In every interview session, there is a very high tendency that the interviewer will always as a candidate what makes him or her unique.
It is a fairly popular question that is asked by an interviewer to know what makes a candidate a better choice than the others.
When you are asked what makes you unique, chances are your mind will immediately go to things you do at home or in your personal life.
The things you do at home or in your personal life might be unique but that is not what the interviewer wants to know. The information are irrelevant to the interviewer.
When an interviewer asks you “What makes you unique”, it actually means why are you a better candidate for the job. Out of all the other candidates, why should we pick you?
Though the other candidates possess the same paper qualification as you, why should we pick you?
This is where you have the opportunity to sell yourself to the interviewer. It is an opportunity to let the interviewer know your exceptional qualities and skills.
This is where you tell the interviewer the things you know, your knowledge and experiences.
How you are going to help the company grow, what you can bring to the table. The relevance of the things you know towards the growth of the company.
This is where you show the interviewer why you are a better fit for the position.
Ways to answer “What makes you unique”
If you are asked this question in an interview, there are important things you should talk about. These things will set you apart from the other candidates.
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Your Educational background
Your educational background is not just the paper qualification for the job. Do you possess any additional qualification that the other candidates don’t have?
Have you written any professional exam that you think is of importance to the company? Is there anything you have studied in the past that you think might benefit the company?
If you have additional qualification or certifications that will be of importance to the job, it will do you well to relate them to the interviewer.
Let the interviewer know how those extra qualifications can help move the company forward.
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Mention past experiences and special skills you possess
What are your past experiences? Which companies have you worked before and what roles did you play? How were you able to help the previous companies you’ve worked before meet their goal?
What have you learned during your years of working in those other companies? What are the special skills you possess that will be of great benefit to the company?
How will you apply your experiences and skills towards the growth of the company? How are you going to help the company make more profit and increase revenue with what you know?
All this information will give you an edge over all the other candidates.
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Mention your key personality traits
What are your key personality traits? Are you a goal-getter? How well do you deal with pressure?
Do you lose concentration in the midst of difficult situations? How well can you manage situations when faced with problems?
In difficult times, do you remain optimistic or you lose hope?
These are some of the personality traits you need to highlight. They are what makes you unique.
Talk about how your personality traits have helped you in managing difficult situations and achieving goals.
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Talk about your previous achievements or recognition
Is there any recognition or an award you have got from working at previous companies?
Is there something distinct that you did that was recognized?
Maybe there was a project you completed before at your previous workplace which made the company achieve great success.
Have you been given an award for your excellent contribution to the growth of a company you’ve worked before?
These are the unique things about you and what differentiates you from the other candidates.
10 Best answers to “What makes you unique”
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I am constantly seeking new learning opportunities as I enjoy learning new things.
As a new employee in a new company, you definitely will not know how the company operates and all they do.
Letting the interviewer know that you enjoy learning new things will assure him or her that you are eager to learn.
You are demonstrating your eagerness to know more. This shows that you are someone that is success-focused and strive to be the best.
You are telling the interviewer that though you may not know everything about the company, you are eager to learn fast. You are assuring the interviewer that you are a goal getter.
This is a personality trait that interviewers desire to see from a new employee.
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I am very good at closing deals as I have excellent communication and interpersonal skill.
Closing deals and getting more contracts is what every company desires.
If you are applying for the position of a marketer, sales executive or a PR officer, having a good communication and interpersonal skill is a great advantage.
As a team leader or a manager, you need good communication and interpersonal skill to excel.
Having these skills will make the interviewer believe more in your abilities. This will show the interviewer that you are a better fit for the position.
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I worked as a project leader in my previous workplace and I led my team to create an innovative customer relations network that generated 30% more revenue for the company.
If you are interviewing for the position of a project manager, you should let the interviewer know the results you have achieved before.
The interviewer wants to know what you can do for the company. How will you be able to help the company increase its revenue?
How good are you as a leader and what were you able to achieve in your previous company?
You should be able to relate to the interviewer of your contribution to the success and growth of the company you have worked before.
