Making the Financial Case to Hire You

"Finding a job in this economy is impossible."

How many times have you heard someone use an excuse like this when discussing their career?

It’s true that during periods of high unemployment (8.7% in Illinois right now) it’s difficult for even qualified applicants to elevate themselves above the glut of other applications. Coupled with the fact that many companies are scaling back their full-time staff in favor of hiring part-time employees and contract consultants, the picture looks grim indeed.

But there’s hope! You can turn the economic downturn on its head and use it to your advantage by using your interview to make the financial case to hire you.

What’s Your ROI?

When it comes down to it, the key to acing your interview is to convince the employer that hiring you is a fiscally responsible move. Doing this means you’ll have to offer them a positive return on their investment (ROI). In the business world, ROI is king, especially in this economy.

The best way to demonstrate a good ROI is to talk about your record of financial wins and cite specific examples of when you’ve been able to save a company time and/or money. As soon as you start speaking specifics, people start noticing. Even better, examples like these will demonstrate your ability to manage people, money, and processes without citing forced, job-seeking rhetoric or clichéd platitudes.

The question applicants should ask themselves when they’re deciding on experiences to highlight in an interview is whether their positive effects are quantifiable—that is to say: can you put a hard number on the money you’ve saved a company? Verifiable facts are far more impressive in an interview than vague impressions and explanations. If you can’t support your claims with facts, it might be time to reevaluate their value to your argument.

Express Your Impact                                         

When I help job-seekers prepare for interviews, I always ask them a series of key questions to help identify their financial contributions. By answering some of the questions below, you’ll be better prepared to effectively highlight your financial impact to an organization.

• How many people did I oversee/work with?
• How many partners were on this project? 
• How big was the budget? 
• How many calls per day did I make?
• How much money did the organization end up saving due to my actions?
• How much staff time did the refined process end up saving the company?

With some thorough company research and a little preparation, you’ll be able to use your answers to the above questions to synthesize the actual cost savings you’ve affected on your previous employers.

Armed with these numbers and a little charisma, you’ll be surprised how easily you can turn a negative situation into a positive one. Remember, the economic recession hasn’t just affected job-seekers; employers are also looking for any and all available means to streamline their organizations and save money. All you have to do is show them how to do it.