One of the most common questions asked by the recruiter during your job interviews is, “What Can You Contribute to The Company, or how will it benefit the company if they hire you?
The main reason behind asking such questions for hiring recruiters is that they want to know if the next person or the candidate is interested in working for the company or not. If you are going for a job interview, prepare this question well because you never know what the hiring recruiters can ask you.
The company or the employer generally invests too much time in providing the new equipment, salary, and other benefits to the employee. These all initiatives will waste that employees are not even interested in working for the company. So, to avoid such circumstances, the hiring recruiters generally want to know if they are investing time/money in someone who deserves it or if it’s all going to get wasted.
Whenever these questions are asked, you should always try to answer them in such a way that it helps you to stand out from all other candidates. Your answer to this question will determine whether you will get this job.
Why Do Hiring Recruiters Ask Such Questions?
“What Can You Contribute to The Company?” is one of the most common open-ended questions asked during the interviews. Generally, this question is asked to know more about your skills and talents. They might already know about your education and experience (by your resume). So, when it comes to skills, it varies from individual to individual, irrespective of their experience or what they have listed in the resume.
The hiring recruiters generally look for an individual who would be successful in the position and will work for the company’s benefit. Most of the time, if someone has a lot of experience, they can answer this question because they have been in the industry for a long time and know the trends. But, for an individual who has started up or is a fresher, it will be hard to answer such questions.
The main reason behind this is the availability of proper skills and no adequate information about the fieldwork in the industry. So, your answer should always be creative, but before that, ensure you have researched the company.
Bonus Read: “What Skills Would You Like to Improve Answers?”
How to Answer What Can You Contribute to The Company?
Wherever you go for an interview, ensure that you have already researched what questions can be put in front of you. Open-ended and behavioral-type questions are the most asked questions apart from the subject and the area you are interested in or the job role you have applied for.
Now this question can be asked in several forms. For example, what can you contribute to the company, what can you bring to the company, how can you help the organization, and what skills can you bring to the organization?
The forms of this question are many, and so are the answers. It varies from one candidate to another based on their own perspective. But you should always make sure that whenever you are answering such questions keep a few of the following points in mind:
- Always answer in detail because a one-line answer cannot impress the hiring recruiter.
- Your answer should have logic and some true-well researched facts.
- Be very specific and honest.
The Factors That Can Help You To Frame Your Answer in a Much Better Way Are Listed Down Below:
1. Research About Your Role
Having clarity in your mind about what you will work on or what field you choose is a great way to develop your skills. Whenever you apply for a job, ensure that you have read all the job requirements that a particular company lists during their vacancy advertisement.
Now, when you have to research the company and understand what the mission and aim of the company or its future goals are, draft your answer. These activities will help you analyze all the most vital points about the company and will also help you in adding the essential skills that are necessary to perform or excel in this job.
Bonus Read: Amazing Sample Answers for How Did You Hear About Us?
2. A List of All the Past Accomplishments
Whenever you answer such questions or prepare an answer for this open-ended question, make sure you have a list of all the past achievements. We said list because it is impossible for a human being to remember everything. So, if you have the bullet points, you can memorize them.
These accomplishments can be anything related to your industry. For example, if you belong to the medical industry, you can say something about the webinars you have attended, the health-related camps you gave your service, cultural programs, sports activities, etc.
3. STAR Interview Techniques
This technique is considered the best strategy to answer most behavioral and open-ended questions in the interview. STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result. This method is the best answer, especially when you are stuck and don’t know what to say. To answer any type of question, divide the answering and questioning phase into four steps.
First is a situation where one must understand the problem first. Under this section, you can make details about what are the vital skills that are required for the job. The second phase is a task. It means you need to figure out your responsibilities to get hired for the position. The 3rd phase is action.
In this, you will let the employers know what you are capable of and what tasks you can perform. Your answer should be based on the responsibilities you figured out in the second phase. The 4th phase is the result means the outcome.
In this phase, you will let them know what strategies you can install to create or get better output for the company’s benefit. This way, you can determine what answer you can give the employer in this tricky situation.
4. Be Confident
Whatever answer you have prepared or whatever you will say in front of the hiring recruiter, ensure you don’t show nervousness in your behavior. You should be confident while answering such questions. Try to cover it with a big but professional smile.
One of the main reasons behind asking such questions by the hiring recruiter is that they want to check if you are confident in your skills or not. To avoid such a situation, you must prepare your answer beforehand. Furthermore, researching the company and your job position will always work in your favor. So never forget that before leaving home for the meeting.
Bonus Read: How to Stay Calm During an Interview?
