How do you answer an interviewer who asks how your degree will help you succeed at the company?

This will depend on your degree and the job you're applying for, of course. Most colleges don't directly train you for a job. Technical schools are the big exception. Colleges and universities generally put a large emphasis on liberal education. You will have taken classes in lots of different subjects. Even if your major is directly related to the job you're interviewing for, most of your college experience probably wasn't.An employer might actually be better off hiring someone with four years of work experience than someone who spent those four years in school. So why do so many employers require college degrees? Some people believe that it's because college acts as a filtering process.You had to apply to get into college. If it's a good college, many applicants were not accepted. Then you had to stick it out and pass all your classes. You were graded in comparison to your peers.

The graduates who make it out of good schools with good grades have proven quite a bit about themselves. Regardless of what they learned, they showed that they're people who can succeed at their goals. This makes you valuable to employers.Another benefit for potential employers that many graduates don't fully appreciate is the connections you may have made in school. If your major fits the industry you plan to work in, you will have met successful people who will also go on to have careers in the industry. They might be able to help you do your job. You might also be able to call on your past professors for advice and information.

So, to reply to "How will your degree help you succeed at our company?" you might want to mention connections, if they're appropriate in your situation, or you might want to say that it trained you on how to be successful. Of course, you probably shouldn't leave out the basics about any classes that you think will directly help, or if you think liberal arts classes made you a well-rounded person.