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I am good at managing time and working within time constraints. Working under pressure for me is challenging and interesting at the same time.
You want to make the interviewer know that you are not afraid of working under pressure. There are times when you will need to provide results within a limited time. What would you do and how will you cope?
Most interviewers want to know how better you can cope under pressure. Can you achieve results when being made to work under a great deal of pressure?
How good are you in managing time?
This is an avenue to prove to the interviewer that you can successfully work under pressure and still provide results.
It is when you let the interviewer know that even under time constraints, you can still do your job effectively.
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I am very organized and focused. This has helped me so much in my previous jobs in increasing productivity.
Every company wants to hire someone that is organized and focused.
The activities in a company may be complicated and tedious. It is an organized and focused individual that can strive in such conditions.
You need to convince the interviewer that you can still perfectly do your job even in the most complicated scenario.
Make the interviewer understand how you have been able to increase productivity in your previous jobs with your organizational skill.
You can share quantitative and qualitative results, impress the interviewer with the things you achieved applying your organizational skill.
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I am not afraid of failure or defeat; I see them as a stepping stone to achieve something remarkable.
This is one very good answer that always impress interviewers. It is a combination of a sincere and success-focused individual.
Interviewers know that as a new employee you are bound to fail in some projects. You may want to impress them but also be sincere.
This reply shows an interviewer that you are not afraid to take risks. It shows that you are not easily discouraged and you are ready to fight till the end.
Being able to achieve something even after encountering some failures on the way is wonderful.
Some great inventors achieved their breakthrough after trying many times and failing many times. They did not give up. In the end, they finally made a breakthrough.
This is the kind of mindset and tenacity that an interviewer wants to see in you.
You can also state instances where your unwavering mindset has helped you to make groundbreaking success.
It will be better to relate to some instances where your ability to remain dedicated and unwavering even in the midst of failures has helped you in your previous jobs.
Relate them to your new job and how you are going to help your new company attain success.
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Having worked in a start-up company, I know all the rudiments of how to grow a company. I have been practically involved in the growth of a company which was only worth a few thousands of dollars to a million-dollar company.
This statement surely will get the attention of the interviewer. All companies want to make profits and increase revenue.
Having being involved in the growth of a start-up company worth a few thousands of dollars to a million-dollar company is something to be very proud of.
No interviewer that won’t want to hire you hearing such statements from you.
Your interviewer will like to know more about how you were able to grow the start-up into a million-dollar company.
You should be able to provide figures and numbers, provide workable roles that you played and the things you did to grow the start-up company.
This is where you can prove to the interviewer that you are exceptionally qualified for the position.
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My empathy with people helps me to build relationships and trust with customers.
Customers determines the growth of a company and the way you as a staff relate with customers determine if they will be loyal customers or not.
Most interviewers want to know how you relate with customers. This is an avenue to tell the interviewer that you are good with relating to customers.
If you are applying as sales personnel, receptionist, account officer, marketer, PR officer and other roles where you need to interact with customers, you should have this quality.
Let the interviewer know how your ability to build relationships and trust with customers has increased the customer base for the previous company you’ve worked before.
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I have seven years’ experience in digital marketing and I was able to drive in traffic for the e-commerce website of my previous company and increase sales by 35%.
This alone has given you an edge over other candidates. Your experience and your role at your previous company have increased sales by 35%.
This is great! An interviewer will be wowed by this and very impressed.
You can also add some relevant information of what exactly you did and how you were able to increase sales by such percentage.
Relate your past experience to your new job and how you are going to help increase sales and revenue for your new company.
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My natural ability to apply both logic and emotions into my work has helped me in difficult times to produce great results.
Most people work all because of the money they will earn at the end of the day.
They do not put their emotions into their work and this has limited their ability to produce results.
Telling an interviewer that you put emotions into your work shows that you are not only working for money but for the love of the job.
An interviewer wants to know that the candidate he or she is employing actually love the company and not just working because of the salary alone.
Relate to the interviewer how you have been able to use analytics and emotions to solve problems and produce excellent results.
