Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#91

Post by iamatworknow » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 4:39 PM UTC

sidlls wrote: post #60

iamatworknow wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same goes for "where do you see yourself in [some amount of time]?" Is anyone ever truly honest in responding to that question, or is the intent to have the interviewee lie and pledge their long-term loyalty to a company that they don't even work for yet?

It depends on the company and individuals, like everything else. I've had both positive and negative results with honesty. I was honest with my current company. I told them 5 years from now I'd be considering moving back closer to family with sufficient experience and promotions on my resume to demonstrate my ability to acquire work that pays better than what engineers typically make in that region. I also told them…

Good point. Answering honestly will have one of two possible results: they'll appreciate your candidness and won't hold it against you, or they'll disregard your application because your honest answer was "not what they're looking for".

In the latter case that's probably a good thing since you probably wouldn't want to work for a company that will judge you negatively for voicing an honest opinion (or prediction). Sounds like a toxic environment brewing from the get-go.

Still a bad question, in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#92

Post by VLM » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 4:42 PM UTC

Some of the responses are a little over broad. Sometimes in an interview the discussion will revolve around current projects and challenges and the candidate needs to pay close attention and repeat back. Thats really all there is to it.

It wasn't in the bland HR generated job req but todays task is we're trying to talk to the MQTT server and ... anyway five minutes later to see if the candidate is listening the interviewer asks why you ... If the candidate responds with something indicating the candidate heard the interviewer five minutes ago talk about MQTT servers or libraries or whatever, then awesome, thats exactly what the interviewer expected. If the candidate rambles about their resume its because they were not paying attention and in the workplace its annoying to tell someone what to do and then have them go off on a totally separate tangent. If the candidate panics and goes lost in space, they were daydreaming about lunch or the TV show they watched last night and that is also annoying in a professional workplace during a professional conversation.

"Yo I heard you say in this interview you're working on X Y and Z right now and let me tell you all about how I can speed it up and lower risk by helping you out with X Y and Z."

Oh and don't surprise the interviewer. They read your resume and expect an answer along the lines of what they read. Or heard. Even if its true don't suddenly shout out Holy Cow thats exactly like a programming assignment I did in class or some random thing. Before they even asked they already guessed what your response will be and you want them all warm and fuzzy by restating what they expect.

You know take home projects? This question is like a take home project without the take home. You mention rabbitmq they freak out or go on a fizzbuzz tangent or talk about freebsd in general, not so good. If it were a take home assignment they'd fail or come back with a solution to a different problem, not so good. You mention rabbitmq and they respond rabbitmq ah now there's an attentive on task future employee whom if I HAD assigned a rabbitmq take home project would probably have returned with a solution to the rabbitmq problem as opposed to something else or nothing...

Edited to add, think of it like the conversation you probably have with your boss on a regular basis. Especially if the interviewer might be your new boss. Boss says yo I'm getting a lot of heat about bug #15133 and feature request #126699 and then you talk about the weather for ten minutes and the conversation closes with some sort of what you're doing today? and it better revolve around #15133 and #126699 and I totally have a plan and the skills to handle it, definitely not oh shit I type meta-x panic-mode, or I have no idea, or how about that TV show last night, or whatever.

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#93

Post by rpeden » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 4:46 PM UTC

rb808 wrote: post #84

kohanz wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your reasoning makes perfect sense, but the answer is a bit dry and, I don't know how to describe it, robotic? As someone who has sat in the hiring chair, if I heard "You'll make more money from my work than I'll cost in salary and benefits.", I'd get the impression of that person someone who maybe views themselves as a profit-generating widget in the grand scheme of the company. I'd wonder a bit what enjoyment/passi…

Agreed, it sounds scripted. When interviewing I look for people that just don't sit back and do what they're told. Someone proactive who can think of different ways of doing things. I would like to hear an answer like "Compared to other developers I've worked with in the past, I make more of an effort to talk with end users and try to target the system to make it more usable rather than just getting the functionality…

I intended it to be more prescriptive than descriptive, more of an idea that people should take and adapt to fit their circumstances.

I fear I did a horrible job of describing it in those terms, though. Or perhaps the thoughtful responses like yours have just helped me clarify my thoughts on the topic. Because in reality, I'm a huge proponent of the creative side of development. I think it's often so underrated by many companies and interviewers.

Creativity is absolutely part of the value a good developer provides, and creative developers shouldn't hesitate to discuss that in interviews.

It'll sometimes be the case that the company of person interviewing you won't value creativity. Which is actually super useful to find out, because interviews are a two-way process. If you're a creative developer, and an interviewer makes it clear they don't care about that, they've helped you by letting you know unequivocally that you don't want you work for them.

