Answering 'What Can You Bring to the Company?' in an Interview

Employers ask questions like ‘What can you bring to the company?’ or ‘What can you offer us that someone else cannot?’ to learn more about your skills and talents. These types of common interview questions give you the opportunity to discuss specific experiences or qualifications that make you a top candidate for the role. Employers are looking for someone who can prove they would be successful in their position.

Follow these steps to effectively answer, ‘What can you bring to the company?’

1. Research the role

Make sure to fully understand everything the position entails prior to the interview. Read over the job requirements to learn about any specific skills or qualifications this company is looking for. This can help you reflect on which of them are your strongest points. Likewise, get to know what values the company has. You could find a way to incorporate how your own values align with those of the business.

2. Use the STAR method

One of the best strategies to use when answering, ‘What can you bring to the company?’ is the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) interview response method. Essentially, the STAR method helps you share your own professional experiences in a more thoughtful way, which can help you show that your prior experience will help you in this new role. Let’s go over each component of this method:

• Situation: Describe the context of a challenging situation or an especially impressive task you handled. Figure out how you can make the details relate to the job you’re applying to. For instance, if you want to show that you have leadership skills, share a time you led an important project.
• Task: Explain your responsibilities in the situation you provided. Help the employer understand exactly what you needed to do.
• Action: Give details about the actions you took and how you managed to get your tasks done. Show that you are capable of handling challenging tasks on your own.
• Result: Share what the overall outcome was. Of course, only choose situations where the outcome shows that you accomplished or achieved something important. You could even share a few takeaways of what this experience taught you.

3. Share unique skills and talents

Along with explaining past experiences you had, look to the present and the future. You can discuss specific skills and talents you have that would make you a great asset to the team. You can also share any career goals you have that may align with the objectives of the company. Showing that you have aspirations can indicate that you are a motivated and ambitious candidate.

Use these sample answers as inspiration when planning your own response to, ‘What can you bring to the company?’:

Example 1

As an experienced researcher, I can offer quite a bit to this company. Over the past few years, I have really developed my leadership skills, which I know are an integral part of this position. For instance, when I worked at the biology lab, we were experiencing major budget cuts. Since I knew how important our work was despite the lack of funding, I decided to head our penguin research expedition and plan the entire trip to fit within the budget. Although this was quite the challenge, I found that my communication skills helped me make valuable connections that led to better travel deals. My team was able to do the research we needed while still fitting within the department’s limited funding requirements. Luckily, our amazing research actually led to us getting a major grant. This story shows that I have the adaptability and drive to make even the most challenging situations work. As a lead researcher at your company, I would always find a way to make our research possible.

Example 2

With my creative background, I can offer new and innovative ideas to the company. While working as a graphic designer, there was a time that I needed to come up with a new product package design for a particular client. It was my job to meet with this client and learn about their wants and needs. Even though what they wanted seemed impossible, I ended up thinking of a really unique design. Although I was nervous to present my idea, I went with my gut and moved forward anyway. The client ended up loving it and said they didn’t expect something so memorable. If I were to get this job, I would continue to push the limits and think of out-of-the-box ideas and solutions. By combining my technical skills with my creative thinking, I know I can come up with some exciting work for your team.

Example 3

While working in this industry for the past two decades, I have made countless connections that I know would be quite valuable for the company. For instance, last summer, I went to a convention with the top 100 companies in the United States. Through light conversation and networking, I managed to collect quite a few business cards and even scheduled a follow-up lunch with several contacts. If I were to get this role, I would continue to use my networking skills to make more important connections, and I would also be willing to share the ones I currently have.