Tricky interview question: Here are the CVs of your rival candidates – why should I hire you over them?

This finance techie in Singapore came up against an interviewer who didn’t mind flaunting the resumes of rival job hunters.

The question
The interviewer showed me CVs of other short-listed candidates and later he even placed them side by side on the table for me to compare. He asked: Why should I hire you over them?

The candidate’s reply
I responded that CVs are private and confidential and that I didn’t know the strengths and weakness of the other candidates. I could only perform a SWOT on myself.

The interviewer didn’t care for this. He then told me I faced a “Tribal Council” situation (as per in the reality show Survivor where a participant is eliminated at the end of an episode). I simply responded with a list of my strengths and weaknesses.

How he would have responded in hindsight
The interviewer seemed in an interrogative and confrontational mood and I think he was probably expecting a similar aggressive response from me.

How would YOU have answered?
Use the comments box below to suggest a better response to the interview question above.

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