The entire world lives on debt. With the current level of real estate prices, it’s almost impossible to buy a house without getting a mortgage. And we apply for other loans for other reasons as well. What’s more, cash is outdated, and everyone has a credit card… And though many things can be arranged online nowadays, people will continue going to banks, talking to tellers and to personal bankers. And the jobs continue to appear on the list of most popular career choices, in all corners of the world.
When you interview for a position of a bank teller, or personal banker, you will almost always compete with many other people for the job. And since education and previous experience does not play a big role in this hiring process, it is often hard for the hiring managers to pick the winner. Some banks will try to find out your readiness for the job with a series of assessment tests, and some others will simply ask you questions. “Why should we hire you?” belongs to common questions, and one that isn’t easy to answer.
In an ideal case you should pick something that makes you stand out from the crowd, your USP, something that distinguishes you from the rest of the job applicants. If you cannot identify anything like that, however, you can talk about some of your skills and abilities, and motivation. Let’s have a look at 7 sample answers to the question. You will find also some unconventional choices in my list.
7 sample answers to “Why should we hire you as our new bank teller?” interview question
- I have excellent communication skills and people generally enjoy talking to me. They consider me a great listener, someone who can spot the words in-between the lines, the underlying emotions and wishes of the customers. I believe this ability is crucial for an excellent banker, so they can spot an opportunity to make an up-sell, or basically to know what product to offer to the customer.
- I have been working in this field for years. Not exactly in banking, but in customer service, dealing with all kinds of people and situations. Angry customers, people who do not want to cooperate, people who just sit and say nothing–I know how to deal with these situations, how to provide an excellent service and at the same time maximize the value of the customer. I believe that my experience sets me apart from other candidates for this position, and believe that you can benefit from it a lot in your bank.
- Loyalty, responsibility, attention to detail. These are some of my strengths, and I believe it’s not easy to find them in today’s job market, where people change jobs more often than they change their socks. I am here to stay, to be with your bank for many years to come, and hopefully also progress with you, get some better job, improve my qualifications in the field, and so on. I’m in for a long run, an investment that will pay off many times over. At least that’s how I see it, and hope that you will hire me and give me a chance to prove my words.
- To be honest, I do not know why you should hire me, and not one of the other job applicants. Look, I certainly have my strengths–communication skills, ability to deliver an excellent service, experience from sales. And I like your bank and am strongly motivated to work here. But I am sure that other candidates also have their strengths, wishes, and dreams. And since I haven’t met them in person, I cannot tell who’s the best candidate, the one you should hire. It’s up to you to decide, and I hope you will make a good decision.
- You should hire me because I’m fresh from the college. New blood on the employment market, super motivated, eager to learn, to benefit from your excellent training program, and to deliver results. Maybe I lack the experience of other candidates, maybe I’m the youngest from the applicants you interview here today. But I believe that my drive and enthusiasm makes up for the lack of experience. And I am ready to prove it here–if I get a chance.
- You should hire me as a banker because I have a vast knowledge of the industry, of all financial instruments for the clients. I’ve been passionate about finances for a long time, and as you can see on my resume I have several certifications that testify to my skills. I honestly believe that I am ready to offer your customers the most fitting products and services, and that I will generate an excellent sales volume each month. There’s no reason why I should doubt my ability to do that, and I hope you will give me a chance to make something big happen in this banking center.
- I honestly think that you should find the answer to this question without my assistance. At the end of the day, this was a great interview, you asked me a lot of questions, including situational and behavioral. By now you know my attitude to various situations, and understand the way in which I talk to people. That being said, I have not talked to the other candidates, and have no idea how their interviews went. Of course I am motivated, and will be beyond happy if you choose me, and not one of the other candidates, but the final call is yours. I hope you will make a good one.
Betting on humility can be the winning strategy
The first instinct tell us to praise our own abilities and skills, to try to convince them that we are the very best, the employee all companies dream of. And while it can work at times, especially if we have something to backup our claims–for example results we achieved in our former jobs, or some certifications we earned, it’s not necessarily the best approach to this question.
On the other hand, humility is a highly sought-after quality in the employment market, especially when we talk about entry level jobs in banks and big corporations. The reason is simple. All these institutions have excellent training programs in place.
You basically do not need to know anything about a job of a teller, or phone banker, or personal banker, and in one month they will teach you how to greet the customer, lead a meeting, react to various questions and objections, and so on.
Hence they prefer to hire candidates who aren’t over-confident about their abilities. They love to hire people who are eager to learn, motivated to work hard, and can still be shaped, at least somehow, to meet the ideas of the bank managers… Do not forget on this while interviewing for the job…
Make sure to check also 7 sample answers to other tricky interview questions for bank tellers:
- Bank teller interview – Tell me about yourself.
- Bank teller interview – What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Why do you want to work as a bank teller?
