Every potential employer who runs the recruiting process is looking for a different candidate who stands out from the other applicants. And that is why it is important to have some of the other unique skills that make you unique from a pool of candidates. This question is one of the most commonly asked questions in an interview and to answer questions like these it is essential to prepare how to answer such questions.
Why Do Employers Ask, “What Makes You Unique?”
- The employers ask this question because despite it being the most common question that is asked in an interview, the interviewee never sees it coming.
- Such questions are tough to answer.
- The employers want to see what skills and abilities do you emphasize.
- To check whether you are a good fit for the role or not.
- To check whether you have done your research on the job position and about the company.
- To give you a chance to distinguish yourself from countless applicants who have applied for the same role.
- To evaluate what you value the most about yourself.
- To find out how creative you are with your answers.
How to Answer This Question?
Research about the company
Before any interview, you should always do your homework and research thoroughly the company and the role you have applied for. All these details regarding the requirements of the role and about the company will help you give a better answer to this question. Make a note of all the skills required by the role at the company. Make you know what the job actually needs.
Connect your answer to your role
Ultimately, your goal is to get hired for that particular position in the company, so link and relate your answer to your role and the employer should get an idea of how your unique traits and skills will benefit their company and help it grow and succeed. This will bring you one step closer to being hired for that job.
Focus on key skills and talents
Your answer should include the perfect blend of your hard and soft skills that will enable you to contribute the best of your efforts to the company positively while contributing to the company’s growth by delivering positive results in the future. Choose the best of the attributes that make you stand out from others and are a part of your personality. You can also back your skills with some examples of achievements or prior accomplishments from your previous job roles. Your example should portray what makes you an ideal candidate for that job position that you have applied for.
Take performance reviews
To know better about what makes you unique you can ask your peers from your past job to give you your performance review. You can also ask them about your strengths as it will be helpful in giving a perfect answer to this question.
Think from the employer’s point of view
You should always consider what an employer may find valuable in an ideal candidate who will be the perfect fit for the role. Add those valuable skills and traits in your answer,
Don’ts While Answering This Questions
- Do not exaggerate your answer by mentioning unnecessary details, being specific, and keeping your answer brief and relevant. Avoid oversharing.
- Do not lie to impress the employer. Dishonesty can catch you off guard in long term.
- Do not bring others down to show yourself as a superior candidate for the job. Focus on your key skills and your traits and do not undermine others in the process.
- Do not give vague answers, add some examples to highlight your skills.
Sample Interview Answers
Sample Answer 1
“Being a Human Resource Specialist, my natural ability is to get the right person in the right place at the right job. I am a natural organizer. By organizing and understanding skills are what make a unique manager. Being a human resource manager is not limited to hiring good managers, it is more about retaining employees, understanding their needs by motivating them, and focusing on their individual development as well, and I know how to take care of my personnel.”
Sample Answer 2
“I know the ins and outs of this industry and that is what makes me unique. I was working on a research paper and the topic revolved around studying the industry that you are a part of and it took me 10 months to finalize the research paper after knowing everything about this field. My experience in this field gives me a slight edge over the other candidates. From employees to foremen and to workers, I have interacted with each one of them in my research and that is what makes me stand out from others.”
Sample Answer 3
“The quality in me that makes me unique is that I do not fear failure or get discouraged after facing a downfall at some point. I have learned and master the art of learning through failing and rising out of it. For example, I was working on creating a website and after doing a month of hard work when I finally launched it, it instantly crashed. Yes, it was heartbreaking, but I started to work on the backend again and within two days I corrected all the errors that were the cause of the fall out of the website. I was successful in finally getting it launched and also developed a strategy to avoid these mistakes in future.”
Sample Answer 4
“Being a finance consultant, I am exceptionally focused and organized with each one of my clients. I was able to apply this skill of mine to improve the process and return on investment by 35% for 2 of my clients I last worked with.”
Sample Answer 5
“In my performance feedback from my peers, I have been regularly recognized for my ability to convince the third party easily. I was the contracted head for 2 projects and I was successful in turning both the parties in to make a deal with our company. My skill to convince and collaborate with anyone easily is one of my key traits that makes me unique from other candidates.”
Sample Answer 6
“I was working as a Customer Service in charge at my previous job at a retail manufacturing store. I have a lot of experience in handling unhappy clients and bringing them their lost accounts and handling other product-related issues. My skill to perceive someone when they are dissatisfied and quickly taking action to fulfill their needs and addressing their problems is what makes me unique.”
Sample Answer 7
“Marketing is all about building relationships with people and turning them into loyal customers. What makes me unique is my ability to empathize with people who help me build long-term relationships. This skill helped me in my previous role as I was successful in increasing our product sales by 20%.”
Sample Answer 8
“I consider myself as a creative individual. Coming up with innovative ideas at the time of need is one of my key strengths that makes me unique from other applicants. Throughout my college years, I was always chosen as the team captain and project head because of this skill and that is the reason why I would like the opportunity to bring my creative flair to this role and benefit your company.”
Sample Answer 9
“My unique skills are I can immediately resolve conflicts as I have an extremely positive mindset that helps in keep my calm in situations when the chance to tackle the conflicts arises. I know how to keep up the mood in the office by maintaining a healthy work environment for each and every individual. I know how to motivate employees to stay optimistic when nothing around is going well.”
Sample Answer 10
“I am a confident individual. I believe in taking on challenges in order to learn new things every day. Everyone can perform their respective tasks by being in their comfort zones. But the confidence to arise out of my comfort zone and ability to look at things from a different and logical perspective is what sets me apart from other candidates for this position. By accepting those challenges, I was able to increase my former company’s profit by 33% and I enjoyed every bit of those challenges.”
Conclusion
So, that was all about this article. Once you have chosen what is a unique attribute that you find in you, come up with examples to prove yourself to the employer or the interviewer. Preparing for answering such questions in an interview sets you apart from the applicants who chose to do nothing for their coming interviews. Comment below what you liked and share this article.
All the best!
References
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Sandeep Bhandari is the founder of PrepMyCareer.com website.
I am a full-time professional blogger, a digital marketer, and a trainer. I love anything related to the Web, and I try to learn new technologies every day.
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