How to Answer Interview Question “What Skill Sets Do You Provide Over Other Candidates?” (Ultimate Guide)

Ah, once again we are taking a deep dive into the wonderful world of job interviews. It’s something we all have to do eventually. At this point, you have absolutely crushed the resume process, crafting a concise advertisement that pitches you as a worker. You’ve completed the job application process with ease. Now, you are face-to-face (or Zooming) with a hiring manager. You feel both confident and assertive. Then, they ask you “What Skill Sets Do You Provide Over Other Candidates?”.

It’s interesting. We have been doing these in-depth interview question guides for a few months. It seems as if the further we go, the harder the questions become. Unfortunately, this doesn’t negate the frequency of questions. Overall, you are likely to face questions within this realm every time you approach a job interview. It’s as if hiring managers are out to stump you. As if they feed off of sweat, tears and umms.

All jokes aside, there are valid reasons behind asking tricky interview questions, especially “What Skill Sets Do You Provide Over Other Candidates?”.

As a staffing agency, we conduct interviews every day. We ask the aforementioned question often. As experts, we know exactly what hiring managers are looking for (is that enough ethos for you?). Let’s get you on the right track.

Sit back, relax and get your pencils ready (does anyone actually write anymore?). Here’s our ultimate guide to answering the question “What Skill Sets Do You Provide Over Other Candidates?”.

Why Ask the Question?

Anecdote: I found myself in a bit of an argument the other day. A friend and I were discussing the overall risk factor that falls within the realm of hiring. The friend argued that employers should give potential employees more opportunities and tryouts. I countered with the risk that surrounds hiring an employee. Wasting resources being the major factor. Ultimately, it can cost a business a lot of money and time to bring in an employee. If that employee doesn’t work out, the damages can be noticeable.

Consequently, there is a fine line between both arguments. There are benefits to giving employees chances, especially those without one-for-one experience. You can always end up finding a gem that excels in both company culture and the role. On the other hand, the resources can make the risk too dangerous for some businesses.

What does this have to do with “What Skill Sets Do You Provide Over Other Candidates?”

Bear with me.

Soft Skills Are Crucial

There are two candidates for an SEO Specialist job. Applicant A has over 10 years of experience as an SEO Specialist. Applicant B has related experience but has never worked in an exact SEO role. A has a terrible attitude, exuding pessimism and toxic traits. B is a pleasure to be around. They work hard and are dedicated to improving their abilities and building team skills.

SEO can be taught to Applicant B. Positivity can’t be taught to Applicant A. Which one has a higher chance of a better future in the position? While A may be less risky, they may have a lower ceiling. B may need more work, but their workplace ceiling is exponentially higher. They have a chance of becoming an ace employee.

Long story short, there is a benefit to hiring employees with soft skills. These intangible attributes are unteachable, while other necessities in the role are.

The fine line of deciding the risk and reward of a less-experienced candidate is extremely thin. It could be a mistake. It could be a decision that benefits your company for decades.

When a hiring manager asks what skills put you above other candidates, they are looking to see what natural abilities you have. They are looking for you to sell yourself with confidence.

Side Note:

This is not to say that the interview question is only asked of applicants with less experience. That was just an example to underline the importance of applicable skills.

Ultimately, the question is asked to allow you to pitch yourself as an employee. If you are under-experienced for the role, this is the time to sell yourself as a reward-outweighs-the-risk hire.

What Does Put You Above the Rest?

You can answer interviews with fluff that employers want to hear, but that’s ill-advised. Yes, we could lay out a plethora of example answers that will make you sound like an excellent hire, but that’s not the point. Henceforth, you should take the time to reflect on what really does put you above the other candidates.

Don’t lie and say the things the company wants to hear. Find a way to shape and use the truth. Lying will only lead to negative emotions moving forward. If you say you’re a hard worker and aren’t, you are in for bumpy employment. It’s that simple.

What makes you special? What is your glowing attribute that managers constantly compliment you on? It may be hard to find, especially if you find yourself as one to gravitate towards self-doubt, but it’s possible. Everyone has something that makes them great.

For example, my boundless wit always puts me above other candidates.

I kid. But that’s kind of the point. Right?

If you are having trouble, here are some examples of soft skills employers often look for.

10 Sought-Out Employee Soft Skills

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Willingness to Learn
• Positivity
• Ability to Work Under Pressure
• Leadership
• Emotional Intelligence
• Time Management
• Creative Visionary
• Confidence

Unfortunately, picking one of these isn’t detailed enough to be your answer. Simply stating that you are a leader isn’t enough to make you stand out.

