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In job interviews the interview panels sometimes pose the question: “Why do you think you are the best candidate for this job?” or “What new ideas would you bring to the job that other candidates would not?”  Such questions are used by interview panels to prompt the candidate to make a value proposition. If a candidate has not prepared adequately for such a question it may destabilize him or her and challenge his or her resolve.

In a job offer a value proposition is a short statement that clearly communicates what you as the potential employee will bring to the table or to the job for which you have applied. It describes the benefits that your employer gets by offering you the job.

When an interviewer asks you why you think you are the best candidate for the job, he is essentially asking you to make a value proposition. He is asking what you are bringing to the table that adds value to the business of the organization or company you want to join. The answer you give must therefore be strong and convincing. In creating a strong value proposition the candidate needs to be familiar with the requirements of the job for which he is sitting the interview. It is important that the candidate has studied and internalized the expectations of the employer and the competencies (knowledge, skills, and behavior) required of the job. Your value proposition should therefore be created based on the job description and your past experience in demonstrating the competencies required of the job. In essence you want to tell the interviewer:  “this job requires these competencies and I have done this before or I have excelled in these competencies in the past and achieved great results in this area”. The idea is to make the potential employer see the specific value your placement will add to the organization.

Your value proposition should be created based on the job description and your past experience in demonstrating the competencies required of the job.

Your value proposition must therefore focus closely on what your potential employer really wants and values.  The ultimate goal of a worker or employee is to deliver a product or service (deliverable) to the expectations of his employer. The product must meet both the technical and the service expectations of the employer. It is therefore imperative that the candidate knows his or her potential employer’s expectations required of him or her when he or she eventually gets the job offer. This knowledge should guide the value proposition the candidate makes during the interviews. In formal jobs or employment the expectations are often described in the ‘Job description’, Terms of reference or scope of work. In some organizations the expectations are presented as objectives, core and functional competencies required of the job.

It is important to remember that as a candidate sitting a job interview you are basically a marketer, marketing your unique competencies and abilities to a potential employer. To achieve your career goals you must understand you will have to outpace your competitors by making a more appealing and compelling value proposition.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]In order to market yourself more effectively you must identify your unique selling proposition and use it to make a compelling value proposition. Your unique selling proposition or USP is that unique attribute, characteristic or quality you can offer that makes you stand out of the crowd of the rest of the competitors. It is your ‘competitive edge’. It is this USP that will give your potential employer the reason to select you as the most suitable candidate for the job.

But how does a candidate identify his or her unique selling proposition? One of the approaches is to undertake a self Assessment of the competencies required of the job based on past behavior. When was the last time you demonstrated a given competency? What was the context? What actions related to the competency did you take? And what results did you achieve? On a scale of 1-5 rank the competencies in the job description and list those where you demonstrated the highest proficiency in the past. These are your unique selling points for the job.

From your unique selling points develop a simple, easily communicated statement of your unique selling proposition (USP). Finally link your USP to the requirements of the job and make a value proposition. For example a candidate who had raised USD 4 million in a fund raising drive he coordinated in his previous employment made the following value proposition for a job that required the successful candidate to mobilize resources for the installation of a new plant. “This organization is looking for resources to install a new plant. This requires a person with resource mobilization skills. In my previous job I coordinated the fund raising drive that raised USD 4 million for a new children’s ward. I will bring this skill to bear on the organization’s need to raise funds for the new plant”.  In this example the candidate’s selling point is the ‘skill’ on resource mobilization. He uses the skill to make a unique selling proposition i.e. “I will bring this skill to bear on the organization’s need to raise funds for the new plant”.

So the next time you are asked to give one reason why ‘we should give you this job’ think of developing and presenting a compelling value proposition.

For more information about creating value propositions in your career, visit our Email coaching program at http://www.expressexpertise.com/get-hired-today-free-coaching-session/ and make a coaching request EE

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