‘Why do you want to work here?’, How To Answer this Question.

“Why do you want to work here?” Why does interviewers mostly ask this question? You’re on an interview to figure out whether you want to work there, or not. You can’t possibly answer the question “Why do you want to work here?” until you actually know that you do!

This is just another variation of the “Grovel, Knave” mind-set so prevalent among weenie job interviewers. They probably don’t even realize that they are treating job-seekers like second-class citizens. There is a whole line-up of “Grovel, Knave” questions that show up on the typical job interview:

• With all the talented candidates, why should we hire YOU?
• What’s your greatest weakness?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• What makes you qualified for this job?
• What does your former boss say about you?

When our kid stuffs his sock down the tub drain and we have to call the plumber, we don’t get to ask the plumber questions like these. We ask the plumber “What’s your hourly rate?” and if we can afford it, we ask “When can you fit me into your schedule?” We don’t take the arch tone and the superior attitude with the plumber.

Why do you want to work here?

It’s only in the realm of employment that we look down our noses at job-seekers, because we believe that we get to pick from among a vast array of them. We falsely believe that the purpose of a job interview is for a bunch of job-seekers to parade their wares for a hiring manager and then for him or her to choose among them.

That’s false. I’ve been recruiting forever, and I know as well as anyone does that great candidates are hard to find.

Why do you want to work here?

You have to work to get them. Some recruiter got up before dawn to catch an early flight and go to a distant city to interview a candidate in the airport lounge in his or her town.

She never left the airport. She interviewed the person and then got back on a plane. That’s what you have to do if you care about talent. You have to bend and flex. Why do you want to work here?

A lot of employers don’t really care about talent, although they should! It will take a while, but as the economy improves and more and more working people figure out that the only power they will have in the employment relationship is the power they give to themselves, old-school “Impress me!”-type employers will end up short-handed.

Why do you want to work here?

In the meantime, you may have to answer the stupid interview question “Why do you want to work here?”

The truthful answer for many job-seekers is “I saw your job ad, I’m qualified for the job, and so I wanted to learn more. I don’t know yet whether or not I want to work here. That’s why I came to the interview — to find out.” You can answer the question exactly that way if you want to.

You can take a softer tone and tell the interviewer what initially interested you in the job – apart from the fact that it’s a job you figured you could get. You figured right, because here you are on the job interview!

You can say “I had vaguely heard of your company before but when I saw your job ad, I dug in to learn more and I like what you’re doing. I’m especially interested in X, Y and Z.”

Any manager or recruiter who asks you “Why do you want to work here?” wants to hear what you know about his or her company. They don’t want to hear that you need a job. They’re asking you to tell them what you’ve learned about their company, so go ahead and tell them!

You always research an employer before you show up for a job interview, right? If not, here’s an article about how to do that.

Resist the temptation to say “What makes you assume I want to work here?” I don’t blame you if those words rise to your lips, but if you are that irritated you may as well get up and leave the interview. I’m sure there is a place nearby where you can get a nice Burger.

It’s not a bad thing to leave a job interview when you’re being treated like dog-meat. I hope you do get up and bail on a job interview some day. It’s very mojo-building to do that!

Once you answer the question “Why do you want to work here?” for instance with the answer “I can tell you what got me to send in a resume, and that was your company’s billboard on I-80 — the one advertising your new mobile product. I bought the product a few days after I saw the billboard, and I love it!” — feel free to ask a reciprocal question. “What made you invite me for an interview?”

Your interview wants to know “Why us?” and it’s perfectly reasonable for you to ask “Why me?” right back. Leave a comment and tell us about your experiences with the “Why do you want to work here?” question!

(Credit to Liz Ryan)

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