When interviewers ask “What can you bring to the company?” they are opening the door for you to confidently humblebrag. This question can also be phrased as:
- “What can you do for the company?”
- How can you add value to the company?”
- “What can you contribute to the company?”
This is your opportunity to convince the interviewer that you can bring value to the company, making them want to extend you an offer. But how do you do this? Do this by preparing a response ahead of time that highlights your relevant skills, tailoring your reply to the role you are applying for.
Why interviewers ask "what do you bring to the company?"
Interviewers want to see you do well in the interview so they ask what you can bring to the company, essentially extending you a time to shine. Talking further about your skills and qualifications can set you apart from the other candidates, showing that you offer value to the company that they cannot. Interviewers are looking for someone who can effectively describe how they can reach the company's objectives and goals, making themselves stand out from the crowd.
This question also tests the soft skills that a candidate may have. Interviewers are looking for someone who is articulate, confident, and prepared for the interview. While you are describing your strengths, is important that you answer this question with humility.
How to prepare your answer to "what do you bring to the company?"
Do Research
To respond with a relevant answer that will show you know your stuff, first do research on the company, the work culture, and the job’s responsibilities. Find exactly what the interviewer is looking for in a candidate so you can tie your strengths to that quota and the role you’re interviewing for. By highlighting those sought after strengths, you are showing you can help the company achieve its goals.
To get a fuller picture of the company, reread the job description and then move on to examining the company's social media pages, website’s ‘about us’ page, mission statement, core values, biographies, etc… Really, try and find anything published about the company, including news articles about the company.
If the question is asked towards the tail end of the interview and the interviewer has already told you about what the company needs from the new hire, now is your chance to show that you can fill those shoes perfectly.
How to answer what you can bring to the company
Think of your background and choose something that the company is looking for in a candidate. Examples of things you may bring to the company are:
- You work well with others
- You thrive in fast paced environments
- Your passion for the industry or position
- You’re a strong multitasker
- You’re highly dedicated and will be loyal to the company
- You work well under pressure
- You’re a motivated self-starter
- You’re a quick learner
- You have a lot of experience working with a relevant skill
- You’re highly flexible
- You’re creative and can bring new ideas to life
- You have superior knowledge of the industry
Once you’ve chosen one skill to hone in on, describe it in a short-story format. Do this by structuring your answer using the STAR method.
- Situation: Describe the situation.
- Task: Explain your role in the situation.
- Action: Discuss the actions you took to resolve or improve the situation.
- Result: Describe and measure the outcome of the situation.
Example:
“I know you’re looking for a social media manager who will make sure that all the company’s social media platforms are kept up to date on a daily basis while also making original visual content for the pages. In my previous position as a photography content creator for a swimwear brand, there would be days in which stormy weather didn’t permit me or the team to go outside and shoot. I stayed on top of it by being flexible and taking advantage of sunny days. I reallocated working hours to good days, producing days worth of content within those hours. By doing this, it alleviated the stress rainy days would bring as I built ahead of time a whole stock of photos to use in anticipation. To stay up to the daily needs of ABC Company, I will bring the same level of preparedness to make sure the social media pages never fall behind.”
What not to do when answering this interview question
- Make sure you’re not giving irrelevant information or listing off general skills that won’t help you on the job.
- Don’t take more than a minute to say your answer.
- Don’t put down other candidates to try and bring yourself up.
Want more interview prep?Check out our posts on:
Interview prep for Founding Engineers
How to answer the interview question, what do you bring to the company
How to talk about a career change
How to talk about your long-term career goals
For other interview tips, check out our other posts on interviewing on the blog.
