find someone again So that's all the internal narrative they're thinking about right and they may not be saying it or thinking it actively While they're interviewing but that's that's the reality. There's risk there. So your job in the interview Is this make their decision easier help them lower that risk in their mind about you tell them something that lowers their hesitation Something that gives them the confidence that you're less of a risk than your competition could sound like something like this I know you mentioned training new hires takes a few months well in my last role I created a self-paced on boarding tracker that cut that time in half I'd love to bring that approach here and I think I could do it for you if you hire me into this role All right, so now you're not just qualified. You're solving hopefully hopefully solving their problem before you even have the job and you're acknowledging it it shows self-awareness It shows general awareness around the situation and you put the thought in your head and in the hiring managers head Rather that you're a quick learner and you can get up to speed quickly It's not going to save you if you give terrible answers the rest of the interview But it couldn't give you that edge and that's my job is to help you stand out from how you would otherwise and from everyone else And that's powerful. So that's step four so a quick recap of those four steps you get quest You get asked the question, why should I hire you? Well, you first you focus on your skills Second you focus on your passion and excitement. It's got to be real, but you got to do it Third focus on what's unique about you? How do you stand out in that way and then fourth make their decision easier lower their risk think about ways that you can help them Feel relief when you've given them an answer there. So let's put it all together. Here's what a couple different versions of what this could sound like Here's what a fool. Why should I hire you answer might sound like when you evolve four steps together This is just an example and then I'm going to give a slightly different version All right, well, that's a great question. Thanks for asking you you should hire me because I bring the mix of skills and mindset You're looking for I spent the last five years developing people and driving team performance Which means I can hit the ground running what really excites me about this role is how it aligns with my passion for helping others grow I've been excited about that since day one and on top of that I bring a really unique background in both analytics and leadership and I know you need both So I can connect data with people strategy, which I know is is not everyone's strong suit and I really enjoy doing that and on top of all that I'll make your decision easy and easier one I'm committed to learning fast and making an impact from day one. I have a track record of cutting the training time in half each role that I've gone into in the past All right, so that's that's a it's a more clear it's a structured Confident and believable you had put in your own words, but that's just a aversion I put together after the examples We just used a few minutes ago, but it tells them who you are What you bring and how you'll make their life easier Now here's some bonus points for you that you can make this even stronger if you list it out first And by listed out I mean a numbers list So how do you do that? What you do is you kick it off with a numbered list and here's what it could sound like All right, so why should I hire you? Love it. Thanks for asking I've actually put a lot of thought into that question and there are four reasons you should bring me on board First I bring the mixes skills and mindset you're looking for second I'm just gonna pause there you heard me say that for the the version four, but here I'm numbering it And then you go on to number each of the remaining points So the answer's the same But if you number them out ahead of time By saying hey, you know there I thought about this put thought into it There are four reasons I think you should hire me ready one and then you go into it two go into it three go into it And then the fourth and final reason is I'll let you make your life easier etc So what does that do? Why would you number it out? Does it why did what difference does that make? Given that all the the answers are really just the same What it does is it shows you've put thought into the answer You already know why they should hire you and you're not just making it all up as you go as you answer the question There's thought intent Strategy and it just comes across as a much stronger answer I could tell you it's the same information But if I ask any almost any question and this is tangent for a minute If you get any question that you know is going to be a little bit longer than your answer To use the same strategy and if you work with me and coach with me you know I've told you to do this and that is Think real quickly about how many rough number of points you're going to make is it two is it three five Great think about that for a second and say okay, you know what that's a really great question And there are three main points that I use in this situation Whether that's a leadership role again where you get asked the question something like Walk us through how do you develop people you could give the answer right in this numbered format say you know what I Absolutely have learned over the years the way that it works best for me and how I move people from A to B when I develop people I've come up with a four-step process of how I do that Let me go into those four steps for you That is a much stronger answer than saying okay. Yeah, so you know when I develop people I do this and then you know xyz And then I also do this It can come across as you're just thinking about what you do along the way as you answer it rather than knowing ahead of time. And why is that important? It's because it comes across as you already have done this repeatedly over and over again. And it's not just you might accidentally have gotten a write a couple times, but you know what you do. You know what works and you can replicate it if I hire you. Same thing on this. Why should I hire you? Why should I hire you answer? And that's if you give out the bullet points, it clearly shows that you've put thought an intentional time into the answer. So those are the bonus points, little tangent sidebar, but an important one. All right. Now our final thoughts for today. I know if hiring can feel slow, it can get discouraging, but you don't have to feel discouraged. Let it sharpen you. Let it force you to stand out so that you don't have to wait as long as everyone else by following these frameworks and these strategies that we talk about. Because in a slow market, clarity is going to win out. And that's what I want you to do is demonstrate clarity. Clarity turns into confidence for you. I don't know. Everything starts with C today, apparently. So clarity confidence. We're going to get out of the confusion state, I guess. Because the person who can clearly communicate, well, there are more Cs. Okay. Clearly, there's a coming to it. Clearly communicate their value is the person who gets hired. And that's what I want you to be. So don't wait for the question. Prepare for that answer now. Like the, the answer to why should I hire you? You may not get it ever. You may have answered it before one set of every three interviews, ten interviews. I don't know. But if you do, great. You're prepared. But if you don't even get the question and you prepare for it, all the other answers are going to feel much more confident. And here's the thing I want you to do is practice it out loud. Time yourself or find it until it feels natural. And that's a big key. If you're saying some of these words for the first time out loud in the interview, you're not going to feel as confident. So practice those out loud. Because then when the moment comes and the hiring manager looks you in the eye and says, Hey, why should I hire you? You can just think back to this episode, smile, take a breath, and then own it. That's the difference between being prepared and being equipped. Hey, before you head out, if this episode gave you a few ideas or a boost of confidence, share it with someone who's getting ready for their next interview. And I'm sure you have coworkers or people who ask you maybe if you're the one who is a better, better to interviews. And if you want to go deeper, check out my ebook equipped essentials at equippedinterview.com. It's full of the same strategies you could talk about here, but a lot more. Plus, a bonus prep sheet you can start using right away. Oh, and if you want to tell me your story, your best interview moments, your worst interview moment, I'd love to feature it in a future episode I'm working on. So just email me at Josh at equippedinterview.com. Well, thanks for joining me on the equipped interview podcast. If this episode helped you, drop a review, share it with a friend, and hit follow so you never miss an episode. Go into your next interview with confidence because you're not just prepared, you're equipped. [Music] [Music] copy of Equipped Essentials today. EquippedInnovue.com/books