5. Moral Attitude
There are a few skills, for example, teamwork, better adaptability, etc., that we always list on our resume. But instead of listing it in summary, you can also talk about your skill. A company always wants a person who is a fast learner and can adapt to the environment while also working as a team member to be better in the job.
The company’s primary growth lies in the fundamental or moral attitude of the employees who work hard to benefit the company. So, use the chance, and let them know what you can do and how you can help the company.
Sample Examples as an Experienced Candidate
The ingenuity of communication is half the victory in the interview process, and smarting to give the best answer to the question ‘what can you contribute to the company’ is the best reflection of a candidate’s intelligence. However, not everyone could have that skill inborn; sometimes, these qualities are nurtured. With some sample answers, we will help you to develop your own skill. Scroll to read below.
Example 1
I have an experience of 5 to 6 years, which has helped me develop a unique vision. Furthermore, I can relate to your company’s goals and strategies. I have worked with related problems during my previous employment, which helped me excel. I am also interested in bringing my passion for innovation so that we can have better opportunities in the future.
Example 2
As per the reports, I learned that your company’s current goal is to expand its international sales. I was responsible for working in this department during my previous employment, which helped the company to develop around 30% of their global sales, apart from the better results in national sales. My main motive for applying for this job position is that it is a great way to ease my service in your growth while also working in a competitive environment.
Sample Examples as a Fresher
This sample answer is best for freshers to crack the interview question ‘what can you contribute to the company?
Example 3
I can contribute to the company in several ways. By keeping in mind that I’m still a fresher, I’m a fast learner and worker, and when it comes to teamwork, I’m always the best. During my academic year, I’ve always thought I have a great passion for the customer care section, so I have always helped my college mates with their problems.
My main aim in working for your organization is to excel in several skills and work for the company’s benefit to enhance customer service and improve online customer reviews. Afterward, in the future, I also want to work for the operation management department. As I am thinking of this in the future, I’m much more interested in the customer service department.
What Should You Highlight in Your Answer?
The above-listed examples are 2 to 3 scenarios, but several other things can be added to these answers. Or you can frame another answer (that matches your personality) by using the following points:
- Being a good team player will always help you to stand out from the other candidates.
- Passion is one of the most important factors that change an individual’s life. So you should always include it in your answer and let the hiring recruiters know how much you enjoy your work.
- You can add that you are a multitasker and know how to manage your time to do all tasks.
- You have determination and dedication towards reaching the goal for success, impacting the company’s growth.
- You are self-motivated and hardworking and know how to carry out the responsibility. You can also add that you do not depend on anyone else for your work, as you believe one should learn it instead of relying on someone else.
- You are a quick learner, which is crucial while implementing a practical job.
- You have strong communication skills that help you identify and tackle problems. [Strong communication not only helps you while performing the job but also helps in avoiding miscommunication among the other team members.]
- Another critical factor in enhancing your skills by working and learning something new daily. You can add that you love developing and excelling in the skills. This will help the other team members or the company to understand the business situation better while also enhancing the company’s functioning.
What Should You Not Include in Your Answer?
Apart from what you should include, we should also discuss what you should not involve in while having this conversation or answering this question. A few of the points are listed down below:
- Do not discuss any negative factors about the company and the other candidates.
- Always try to add something new to your answer.
- Avoid being overconfident and nervous while answering.
- Your answer shouldn’t be too long as the hiring recruiter can get bored.
A Pro Tip
While sitting in a meeting or a job interview, always think about the answer first instead of replying. There are chances that you have misheard the question and started answering the question. Always show a connection between the company’s aim/mission to your answer.
You can also visit several other websites like glassdoor, ambition box, etc., where you can find out previous employees’ interview questions and salaries. This will help you prepare well for the interview questions (generally asked during the interview), especially in your job profile. Furthermore, it will also help you prepare for the company’s future expectations because often, the employees also share the pros and cons of working for the company.
Also, ensure that you are not using any kind of bluff information. The interview is a time when you speak about the facts and don’t discuss your life history while talking about your achievements. There’s a thin line between confidence and overconfidence, so make sure you don’t cross it.
To prevent the situation, you can restrict your answer by applying your skills and knowledge to understand the organization. Always tell them you know the vision and respect the company’s values while highlighting its strong points, like working for the customers, etc.
Conclusion
Hiring recruiters ask several questions that are not even related to your field or subject. These questions are generally termed open-ended or behavioral-type questions. Here, the main aim of a recruiter is to identify your confidence, knowledge about the company, communication skills, dedication to the job, problem-solving skills, etc.
The main job of a candidate is not only to answer but to answer in such a way that the hiring recruiter wouldn’t think about anyone else while making a final decision. To do so, work best and frame your answer beforehand to avoid any issues.
