I have done my fair share of job interviews in my lifetime. Some of them were actually pretty creative, others very standard, and some… what should we call them? Alternatively creative? Fortunately, there were only a handful of those in my experience. But even during standard interviews, you are very likely to be asked some infuriating questions.
One such question on my top five list is “Why should we hire you?” Sounds like quite a normal question, but as an employer, shouldn’t you be the one who decides why you should hire me? Asking me this question begins to feel like you are asking me to do your job for you.
There are tons of tutorials, courses, and articles on the internet that provide advice on what to say in an interview to successfully land a job, but the issue here is that there is no universally good answer that will appeal to every potential employer you will encounter on your career path.
A big disclaimer before you proceed to read all the answers we collected for the “Why is hiring me a good idea?” question: it is very unlikely that there are a lot of employers who, when asking “Why are you a great match for this role?” or “Why do you want this job?”, would accept a funny or even clearly mocking answer in good humor. So unless you’ve gone to an interview just to pass some time, we recommend you don’t use any of these as your sincere answer. Instead, share them with your friends for a good laugh.
What other infuriating, stupid, or confusing questions have you been asked during a job interview?
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"When you look at the schedule, and you see my name, you know you have nothing to worry about."
"Hiring me now will be cheaper than trying to convince me later."
"Cause I already told a ton of people about this interview and if I don't get the job I'm gonna look like an idiot."
"I have a good collection of memes and can give the right meme references at any appropriate moment."
"Because I’m incredibly lazy and that makes me very good at creating efficiencies and automating things."
"For the same reason I chose this company over other equally-qualified companies."
"Because I will make you more money than you will pay me."
"What's with all the questions? Are you a cop?"
"I’m pretty confident that I am the best candidate for this job role."
"Because I’m a big fan of money. I like it, I use it, I have a little. I keep it in a jar on top of my refrigerator. I’d like to put more in that jar."
"You all are desperate as hell for warm bodies, right? Check my temperature and see if I’m warm."
"Because I am always the food guy. Hire me and you'll never be hungry again."
"Because I waited at the reception area for 30 minutes and I observed that your only two employees were fooling around instead of working."
"Don’t like me now? Just think of the satisfaction you will get out of firing me later. Oh, you definitely savor it."
"Thank you for that wonderful question."
"Because I am not here to get paid. I am here to do a job."
"Because you have work that needs to be done, and I am qualified and willing to get that work done right."
"Because you look like a person that makes smart decisions."
"Because you value quality work and you're looking for a dependable worker. Well, here I am!"
"You didn’t come here to make a choice, you’ve already made it. You came here to try to understand why you’ve made that choice. I’ll be starting tomorrow."
"If I give you a good reason, then I will no longer be equal with the other applicants. Trust me, it will be very unfair to them."
"Now that you've asked me such a lame question with no definitive answer possible, you tell me why I'd even want this job."
"I know hiring a new employee is a large investment. I plan to have your investment pay off immediately."
"Interviews are a two way street. I'm sure if you and I weren't interested we wouldn't have made it to this question; one of us would have gotten up and left already."
"Because nobody from twenty years into the future hasn’t jumped back in time to tell you that you shouldn’t."
"I would definitely be a great asset to the events team because I party all the time. So, let’s get this party started!"
"If you don’t hire me, you won’t be able to leave here with a clear conscience. I guarantee that you’ll always be haunted by your grave mistake of not hiring me!"
"Because I showed up, sat on this chair, and speaking with you. The same can't be said for some of the people on your list. I can almost guarantee that."
"I’ve already applied three times and I feel that now is finally the time for me to be hired."
"Because the number of people available to you with my particular skill set can be counted with your fingers."
"Call anyone I've worked for or with and ask them. You'll have your answer."
"I've already done that, and I had to ask one of them what 'gobshite' meant."
"Because if you don’t then another person just like me will continue the trend because of how common I am."
"I am curious why are people quitting this job. Thank you for your time, I will figure out it on Monday."
"You can't expect me to go to clients and represent the company's best interests if I can't sit down here now and represent mine."
"Because I won't work for the company. I will work for me. Luckily, our goals are aligned."
"Thank you for your question. I'm processing your query and will get back shortly. Your time is valuable to me."
"I don't want to look back on today thinking, 'I should have been a little less arrogant, and I don't want you looking back thinking, 'I should have hired the other guy instead."
"You shouldn't hire me because you really aren't seeking the best person for the job. You are seeking someone whose skills and experience don't threaten you."
That's actually very valid. They're out of line, but they're right.
"Because if you don't, I'll release the video. Yeah, I know you know what I’m talking about."
"I really don't want to work. I'm only here for the money, and I will only give you the effort you pay for."
"To be honest, I'm just here because someone in your company wanted you to talk to me, and I had other things people planned for me this afternoon so I wanted an excuse to get away from them."
"What kind of lame question is that? Come on now, you aren't even trying? At this point don't you just want to hire me so you can move on with your life?"
"Because I am probably better looking, smarter and quieter than half the employees I have seen just by sitting in the waiting room, why wouldn't you?"
"You shouldn't. I complain a lot. I do not work well with others, and I have unrealistic expectations about how things should be. I would not be an asset to your 'team.'"
"Because if you don't hire me, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will do what you have in mind right now."