What Makes You Unique? Interview Question With Tips and Examples
“What makes you unique?” is one of the most challenging interview questions because it requires you to differentiate yourself from potentially hundreds of other candidates—while remaining authentic and relevant to the job. This question, along with variations like “What sets you apart?” or “Why should we hire you over others?”, gives you an opportunity to make a memorable impression.
This guide will help you craft a compelling answer that showcases your distinctive value.
Why Interviewers Ask This Question
Understanding the Intent
Interviewers ask this question to:
Assess Self-Awareness: Do you understand your own strengths and how they compare to others?
Evaluate Fit: Can you articulate why you’re particularly suited for this role?
Test Communication: Can you present yourself confidently without arrogance?
Discover Differentiators: What do you bring that other qualified candidates might not?
Gauge Interest: Have you thought deeply about why you’re right for this position?
Framework for Answering
Step 1: Identify Your Unique Combination
You don’t need one extraordinary trait—unique combinations of skills and experiences differentiate you:
- Industry experience + technical skills
- Educational background + practical experience
- Hard skills + soft skills
- Professional expertise + personal interests
- Diverse career path + focused goal
Step 2: Connect to the Role
Your uniqueness must be relevant. Ask yourself:
- How does my unique quality benefit this employer?
- What problems can I solve that others might not?
- Why does this matter for the specific position?
Step 3: Provide Evidence
Back up claims with specific examples:
- Achievements that demonstrate the quality
- Situations where your uniqueness made a difference
- Quantifiable results when possible
Types of Unique Qualities to Highlight
Skill Combinations
"What makes me unique is my combination of technical data analysis skills
and strong client-facing communication abilities. Many analysts prefer to
work behind the scenes, but I've built my career presenting complex findings
directly to executives and clients. This allows me to not just analyze data,
but to translate it into actionable business strategies."Diverse Background
"My unique perspective comes from my non-traditional path into marketing.
With five years in sales before transitioning to marketing, I understand
the customer journey from both sides. This helps me create campaigns that
sales teams can actually use to close deals—something I've seen increase
sales-marketing alignment by 40% in my current role."Problem-Solving Approach
"What sets me apart is my systematic approach to problem-solving that I
developed during my engineering training. Even in non-technical roles,
I apply root cause analysis to business challenges. In my last position,
this approach helped me identify process inefficiencies that others had
overlooked for years, saving the company $200K annually."Specific Expertise
"I bring unique expertise in international healthcare regulations from my
five years working with EU market compliance. As you expand into European
markets, my knowledge of GDPR, MDR, and local healthcare requirements can
accelerate your market entry by months compared to learning on the go."Personal Qualities
"What makes me unique is my genuine passion for mentoring others. Throughout
my career, I've informally coached 15+ colleagues who've gone on to promotions
and leadership roles. This isn't just altruism—I've found that investing in
others creates stronger teams and better outcomes for everyone, including me."Example Answers by Industry
Technology
“What makes me unique is my ability to bridge the gap between technical and business teams. As a developer who started in customer support, I understand user frustrations firsthand. This perspective has shaped my approach to building features—I’ve reduced user-reported issues by 60% in my current role because I anticipate problems before they happen.”
Healthcare
“My unique value comes from my dual background in nursing and healthcare administration. I’ve walked patient floors and managed department budgets. This gives me credibility with clinical staff while understanding operational pressures. In my last role, this combination helped me implement changes that nursing staff actually embraced rather than resisted.”
Marketing
“What sets me apart is my data-first approach to creative decisions. While many marketers rely on intuition, I’ve built systems to test creative concepts before full launches. This approach has reduced our failed campaign rate by 70% and helped us allocate budget more effectively to high-performing content.”
Finance
“I bring a unique combination of public accounting and corporate finance experience. Having worked on both sides—as auditor and as the one being audited—I understand what external stakeholders look for and how to present financial information that builds trust while meeting all compliance requirements.”
Sales
“What makes me unique is my consultative approach combined with technical knowledge. I’m not just a relationship builder—I can dive deep into product specifications and speak authentically about technical benefits. This has helped me consistently outperform quota by 30% because clients trust that I understand their actual needs.”
Human Resources
“My unique perspective comes from spending seven years in operations before moving to HR. I understand the challenges managers face daily, which makes me a more effective HR partner. I don’t just enforce policies—I help find practical solutions that work for both employees and the business.”
