What differentiates you from other candidates?

This interview question can put the best candidates into a tail spin!! How do you reply without sounding either arrogant on one hand or weak on the other?

Well here is one way to handle this tough job interview question.

The first thing to realise is that the interviewer is looking for two things. Firstly, he/she wants to hear about what you think your key strengths are. Secondly, he/she wants to see how you handle tough questions.

So when answering this interview question, try to stick to a “FACT:IMPLICATION” structure. This should make you much more relaxed while allowing you to showcase your skills and achievements.

The FACT should refer to something which is relevant to the position you are aiming for. It should ideally also be something which you can prove through evidence. Good things to say here could be:

• “As you can see from my resume, I have achieved first time passes in each of my accountancy exams”
• “As my referees will be able to confirm, I am always looking for new ideas to take to clients”

Now onto the IMPLICATION - make sure the interviewer understands why your strength is going to be valuable to his/her organization. Try to be as specific as possible - that way you can also demonstrate that you took the time to research the position before the interview (you did research the position before the interview didn't you??)

Good answers to use could be:

• “Not only does this prove that I have a thorough grasp of accounting which will be important in this position, but also that I rapidly learn new skills and work hard to ensure success in everything I do.”
• “Creativity is becoming increasingly desired by the clients of my current employer, and probably yours too. I would hope that some of the ideas I could generate for your clients would turn into new business for your company and strengthen the relationships you have with your clients.”

More advice with tricky interview questions

So hopefully now you see the “what differentiates you from other candidates” question as a question you are eager to hear in your interview - there aren't many questions which give you the freedom to sell yourself, so take advantage of it. And definitely get your answer prepared...

If, however, you're finding it difficult to think of compelling answers to each of these questions, then I recommend that you pick up a copy of Bob Firestone's book on answering the toughest interview questions.

Here are my thoughts on Bob's book, called "The Ultimate Guide to Job Interview Answers"

• Bob is a business, career and sales coach based in the US. Although I strongly believe that the fundamentals behind his approach to answering interview questions are rock solid, I personally found the style of some of his answers a little more 'salesy' than I'd be comfortable with in one of the more 'straight-laced' organizations. So if you do use the book, make sure you tailor your answers to your audience



• Bob's book provides sample interview answers which you can use as inspiration or as a basis for your own answers. Don't simply rehearse his answers or you risk looking like a bad actor and completely unnatural. Interviewers are trained to get to the truth (actually, we quite enjoy exposing untruths), so make sure that your interview answer is personal and truthful to you!



• Because Bob's interview answer guide is an electronic file, it is available for immediate download - this wasn't something I thought about until an interview candidate asked me one evening for something to help him prepare for an interview the next morning!! Bookshops and libraries were closed and Amazon wouldn't even have dispatched his book by the time his interview started. By producing an ebook, Bob allows you to pack in a couple of extra days of critical preparation before your next interview



• Bob offers a no-questions 2-month full money back guarantee. Of all the people who have bought Bob's ebook after visiting this site, not one has asked for their money back (as of 31 May 2006). I don't know of a better recommendation than one offered by other interview candidates!

If you want to see why these candidates are so pleased to have bought Bob's ebook (incidentally, now on special offer and with special bonuses), click on the following link for Bob's interview answers ebook. Just before you go there, please be aware that his website can take a few moments to load - please be patient - I'm sure you'll find it worthwhile!!