Remember, you don't have to answer the question as posed. An interview is a ritual. The information being exchanged overtly is a small tip of the iceberg; most

Remember, you don't have to answer the question as posed. An interview is a ritual. The information being exchanged overtly is a small tip of the iceberg; most of the exchange is covert. You can choose to follow the ritual as prescribed by the interviewee/cultural context, or you can occasionally choose to invent your own steps to create the right kind of tension. This specific question implies that there is a power imbalance between you and the recruiter. Implying such a thing is slightly rude (even if the power imbalance is there, the social convention is to ignore it). So, how do you want to handle someone being slightly rude? You could play the game on their terms, and just list your skills/characteristics. Of course the recruiter already knows them, so the signal you're sending is obedience in the face of slight rudeness. You could be a little more forceful and (politely) say something like this: "before we talk about that I'd like to better understand which problems you need me to see if there is a fit between my skills and the needs of your organization." You could be even more forceful and respond to slight etiquette transgression with a follow up transgression. For example, "I don't quite think this is the right framing, I'd like to first understand why I should work for you." It's just a game, a dance. Don't think about it literally and play with the steps.