Sometimes this is the last question of a phone screen or a face-to-face interview. Regardless of when it occurs, and believe me it will, you should be ready to rock and roll with your answer! A great candidate like you should be more than ready to absolutely kill this question with your fluid communication and self-marketing skills. By preparing for this question and relaxing in the interview you will slay this hiring manager dragon.

This is outside your control, but I have always found instant success when my candidates are either the first or last to interview. If you are the first you leave an impression that no other candidate can top and if you are the last you will seem like a breath of fresh air compared to the majority of crappy candidates before you by nailing this question. Your primary goal is to restate the skills you possess that are most relevant to the position and market and summarize yourself and your other qualities that make you the perfect person for the job.

You don’t even have to be perfect, but just better than all the other candidates interviewing for the same position.

Do yourself a favor and prepare before the interview. Don’t ever think you can just go in there and wing it. That is the first step to not getting a call back and definitely not getting the job you want. Take your ego and throw it out the door because unless you are prepared you will not get the job and I don’t care how great you think you are!

You should have a list of possible questions in the interview and know how you will answer these questions effectively. You will then be able to answer clearly, concisely, and with more importantly with confidence.

When it comes time to answer be sure you target these areas:

What are the company goals for this position? You should have determined this during your research phase into the company and into the position. Always go into a local unit if possible and talk to others who work for the company. This will arm you with more insight into their operations and goals and you can then incorporate it into your answer.

Now that you know you have the skills needed for the job, you can determine how your skills and experience fit this position and support those goals.

Don’t be afraid to market your abilities and shared values. What are the company’s operational goals and how do they target them. Take a look at their mission statement and corporate practices. Then intertwine your answers in line with your own values and goals.

You should be overwhelmingly excited about why you want this position and how you can contribute to the bottom line if given the opportunity. Three quarters of the people interviewing will not have any energy so you want to be in the top quartile for success. You want the interviewer to remember your enthusiasm and know you have the drive. You have the “it” factor they are looking for in the first place! Make perfectly clear you have excited the interviewer, but don’t come off like a complete lunatic. This can be difficult but can be accomplished with practice and preparation.

You need to be very comfortable in assessing and marketing the skills you possess. It is important to be creative and flexible within the interview and based on the given situation you should be able to incorporate the core aspects of your skill set. Overall you should be at ease during the interview because you prepared. By emphasizing your attributes and marketing your abilities in your answers you will put yourself at the top of the class!