Henceforth, these soft skills are just places to start. You will have to pick one of these categories and build off of it with more detailed examples and definitions. We will get to that shortly.

Plan Ahead

We have stated these next few tips in every interview question guide. This is not a coincidence. Planning is crucial for every interview question (including the entirety of the interview itself).

Here is the good thing: you are already reading this. You are already planning! Good for you!

Overall, you want to have the overview of your answer planned out in your head before you enter the interview. On the contrary, you do not want to have a rehearsed speech. Confusing? Kind of.

Basically, you want to think of things you are going to say (like what skills put you above other candidates) and an example you will use to back this up. While you can’t determine exactly which questions the interviewer is going to ask, there will be some sort of question that falls within the same category.

This does not mean you should prepare a speech. The interviewer wants to see your personality and ability to speak shine through the forced moment. Babbling off a prepared script doesn’t allow your true self to peak through your answer.

Keep Your Answer Under 2 Minutes!

Every interview question answer should be brief and precise (hence practicing). Rambling shows a sense of unpreparedness and lack of focus. You want to pinpoint your answer, speak clearly and articulate your point quickly.

There are examples of interview questions that can stretch beyond two minutes, but those are often industry-specific. For basic questions like “What skill sets do you provide over others?” your answer should be swift. Keep it under two minutes.

Ultimately, you shouldn’t worry about covering all bases. If the interviewer has further questions, they will ask them. You aren’t going to get penalized for not touching on every little detail. Take a deep breath!

Tailor Your Answer to the Company

Welcome to another piece of conflicting information! We never said interviews were easy.

Remember how we said (not even five paragraphs ago) that you should not form an answer just to say what the company wants to hear?

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. You should never lie, sure, but you should pick and choose what answer fits the job the most. Let’s say you decide on three skills that are truthful and show you as a unique worker. You should decide which one of these fits the job and company. It’s not lying, but picking which answer fits the situation.

You should always research a company before you apply to them. Not only should you tailor your resume to fit the job, but you should plan your interview approach around it. If the company you are applying to writes qualifications in the job description (i.e. must be a leader, must work in a fast-paced environment, must be open to criticism), then your answer has already been laid out for you. Fit your answer to what they are looking for and what type of employees they need.

If the job description doesn’t have what skill sets they are looking for listed, you have to infer what is necessary. What type of job is it? What skills are necessary for the line of work? Furthermore, take a look at more information about the company. Do they have a strong culture? If so, what employee attributes would apply to it?

You have to do a bit of detective work to put together a thoroughly-tailored answer, but it will be worth it.

Think of Other People’s Answers

A critical tip to crafting the best answer is to think of other people. What are the cliche answers? What do you believe other people will value as important? Will other people state the same attributes that you have already determined for yourself?

Unfortunately, we aren’t psychics. It’s impossible to note exactly what others are going to say. For example, let’s say the job involves customer service. The most common skill people state will likely be something about communication. On paper, it seems like the obvious answer. It seems like exactly what the employer wants to hear.

If nine-out-of-ten applicants state their communication is what skill sets put them above the other candidates, then does it really put them above others? No.

Here’s a quick tip that may help. If you research the company and job description and think of an answer, don’t use it. Go to the second one. If the first answer is what you formulated after researching the job, then it’s probably what other people think, too. Don’t go with your first thought, unless you are sure it’s an extremely unique attribute.

Tips on What to Say in Your Answer (With Examples)

We have babbled on long enough! Let’s get into it.

Remember, this is not one-size-fits-all. Consequently, to create an example, we are going to focus on one specific soft skill and go from there. While this may not give you an exact answer to follow, it will give you an idea of how to craft and work through your answer.

For this example, we are going to use the idea of applying a different field to the new one. In the example, we are applying for a graphic designer role. We have some experience in the field, but we also have experience as a customer service manager in retail. They may not seem directly connected, but that’s the point of the uniqueness.

Let’s break it down.

1. Start With the Attribute

There is no reason to beat around the bush. You should start the answer off by identifying what skill sets you are about to delve into. Short and concise is the motto here. As we stated, you want to prove that you can answer questions directly and effectively without drawing on.

Pick one attribute. While it may seem more impressive to rattle off 15 soft skills, it’s more impactful to give one with a defined example (we’ll get to that).

“What puts me above other applicants is [blank].”