What NOT to Say
Avoid Generic Answers
Too Vague: “I’m a hard worker who’s dedicated to excellence.” (Everyone says this)
Not Connected to Role: “I can juggle—literally. I learned as a kid and I’m really good at it.” (Unless applying to a circus, not relevant)
Arrogant: “I’m simply the best at what I do, period.” (Off-putting and unsubstantiated)
Negative Differentiation: “Unlike other candidates, I don’t have any weaknesses.” (Unrealistic and defensive)
Turn Bad Answers Into Good Ones
Instead of: “I’m a people person.” Try: “I’ve built a reputation for turning around underperforming teams. In my last two roles, I took teams with lowest engagement scores and got them to top quartile within 18 months through focused relationship building and clear communication.”
Instead of: “I’m detail-oriented.” Try: “My attention to detail caught a $500K billing error in my last role that had been recurring for two years. I’ve since built a verification system that’s been adopted across our department.”
Preparation Strategies
Self-Assessment Exercise
Answer these questions to uncover your uniqueness:
- What compliments do I consistently receive?
- What do colleagues ask me for help with?
- What problems do I solve that others struggle with?
- What unusual combination of skills do I have?
- What experiences have shaped my perspective differently?
- What am I known for in my professional circle?
Research the Role
Align your uniqueness with job requirements:
- Review the job description for key qualifications
- Identify challenges the role likely faces
- Consider what problems you could solve uniquely
- Think about what competitors might lack
Practice Your Delivery
Your answer should:
- Be 60-90 seconds long
- Sound conversational, not rehearsed
- Include a specific example
- Connect clearly to the role
Handling Variations
”What sets you apart from other candidates?”
Same approach—focus on your unique combination of qualities relevant to the role.
”Why should we hire you over others?”
Directly connect your uniqueness to their needs: “You should hire me because my combination of [X] and [Y] directly addresses your challenge with [Z]."
"What’s your competitive advantage?”
Business-oriented phrasing—respond with value proposition: “My competitive advantage is [specific expertise] combined with [complementary skill], which enables me to [specific benefit to employer]."
"What do you bring that others don’t?”
Focus on unique perspective or experience: “I bring [specific background/experience] that gives me unique insight into [relevant area].”
Building Confidence
Remember: You ARE Unique
Every person has a unique combination of:
- Experiences
- Skills
- Perspectives
- Achievements
- Interests
- Approaches
The question isn’t whether you’re unique—it’s articulating what makes you unique for THIS role.
Authenticity Matters
The best answers are genuine. Don’t manufacture uniqueness—discover and articulate what’s already true about you.
Preparation Builds Confidence
The more you’ve thought about this question, the more naturally you’ll answer it. Practice until your response feels conversational.
Using Your Resume as Foundation
Your resume should already highlight your unique qualifications. When preparing for interviews, review your resume on 0portfolio.com or similar platforms to identify the distinctive elements that set you apart. The achievements and skills you’ve documented provide excellent source material for answering “What makes you unique?”
Sample Strong Answers
Strong Answer 1:
“What makes me unique is my combination of startup and enterprise experience. I’ve built marketing functions from scratch at two startups and led global campaigns at Fortune 500 companies. This means I can work scrappy when resources are tight, but I also know how to scale programs systematically. For this growth-stage role, that combination means I can help you move fast now while building foundation for enterprise-level operations.”
Strong Answer 2:
“My unique value is my deep expertise in sustainable supply chain practices developed over eight years in this niche. As you’re committed to sustainability goals, I can help you navigate supplier certifications, identify greenwashing risks, and build partnerships with verified sustainable vendors. Most supply chain professionals are just starting to learn this area—I’ve been living it.”
Strong Answer 3:
“What sets me apart is my ability to simplify complexity. I’ve made a career of taking technical concepts and making them accessible—whether training customers on software or explaining financial reports to non-finance executives. I’ve been told I can explain anything to anyone, and I’ve seen how this skill accelerates adoption and alignment in every role I’ve held.”
Conclusion
The “What makes you unique?” question is an opportunity to differentiate yourself and leave a memorable impression. Success comes from:
- Identifying your genuine differentiators through self-reflection
- Connecting uniqueness to the role so it’s clearly relevant
- Providing evidence through specific examples
- Delivering confidently without arrogance
Remember, you don’t need to be one-of-a-kind in any single quality. Your unique combination of skills, experiences, and perspectives is what sets you apart. Own your story, connect it to the employer’s needs, and deliver it with confidence.
Take time before your interview to reflect on what truly makes you different—and how that difference creates value for the organization you want to join.
