When you go for an interview, there are already many people waiting to get the same role you have applied for. You have the skills they are asking for, but the other candidates present there also have the same skills. Hence, a question that arises here is, if every applicant has those skills, “why they should hire you?” Nowadays it’s a very common question asked in many interviews.
Now, this is your opportunity. You have to put your best in this question and it will decide whether you are qualified for that role or not.
Why do interviewers ask you to tell “what makes you unique?”
When they ask this question, they want to know how you explain your potentials, how you present your qualities. Always remember, think before you speak. Skills will become useless if you don’t know how to present your skill. When an interviewer will ask you the quality that makes you unique, they are searching for an answer which is relevant to the job.
Unique doesn’t mean something that only you should have. They want to hear how you can explain your strengths. They want to know about your personality that will benefit the company. As interviewers, they have to select an applicant who has good skills and whose personality can benefit the company; your answer should always be related to their job requirements. Here we are going to discuss the points; you should keep in mind while answering about “what makes you unique for the job?”
How to prepare an effective answer?
When an interviewer asks a candidate that what makes him or her unique for the post they are offering, you have to speak about how you fit in the job, what are your strengths that are good for the required skills? Don’t compare yourself with other candidates, Speak about yourself and your qualities. You have to present your qualifications in a way that fits the job requirement. Don’t give your answer in any hurry. Take some time, think about the job, its requirements, how your qualities fit in it, think about all these points and then, give your answer. Think about the job description and what the interviewer is looking for. Your answer should relate to the job and its requirements. Tell them about your previous experiences, the qualities for which you were praised in past. You have to tell the interviewers how your good communication skill is helpful in their job. Tell them about your other skills that are helpful for the job but keep in mind, the skill should be related to the job.
Some points that you can add to your answer:
1. Tell them that you will give your best and you will always try to complete the work on time. Don’t say you are very hardworking and very serious about work.
2. Tell them that you are interested in learning creative things. You will always listen to your senior employees and will always be ready to take advice from them. They will think that you respect your senior employees and will always be ready to seek advice from them.
3. Tell them that you will keep up good communication with others. A company can properly work if its members have good communication between them.
4. Speak about “how to cope up with failures?” Make them understand that you will keep on improving yourself and always learn from your mistakes. This will create an impression on them. They will think you are ready to accept your mistakes and correct them so.
While telling them about your skills, relate real-life examples with those skills but in a way that is helpful for job requirements. Suppose you are applying for a sales manager job and you have coding skills. But coding is not useful for the job you want to join. Don’t mention any skill or quality that is not useful for the job you want. Be honest while you are speaking about “how are you unique?”, keep in mind that the interviewers have interviewed many candidates and it’s very easy for them to find out you are not telling the truth. Your all efforts will go in vain. You just think why a person will give a job to anyone who is lying in the first meeting. Better be honest and put your best there.
Things not to add while giving the answer “What makes you unique?”
Firstly, you need to understand that Unique doesn’t mean you need to have very different skills than others. They want to know how your qualities are good to fit in a job. Never speak about things that are not related to the job, think very carefully about what the job wants, and then, put your point forward. It is important because your qualities are necessary for the job but the job is important for the company. Ultimately, your qualities are important for the job. While you talk about your past work experiences, never mention something that isn’t related to the job. Don’t tell them about your good or bad habits that aren’t related to the job. Try to speak everything in a way relating it to the job. Don’t say negative things about other applicants. They are asking about you and your qualities. Don’t say things like you have good skills in comparison to other candidates or you are better than other candidates. When you will say negative things related to other candidates, they will think you are trying to make anyone bad for your benefit. This will create a very bad impression of yours on them and there are chances they don’t give you the job. Many candidates try to use very complicated words or present skills that are not related to the job they are applying for. Don’t use fancy or complicated words and skills that anyone hasn’t heard about to impress the interviewers. They want you to answer the points that are relevant to the job. Never say things like you are better than everyone, you will try to keep yourself on top. Instead say, you will always try to give your best or you will keep improving yourself so that you can get more and more benefits to the company. You will always try your best to keep the company on top.
Let’s take an example –
Suppose, you are a candidate, applying for a wedding planner job. You had work experience in this field before. Now you have all the skills that are required for the job, but “what is something due to which they should appoint you and not other candidates?”
You should answer it like – I have very good communication skills which help me to understand what the client exactly wants. Also, I have a good patience level which helps me to stay calm and hear what the client dreams about his or her wedding. I have a good idea of designs, decorations and this helps me to organize a beautiful wedding ceremony.
Recollecting what we learned:
An interviewer’s responsibility is to find the best candidate who fits the job and will work hard to keep the company top. Try to keep your answer simple. Keep your answer brief but not too short. Mention only those things which are useful for the job requirement. Never say things related to your good or bad habits. They don’t want to hear these things. Understand the job description completely and give you answers in context to the job. Try to include examples of real life. Tell them about your past experiences and how are they useful for the job. Be calm and honest, keep the confidence. Remember unique doesn’t mean how you are different. Unique means how you are eligible for the job. Tell them about how you are always ready to learn new things, how you deal with failures, and how these qualities are useful for the job. A perfect answer is brief, in context to the job description, honest, mentioned qualities or skills should be useful for the job. It should not include things like you are very caring, you are having a big heart as they don’t want to hear things like this. Give your interview with confidence.