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#94

Post by wjamesg » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 4:53 PM UTC

awfgylbcxhrey wrote: post #61

chias wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because your enthusiasm is your most valuable asset. Enthused employees tend to be a lot more productive, and also drive up the morale among their peers.

Because your enthusiasm is your most valuable asset. Wow, no, that's not even remotely true. My years of experience and track record of delivering completed products is my most valuable asset. Enthusiasm doesn't get the job done. Enthusiasm and passion are fleeting. Honestly, I cannot express how horrified I am by your reply.

Horrified? Lol

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#95

Post by ErikVandeWater » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 5:00 PM UTC

iamatworknow wrote: post #40

b6 wrote: post #10

I hope I'm not alone in thinking "why should we hire you" is a bit of a dumb question and a bit insulting. If I was asked that, I'd be thinking something like: We're all adults here. We know why you're trying to hire someone approximately like me, and why I'm trying to get the job. Let's be friends instead of you trying to get me to trot like a show pony. This isn't a game show. Or if you think it is, maybe I don't w…

Same goes for "where do you see yourself in [some amount of time]?" Is anyone ever truly honest in responding to that question, or is the intent to have the interviewee lie and pledge their long-term loyalty to a company that they don't even work for yet?

Does anyone in this thread use this question? If so, why do you use it?

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#96

Post by pizza » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 5:13 PM UTC

It's a question about:

- investment: showing why/how you maximize their profits amongst other candidates

- relief: proving you will make their lives/jobs easier

- simplifying the selection process: providing a means by which the employer orders the candidates through their own descriptions of the job

- sanity-checking: giving bad candidates the opportunity to self-disqualify, or alternatively indicating a signal for the company to "re-think"

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#97

Post by dpark » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 5:18 PM UTC

tqkxzugoaupvwqr wrote: post #81

dpark wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't ask this question because it's pointless, but I would expect the best candidates to answer the question reasonably. Indignation is not a mature attitude to demonstrate in an interview.

The question is an insult to the interviewee. The interviewee can stammer around and say something about great fit, being a team player or whatever … basically re-iterating the requirements of the job and state how well he fulfils those. What is the honest answer? It all boils down to “I fulfil the requirements, and then some!” In my eyes, the question shows hostility towards the interviewee.

I completely agree it's not a good question. I don't think it's hostile, though, just stupid.

Regardless, being unable to hold your temper in the face of a pointless/stupid/vaguely insulting question is a really bad sign for a candidate. If you can't handle this, how are you going to handle it when someone bluntly calls one of your designs terrible?

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#98

Post by nbohra » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 5:36 PM UTC

awfgylbcxhrey wrote: post #61

chias wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because your enthusiasm is your most valuable asset. Enthused employees tend to be a lot more productive, and also drive up the morale among their peers.

Because your enthusiasm is your most valuable asset. Wow, no, that's not even remotely true. My years of experience and track record of delivering completed products is my most valuable asset. Enthusiasm doesn't get the job done. Enthusiasm and passion are fleeting. Honestly, I cannot express how horrified I am by your reply.

Reminds me of the creative Dr. Suess poem someone came up with http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachments/chat-box-...

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#99

Post by emilburzo » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 5:37 PM UTC

rpeden wrote: post #57

awfgylbcxhrey wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd wonder a bit what enjoyment/passion that person gets from their work. Why can't someone just be a professional who generates value?

I've given co-workers a bit of push-back in the past when they've wanted to give too much weight to passion-related questions when we interviewed candidates. Not that it can't be important; it can, but the downside is that passion often evaporates when things get difficult. So I'd rather hire someone who is driven by determination and discipline, and uses passion as a nice boost when they can. It's frustrating to wor…

True.

I've seen employers describe their projects/startups and then they just wait for a reaction to gauge if it's something I would consider "fun", they seem surprised when I say I'm game for pretty much anything that solves someone's problem/has active users.

I even love taking care of the un-sexy tasks that nobody else really likes/there's a fight for, especially documentation -- I've written so many internal wiki pages I'm actually kinda sorry they're all locked up behind a login screen.

Any other task that sparks the brain, for whatever reason, is just a nice bonus.

Re: Ask HN: How to answer properly “Why we should hire you” question?

#100

Post by bitwize » Wed, Feb 01, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

Why do you feel the need to impress an employer with a BS answer to a BS question.

Companies should be willing to give you a fair shake if you made it as far as an interview. If you have to justify their decision to consider you during the interview process, how would they be on the actual job? My guess: not very pleasant.