The Two Best Ways To Answer The Most Common Interview Question, According To A Career Expert
Whatever you do, never make it about you.
Dragana Gordic | Shutterstock Every company has a unique set of interview questions they use to determine how well job candidates would fit into a specific role. However, there are some questions that are pretty universal when looking for a job.
These typically asked questions can be easy to trip up on because of how frequently they are used. One career expert is working to make sure this doesn’t become a problem for frustrated candidates.
A career coach and recruiter explained how to answer the all-important question, ‘Why do you want to work for us?’
Cara, a TikTok content creator and career coach with more than 20 years of experience, shares helpful tips on how to get hired and advance in your career on the app.
Recently, she discussed one of the most common questions asked in a job interview and how to best answer it.
“When a recruiter asks, ‘Why do you want to work for us?’ Here’s what they’re really asking and how to answer,” she said.
“The recruiter is truly wondering two things,” she explained. “One, have you done your homework, and two, what makes us so special?”
Cara had several tips for answering this question. First, she encouraged interviewees not to mention one important thing.
“Whatever you say, don’t say anything about their culture, okay?” she stated.
As an example of this, she said, “‘I align with your culture.’”
“The reason why?” she asked. “Everyone says this! So I challenge you to be unique; be distinct and memorable.”
According to Cara, there are really two steps to answering this age-old question.
“I recommend you answer this question in two sections,” she said. “One, what do you know about us, and two, what is the one thing you love about us?”
Cara warned against making your answer about you. “This answer is all about them, so whatever you say, don’t let the answer, like, point the attention back at you,” she advised.
She offered an analogy to make this easier to understand. “Imagine that you’re on a date, and the person goes, ‘Why me?’” she stated. “You don’t wanna say anything like, ‘Well, you live right next door. The commute is short.’”
“No,” Cara said. This is where you want to impress, she argued. “You wanna say something that sounds like, ‘You have the most beautiful eyes.’”
In an example Cara gave, she discussed how to answer this question for a railway company.
She started by giving a summary of what she knew about the company, and then continued on to detail why she admired the company. This two-pronged approach ensures that the recruiter or hiring manager knows you put effort into researching the company beforehand and aren't recycling the same responses for every interview.
This often-asked question is an important part of the interview process.
It’s easy not to take questions that are asked in every interview seriously. They start to feel repetitive and are easy to give stock answers to. But questions like this one are important.
According to Indeed, “When hiring managers ask, ‘Why do you want to work here?’ they’re not trying to trick or challenge you. With this common interview question, they’re attempting to assess if you’d be a good fit for the team and the company, and if what you’re looking for in a job is a match for what their job offers.”
It’s essential not to gloss over questions like this just because they are common. They still tell the interviewer something important about who you are and what you’re looking for.
Indeed also said it is good to “research the company” and “study the job description.” This literally means doing your homework, and it would provide you with the chance to show the job interviewer that you researched the company, as Cara suggested.
Combining this knowledge of the company with something you love about it shows that you care about the business and the work they do.
Answering using this simple formula will show that you are engaged in the company's mission and excited about your potential role in it.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.