My cryptocurrency company, Moni Talks, is hiring again. The process has reminded me how many traditional job interviews include the tested question, ‘why do you want to work for us?’.
Interview technique has moved on in recent years, so perhaps this perennial question isn’t as common as it once was. But maybe it should be.
Today you might be more likely to be asked initiative-exposing questions like ‘how many basketballs fit in a bus?’ (that’s a genuine question!). However, it’s worth giving some thought to the more conventional conundrum.
Why Do You Want to Work for Us?
When you are seeking employment, interview prep is essential. Do your research on the company, be knowledgeable and confident about the areas in which you claim to have experience and expertise, and spend time Googling common interview questions.
Like so much in business, and life, preparation is key.
When it comes to the matter of why you want to work for the business you have applied to, it will pay to have given the question some thought.
Don’t rely on clichés and platitudes. Have a strong, honest response ready to go.
Like all your interview questions, prepare a short version – the elevator pitch – and a longer, fuller version.
Importantly, mean what you say. Express your honest opinions and ensure you have the knowledge and data to back them up. Interviewers will be impressed by candidates that give fact-based, evidenced opinions, even if the response isn’t flattering.
So, if your answer to being asked this question is, ‘because your business is weak in this area, and I can change that’, say it. But make sure you can back the statement up.
Oh, and don’t just be rude and critical for the sake of it. Polite, constructive criticism might impress – slamming their company to try and look good won’t.
Be Better
I know interviewing can be tough. You’re nervous, desperate to make a good impression, and in an unfamiliar, pressurised environment.
But I also know, from bitter personal experience, that many jobseekers could do better for themselves.
I’ll share just three examples of responses I’ve had when asking why people chose to apply for my businesses:
- I’m bored sitting around at home
- My mum made me come to this interview
- My benefits get stopped if I don’t go to interviews
I’ll let you decide if these candidates were offered positions. The first answer could easily have been improved simply by adding ‘and I am ready to find purpose and improve myself’.
Be Honest
While preparing a winning answer to this question might make the difference in interview, there’s a larger issue here – you.
When you are thinking about how you might respond, really ask yourself why would you want to work for this employer. Do you truly want to?
Is this the role you want, or just one close to it? Do you admire or share the company’s ethos and values? Is this the right step for your career? Is this really the job you want at the business you want to work at?
You might be able to prepare an answer so stunning that you are offered the position in the room. But, if it’s not a role you actually desire, is that really the best outcome?
Why waste your time doing something you don’t enjoy, at a place you don’t like, with people you don’t want to spend time with? I am honestly saddened when I encounter people saying they hate their jobs and only turn up for the wages.
I understand we all have bills to pay. Sometimes we have to prioritise that over job satisfaction. But we also have just one life. Why would you choose to spend it unhappy?
Statistically, most working people spend more time with colleagues than with their family and more time in the office than at home. Gettysburg College published research that the average person spends 90,000 hours, a third of a lifetime, at work.
Why spend the majority of our adult lives unhappy?
If you aren’t happy, be brave and make the change. When we all spend so much of our lives working, surely finding enjoyment in our profession should be our goal?
Why Do You Want to Work for Us?
When you are looking for a new job, I hope you bear in mind some of what I’ve said. Preparation is key, and a good answer to the question central to this article can make the difference.
But, most importantly, make sure you ask yourself that question and are honest in your response. It’s it worth wowing an interviewer to get a job you don’t even truly want?
