Often, two main components go into a hiring decision: technical skills (i.e., can you do the job?) and cultural fit (i.e., do your personality and values jive with the company?). Spend some time reviewing the job description and the “about us” section of the company’s website to better understand the right characteristics to demonstrate.
For example, if a job description reads, “Design and implement marketing strategies to drive customer acquisition,” then it’s likely the interviewer will want you to demonstrate how you’ve successfully acquired customers in the past and show that you can mix high-level thinking with detail-oriented work.
The goal in this step is not to come up with a huge list of everything you need to cover in your answer, but rather, to build a general sense of what the interviewer is looking for.
During my recent job search, I put together a process for answering this question in a way that set me up for success. Follow these steps, and you’ll have a confident opener the next time you step into an interview.