"Why should we hire you?": a template and three sample answers to practise out loud
This question is about their problem, not your CV. Name the one thing they need, prove you have done it, say how you work, and close on what they get. Under 75 seconds, then practise it until it sounds like a conversation.
What the question is really asking
By the time it comes, usually near the end, the interviewer has your story. What they want now is a summary from their side of the table: of everything you have said, which part solves the problem this role exists for? A good answer picks one requirement and lands it, rather than listing every strength.
- Match: the one requirement that matters most to them, in their words.
- Proof: one result that shows exactly that, with a number or a before-and-after.
- Fit: one thing about how you work that suits this team, with a small example.
- Close: what they get, and when.
How long should it be?
Our advice: 45 to 75 seconds, about 110 to 180 words at 140 words per minute. It is a closing argument, not a second introduction. Write yours below; the length updates as you type, at your pace. Time a run-through with the speech timer.
The template
Replace every [bracket] with your own words. Aim for 60 to 90 seconds.
Opens your answer in the free teleprompter. The text travels in the link and is never uploaded.
Three sample answers
The people and companies are made up; copy the shape, not the facts. Each opens in our free teleprompter, which follows your voice as you read.
Experienced, project manager
From what you've described, you need someone who can take over projects that are already running and get them back on a schedule the client trusts. That's most of what I've done for the past five years. At my current firm I inherited a warehouse fit-out that was four months late and over budget. Within six weeks we had a re-baselined plan the client signed off, and we handed over nine days ahead of that new date. Beyond the planning, I'm the person who makes the awkward call early. If a supplier is slipping, the client hears it from me that week, with options, rather than finding out at the end. So I'd expect to take one of your live projects in the first month and have it reporting cleanly by the end of the quarter, rather than needing a long run-up.Practise this out loud →
Graduate, junior marketing role
You said this role is mostly about keeping the social channels and the newsletter running every week, with no agency to lean on. That's what I did for my university's careers service for two years, part-time. I ran their newsletter and two social accounts on my own. The newsletter's open rate went from about 20 percent to about 35 over that time, mostly by cutting it to one story per issue and writing subject lines people would actually open. Beyond the skills, I'm comfortable being the only marketing person in the room. I don't need a brief to start; I'll draft something and ask for changes. So I'd expect to be publishing on your schedule in the first fortnight, and to have a few ideas you haven't tried by the end of the quarter.Practise this out loud →
Career change, nurse to clinical software support
You need someone who can explain your software to nurses and doctors, and who understands why they don't have time to read a manual. I spent nine years as a ward nurse, the last three as the person who trained every new starter on our electronic records system. I wrote a two-page quick guide because the official one was forty pages, and the ward's error rate on admissions fell noticeably within a month of using it. Beyond the clinical side, I've spent the last year learning the technical half of this job: I hold the vendor certification for your platform's main competitor and I've been supporting a small clinic's installation as a volunteer. So you'd be getting someone who already speaks your customers' language, with the technical basics in place, rather than a support engineer who has to learn the ward from scratch.Practise this out loud →
Five mistakes to avoid
- Listing adjectives. "Hard-working, a team player, a fast learner" could be anyone. One result beats five adjectives.
- Repeating "tell me about yourself". They have heard it. Start from their need, not your history.
- Answering for a different job. If the requirement you pick is not in their description, pick again.
- Apologising. "I know I don't have X, but…" gives them the objection before they had it. Lead with what you do have.
- No close. End on what they get and when, not on "so, yes".
How to practise it
- Read the job description and underline the one requirement it keeps coming back to. That is your Match.
- Fill in the template and open it in the teleprompter. Read it three times; cut anything that is not about them.
- Time it. If it passes 75 seconds, the Proof is probably two stories. Keep one.
- Say it from memory with the four words in your head: match, proof, fit, close.
Frequently asked questions
How long should "why should we hire you" be?
Shorter than "tell me about yourself". Our advice: 45 to 75 seconds, about 110 to 180 words at 140 words per minute. One requirement, one result, one thing about how you work, one close.
How is it different from "tell me about yourself"?
"Tell me about yourself" is your story; "why should we hire you" is their problem. Start from what they need, then prove you have done it. If you have already told your story earlier in the interview, do not repeat it here.
What if I don't have a result with a number?
Use a before-and-after instead: what was happening before you did the thing, and what was happening after. "The handover used to take an hour; now it takes ten minutes" is a result even without a percentage.
Should I compare myself to other candidates?
No. You have not met them. Talk about what you would do in the role; the comparison is the interviewer's job.