Monika Pitonak
So, you found a job posting that you want to apply for. You wrote a great resume and cover letter, but what next? Many online applications will ask you to answer one or more short answer questions that employers can use to decide which applicants will be called in for interviews. These short answer questions are often the same types of questions that are asked in interviews, such as “What are your greatest strengths?” or “Why do you want to work with our company?”, and it is important to answer them well, as your answers may be the deciding factor for getting an interview. Applications through Grow Women Leaders follow this current trend. More specifically, you will be asked to answer the question “Why should I be chosen?” and give a short explanation about why you should be hired for a particular position.
What is a “Why should I be chosen?” statement and why is it important?
The “Why should I be chosen?” statement is your opportunity to sell your story through a quick professional summary, with the goal of catching the attention of the recruiter or hiring manager. This is where you get a chance to make a memorable and positive first impression and stand out from the crowd. With a 600-character limit (or about 100 words), this section acts as a mini cover letter of sorts. For recruiters and employers hiring through Grow Women Leaders, it’s an effective place to start evaluating candidates. It allows them to see why you are applying for a particular position and what skills, experiences, and motivations you can bring to a specific role.
Crafting a strong and convincing “Why should I be chosen?” statement takes time and effort but it is one of the best chances you have at getting a hiring manager to schedule an interview with you. It provides a personalized summary of your professional skills and experience that allows hiring managers to clearly understand why you have chosen to apply and how you will be a star in a specific role. It sets the tone, provides context and sparks the hiring manager’s interest. Most importantly, it helps put your story, your skills, and your experience into the context of the role you are applying for.
Be specific and relevant
The first step in creating your statement is to thoroughly read the job posting to understand the particular skills and experience that an employer is looking for. You will have probably already done this when you were writing your strong resume, but it might be helpful to quickly look over the job posting again to refresh your memory. In particular, you should pay close attention to the description of job duties in the posting, so that you will be able to clearly describe how you will be able to not only fulfill your responsibilities, but also go above and beyond. As well, you should research the company you are applying to work at and get an understanding of their mission statement and company culture. This will allow you to better tailor your statement to fit with the overall goals and expectations of the company.
Add a personal touch
When describing your skills and experience, it is best to include a short story or example that illustrates how you have used your skills in the past. You can do this by talking about attaining particular achievements, overcoming specific obstacles, or consistently fulfilling previous job responsibilities. This will allow your unique talents and personality to shine through and add depth to the qualifications that you are highlighting. As well, you should focus on particular skills or experiences that make you unique so that you stand out. For example, you could talk about an additional qualification or certificate that would be relevant to your future job duties, or particular experiences or achievements within the same industry that would set you apart from other candidates. This will help show the employer how you will add value to their company.
Keep it concise
The “Why should I be chosen?” statement has a 600-character limit, which is around 100 words. Since this is quite a short word limit, you have to be concise. Focus on only one or two specific qualities or skills so that you have enough room to provide good detail and clear examples. Your statement should not be a summary of your resume. Like a cover letter, it is an opportunity to pick out your strongest skills or qualities that set you apart and dive deeper into how they would allow you to shine in a particular role. Make sure that you provide enough information in your examples so that they clearly demonstrate your competence with a particular skill or quality, but avoid any unnecessary detail that does not relate to the role you are applying for. Most importantly, make a clear and direct association between the skill or quality you are describing, the example that illustrates how you have implemented it in the past, and the context of how you would implement it within the position you are applying for.
Things to avoid
1. Generalizing and overarching statements: Instead, you should be precise and provide specific and personalized details. Make sure that your statement is unique to your experiences and to who you are as a person and employee! This will make sure that you stand out to a recruiter.
2. Rambling: Make sure that your examples are well-thought out and well-organized. Write a first draft and then edit it to ensure that it sounds clear, concise, and professional. This will demonstrate your professionalism, motivation, and work ethic to a hiring manager.
3. Making it all about you: This might seem counter-intuitive. After all, you are being asked to write about yourself. However, employers want to see what you could bring to their company, so it is important to consider their perspective and describe how your skills, qualities, or previous experience would benefit them.
Bringing it all together
You can use this modified example from The Balance Careers as a guide when you are creating your own “Why should I be chosen?” statement:
“I should be chosen due to my excellent leadership abilities and extensive relevant experience. I will be able to confidently and effectively manage over a dozen employees, as due to my 15 years of experience as a sales manager, I have developed strong motivational and team-building skills. I was twice awarded manager-of-the-year for my innovative strategies for motivating employees to meet and surpass quarterly deadlines. If hired, I will apply my leadership abilities and strategies to achieve profit gains in this position.” (Doyle)
The applicant in this example begins by identifying two unique aspects that would make her an ideal fit: leadership ability and extensive experience. She then goes on to provide more details about her leadership skills (strong motivational and team-building skills developed over 15 years of experience) and gives an example of how she would use them in the context of the duties of the position she is applying for (managing over a dozen employees). She further emphasizes her leadership skills by describing a significant achievement (being awarded manager-of-the-year twice) and ends her statement by describing how her skills would benefit the company she is applying to work for (achieve profit gains).
In a similar way, you can begin your statement by identifying one or two aspects that demonstrate that you are uniquely qualified for the position. Continue by providing more details about your qualifications, skills, or qualities, and include a specific example of an achievement or a success. Describe how you could use your skills to fulfill the duties of the position you are applying for, and conclude by explaining how that would benefit your employer. Most of all, don’t forget to let your unique personality and talent shine through!
Sources
Austin, Heather. “Why Should We Hire You Interview Question – BEST Sample Answer.” YouTube, uploaded by Professor Heather Austin, 21 June 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np4cIeX6u8Y&t=408s.
Doyle, Alison. “Interview question: ‘Why Should We Hire You?’” The Balance Careers, 17 Mar. 2021, https://www.thebalancecareers.com/why-should-we-hire-you-best-answers-2061261.
Sullivan, Annie. “How to Write a Persuasive Essay on Why You Should Be Chosen.” The Pen & The Pad, 21 July 2017, penandthepad.com/write-persuasive-essay-should-chosen-7911044.html.
“Why Should I Consider You For This Position?” LiveCareer, www.livecareer.com/resources/interviews/questions/why-should-i-consider-you-for-this-position.