How to Answer: “What makes you unique as a candidate?”
A complete guide to answering this common interview question — including what interviewers are really looking for, practical tips, and a worked example answer.
What interviewers are really asking
Don't recite your CV — make a specific claim about what distinguishes you from other candidates who have similar experience. Think about the intersection of skills, experiences, or perspectives that you uniquely bring. Be direct and confident without being arrogant.
Tips
- Make a specific claim — not a generic 'I'm passionate and hardworking'.
- Think about your unusual combination of skills or experiences.
- Be direct — don't bury your differentiator in qualifications.
- Back it with a brief, specific example.
- Show how it specifically benefits this role.
Example answer
Sample response
“Most engineers either go deep technically or develop strong business instincts — I've deliberately built both. I spent my first three years deep in infrastructure, then moved into a product-adjacent role for two years where I had direct exposure to revenue decisions and customer conversations. That combination means I can architect a system with the commercial context in mind, not just the technical elegance. In practice it means I rarely build the wrong thing — I understand why we're building it.”
Adapt this to your own experience — never use any example answer verbatim.
Use the STAR method
Structure your answer as: Situation (brief context), Task (your specific responsibility), Action (what you personally did), Result (the quantified outcome). Most strong interview answers follow this pattern.
Full STAR method guide