Tips to Answer this Interview Question:

Think about your work accomplishments. What have you done that really made you a “game changer” for the company? For instance, did you win a key piece of business, save a huge account, develop a new program, or mentor someone that turned out to be a terrific asset for the company?

The key is to focus on the “impact” of what you have done. You need to quantify your answer and show how you made money, saved money, or made things run more smoothly or the organization.

Here’s a sales example: I targeted a prospect that was currently doing business with one of our biggest competitors. When I first approached them, I got the typical response;” no, we already have a broker we’ve been working with…thank you, good bye”. I didn’t let this first “no” deter me; in fact, I started by identifying customers of their business that were also clients of ours. I also sent the prospect articles that were about his industry and followed up with him on a regular basis. I made friends with some of his support staff and other department decision makers. In time, I was given the opportunity to bid on his business, and I’m proud to say, I was able to win the account and have now received two additional referrals from the customer’s vendors resulting in $100K of new revenue for my agency.

Here’s a non-sales example: When I joined the ABC firm, they were still using paper files in addition to trying to use AMS. Because I came from a paperless office, I was able to help teach my supervisor some tricks to automate the business and eliminate some of the redundancy. She was so impressed that she arranged a meeting with the owner who ended up putting me in charge of automating the office and helping to train the support staff. As a result, I was promoted to the office trainer and was able to help the firm reduce the amount of time it took to process a renewal by over 25%.

Once you have told your story, make sure that you link the results back to the job you are applying for. This will cause the employer to see you as a results-oriented candidate and will help to increase your chances of landing the job.