Emphasizing the Value of Your Experience in a Job Interview

I recently sent some advice to someone who was trying to maximize the value of her experience in a job interview. This is the advice I gave her:

Apply your experience to specific problems faced at the company. If you can engage the hiring manager in a back-and-forth dialog about an intractable problem, then make workable suggestions based on your experience, you will set yourself apart from the competition. And you will be demonstrating the value of your experience in a way that is likely to stick in the hiring manager's mind.

The better the research you can do before talking to the hiring manager, the more likely you will be able to engage him or her in a dialog. Figure out what is happening in the group, think of a creative way to address it, and show the hiring manager why your experience is crucial for the team's success.