This answer may include a unique-but-applicable experience, a special certification, or an impressive experience (like being a manager young or starting a successful business). As noted, we will be focusing on different applicable experiences for our answer.

Quick and precise. You state something interesting that will grasp the attention of the interviewer. Sure, you have skills as a graphic designer, but you are about to explain how an unrelated job applies to the new one.

I’m intrigued. Are you intrigued?

2. Get Into Detail

We got the interviewer hooked with a unique opening. Now it’s time to deliver. What soft skills and experience has being a customer service manager given us in graphic design?

Now is the time to delve into it.

For another example, let’s say you created a successful business out of college. Your first sentence would be stating that. Now it would be time to say how creating a successful business applies to the graphic design job. It’s time to highlight the soft skill.

We noted that we learned great communication skills and teamwork abilities.

In this example, these are skills that graphic designers may not naturally receive. Most graphic design work my be independent. Having the teamwork skills from a different industry gives you a leg up in that department.

3. Include an Example

You can talk about yourself positively until the cows come home (or whatever that saying is). But, you have to back it up eventually.

If you are using a certification or former achievement (i.e. starting a business) as your applicable skills, now is the time to go into detail about it. What type of success did you see? Did you sell the business to a larger company? How quickly did you see success?

As stated, this isn’t the time to dive into a full autobiography, but give an example to back up your claims.

We stated how we implemented those leadership skills and gave an actual example of the success we saw in a leadership position.

I’m not entirely sure if the satisfactory rating example is a real thing. But, you get the point. Maybe your hardworking skills provided for a 20% raise in profits. Something like that.

4. Final Product

Now we have got all the pieces. Let’s see our finished product.

Of course, the specifics and styles will be different for everyone. Our example didn’t involve a specific industry or work projects. Fill those in as needed. Overall, this is the easiest and most effective way to structure your answer to “What skill sets put you above other candidates?”.

We opened by stating something interesting in how a different field attains to graphic design. Then, we expressed how we learned important teamwork abilities. Finally, we gave a specific example of the teamwork success we saw in the position.

Walah!

Important Things to Remember

– Don’t Draw a Blank

We go back and forth about the concept of taking a pause. In our former interview tips, we state that it’s okay to take a second to think. You don’t want to answer any question with a string of ums and uhs. You can take a second of pause, sure, but you should have your answer ready.

Overall, asking what skill sets you bring to the table isn’t a quick question. You should know these things about yourself off the bat. It’s a time to brag about yourself and your abilities. Don’t start it with a blank. You have to answer this one.

– Keep It Work Related

This should go without saying, but we will take a second to note it.

Being able to kickflip a skateboard is a really cool feat. In fact, some may consider it radical. Unfortunately, it doesn’t bring anything to the table in regard to work. Neither does having double joints or a private detective’s license (unless you are applying to be an actual detective).

Talk about professional and business-related attributes. Those other things make you unique, but they aren’t job-related.

– Always Compare Your Background to the Job

Let’s go back to the ‘opening your own business’ example.

If you are applying for the graphic designer job and you say that your unique attributes are that you opened a successful business, you have to relate them together. What is the correlation between the two?

You can’t just say “What skill sets put me above others? I opened my own business. It was pretty successful and I ran it well.”

Tie it back to the job at hand, please.

– End With Confidence

You should be exuding confidence throughout the entire interview process. It’s the time to sell yourself to the employer.

Consequently, being confident does not mean being cocky. You want to portray confidence in your abilities, but also show that you are willing to take criticism and grow. You are not perfect, but you are sure of your abilities to strive towards perfection.

Make sense?

If you aren’t sure that you are showing confidence, end your answer with a confident statement. In our previous example, we ended the answer with “It’s that applicable team skills that I bring to the table. I can handle communication, regardless of how heated it is.”

We finished the answer with an absolute. I can handle communication. Not, I think I can handle communication. It’s the intricacy of a simple turn of phrase. It’s the assurance in the abilitiy.

Basically, end the answer with a statement about what you bring. If the attribute you are highlighting is how hard of a worker you are, end the answer by saying “I am a hardworker and that’s what I bring to the position.”

– You’ve Got This

Remember your worth! You can do it. What skill sets do you bring to the table? Great ones!

It’s just an interview and a chance to tell them about yourself. It will only last a few minutes. Then you’ll be back to your life (hopefully with a new job). You will make it through, I promise.

If the interview doesn’t work out, that’s okay. There are always job opportunities out there. Keep going. Keep building your skill sets.