Logan Bradford’s Post

"Why should we hire you over the other candidates we're considering?" is either a trick question or a huckleberry-badly thought-out question. An interviewer has NO BUSINESS asking that question and a candidate has NO BUSINESS answering that question until the answers to two other questions have been thoroughly discussed: 1. What are the top [3] priorities for the org right now that they are trying to solve with this hire? 2. What strengths and weaknesses do the other candidates bring? Unless you've got at least 30-60 minutes to discuss these items at length, don't ask that question as an interviewer. And unless you've already discussed those items at length, any answer you give as a candidate is, at worst, uninformed, self-aggrandizing nonsense and, at best, mere pitching into a black box. You might be hitting a bullseye with your arrow, but chances are it's not the target your prospective employer is wanting their candidate to hit. Obfuscate and pivot to something else like, "I have no idea what the other candidates look like, but I'll tell you this: I want you to have the very best employee to solve the challenges your org is currently facing. If you're interested in having someone who is a talented, sharp, passionate, hard-working collaborator who has a track record of picking up new skills quickly, I'm going to be a great fit. But ultimately, we'd have a dive further into what you're looking for in order to determine if I'm the right person for the job." That's ^^ the answer I'd give if I suspected they were asking a trick question. If they were asking it earnestly prior to discussing the 2 questions above, or refused to discuss the answers to those questions, I'd probably conclude that they have no idea what they're doing or what they even want in this new hire. It's not the org for me. - Photo of Teancum and the Middle Teton on our descent down the Upper Exum of the Grand. Because algorithms. But also because the Tetons. #recruiting #jobhunting #interview #interviewtips #jobdescription #hiring