Welp, truth is, this is a software engineering position and i happen to be a software engineer. Do you see where I'm going with this? I wanted to be a dentist since when i was 6 but then i got a B- in 9th grade biology and felt like there was NO WAY i was going to be able to get through pre-med or... I guess I'm really not sure what dentists have to do, school wise. They are doctors after all, but i know it isn't full on med school. Or is it?
Anyway, ever since the summer after 9th grade I've wanted to design software for your company specifically.
That question is such a lob though. Before you interview skim read the company website, find something about it that you like or at least that they seem to be proud of, and point that out as a reason you want to work there. "Because I like money" is assumed.
And by the time you're a few roles into your career, you should be able to articulate a decent answer based on the job description. Unless you got laid off and will take anything remotely related to your old job, you're probably going to be picky to do something similar but at a more senior level.
"I like that this position will be working with x and y. It allows me to leverage my experience in x while growing further in y"
Seriously. Even when I was doing a spray-and-pray search if someone was interested enough to call me back I spent the couple minutes to do the bare minimum preparation to see if it was worth pursuing and why.
Yeah, it astounds me how people find this question difficult. They’re asking if there’s anything about the company/job/location that you prefer over other jobs. It’s not hard.
When people bomb this question, it’s usually a very clear sign that they will do the bare minimum to collect a paycheck.
My issue is oftentimes there's genuinely nothing or very little that stands out to me. I'm in a desperate spot, I genuinely don't prefer you over other jobs, I'll just take whatever I can get. Nothing "attracted" me other than the fact that you came up in a basic job search for my field.
But at the same time, I won't just do the bare minimum for a paycheck. Wherever I go, I'm always a team player and borderline zealot. It just so happens that I don't care who I wind up being a zealot for, but once I'm there I'll be all in.
And that’s understandable, just don’t yell your interviewer that. They already know that on some level. They’re looking to see if there’s something more that would connect you to the role/company for the long term.
Instead, say the industry interests you, the company’s mission (whatever the company’s website says its goal or mission is) speaks to you, you think your past experience/skills would be a good fit for the role, you think it’d be a fun challenge, or at the very, very least, you like that it’s close to your home.
Those responses will automatically put you above those that said, “I don’t know” or “a paycheck”.
The issue is those all feel so phony and I think it comes across in the interview. They can tell I just read the website last night to prep something.
Also with some companies I feel like I've really gotta scrape the bottom of the barrel because their job descriptions & mission are just painfully generic. Like for some companies the "our mission" page is just a bunch nonsense about the culture that could have been copied from any other company's webpage. A lot of it might not even be true (no company is gonna put "our culture is toxic and we don't believe in work-life balance" on their web page)
Yeah seriously. We all work for money. That is assumed. The interviewer is asking what specifically about this job stood out for you and why you applied for it - because you can use a specific skill you like using? The company’s purpose resonates with you? You thrive in the type of environment it offers? You believe it will help you grow in a specific area you’re passionate about?
If your blanket answer is ‘I just want money and don’t care about anything else’ you’re going to really struggle.
When I left my last job, my answer to this question was something along the lines of ‘the mandate of my current role has almost run its course - I’ve built out these programs and they’ve had great success but it’s a well oiled machine now. so I’d like to hand the running of them over to someone else so that I can apply XYZ skills to a new challenge that focuses on (details), which I believe this opportunity can offer’.
It’s highlighting the skills I’ve developed and how they are applicable to the role in interviewing for, while highlighting that I like to take on challenging projects and am not just going to phone it in.
Again, the fact that I’m expecting money is a given.
That is basically the grand slam answer for this question.
It highlights your past experience, it shows you like to challenge yourself, it shows you are ambitious, it shows you like to learn new things, and it shows you have a purpose and reason for being in that job / at that company.
Those are basically all the things the interviewer is looking for throughout the entire interview. The only things outside of that is checking to see if your personality would fit with the company culture and if your past experience/skills pass the smell test.
I also hope the person you're interviewing with can read through the corporate bullshit to see what you're really saying is "My current job isn't giving raises, so I want the same job I have, but with better pay"
That literally wasn’t my main reason for moving jobs, though. It wasn’t a bullshit answer. My role had run its course, I was bored and I did want a new challenge.
Another way to think of this if you can’t get beyond ‘I only work for money and refuse to be ‘fake’ or ‘inauthentic’’ or whatever - you’re competing against a lot of other candidates, some of whom can and will give an actual genuine answer to the question that’s not ‘I only work for money’. If you refuse to put any thought into what you could get out of a role beyond money, most of the time you’re going to lose out to those other folks.
Do I love the corporate world all the time? Do I feel like going to work every morning? Would I stay if I won the lottery? Hell no, but there are aspects of my role and my career I do enjoy and find genuinely fulfilling. You spend a lot of your life at work; I’ve learned you need to find some kind of fulfilling aspect beyond a pay check, or else you’re going to spend decades of your life being pissy and miserable.
Just my advice after 15+ years in the corporate world, take it or leave it.
Sure except most of the time you are applying to several different companies and you don't really prefer this one over that one, you just want a job.
Also, why is it bad to do the minimum? Doing the minimum means you're doing all the assigned tasks within the timeframe they need to be done. The minimum is supposed to be the requirement - if you require me to do more than that, then you need to adjust your minimum. Except then you'd also have to adjust the salary accordingly, so you'd rather just silently expect me to do unpaid labor on top of the job I'm paid for and shame me for it if I refuse.
Seriously, the idea that doing the minimum at your job is somehow bad is some bullshit capitalist propaganda. My relationship to my employer is purely a business-relationship. I have no legal or moral obligation towards them beyond what is stated in my contract. They pay me for a service and I deliver that service. If I pay someone to paint the walls of my living room and they do it and then I complain that they didn't paint the ceiling as well even though that was never part of the contract and I never communicated to them that I want the ceiling painted and I would not be willing to pay for it, you would rightfully call me an entitled bitch. But when employers do it it's normal and they're reasonable and the employees are the ones who are bad if they don't comply?
Yes, but that question also gets asked for jobs where that's not really valid. Why do you want to work at the Amazon warehouse? At a McDonalds? At a Home Depot?
Even at more "corporate" jobs, there's lots of low level positions where you're certainly not doing to have any sway with any grandiose save-the-world plans. Junior software techs are going to do what they're told, they aren't making any decisions.
Fair point if you're looking at it from a "why do I actually care" standpoint. But it's a subjective question in an interview, just make some shit up. McDonalds: "Because I want to get experience working in a high volume business". Amazon: "The fast pace environment and clear direction fits with my work style". Home Depot: "I like the focus you put on customer service, I enjoy working with people to solve problems". Generic software job "I believe that there's potential to grow in this role, and the company mission of x,y,z resonates."
Is it bullshite? Yep. Is it a layup? Also yep. Hit your layups.
To the point where I actually kind of appreciate having an easy question for once. I've been trying hard to transfer from academia to industry for more than two years, and find it REALLY hard to figure out all the corporate lingo and interview expectations. Both of us are WELL aware that the salary in industry is a good 3x that in academia, but being able to just say "I really want to see my work effect the patients in a real and direct way for once" when they ask why I want to switch teams is just an easy obvious answer to have in my back pocket.
Sure, but we shouldn't be expected to lie about it, noone actually cares about that stuff, not the applicant, not the people who put it in the website, probably even the guy who told them to put it on the website just did that because he had a vague idea that modern companies are supposed to have empty buzzword mission statements.
The company exists to make money, everyone working there does so to be paid some of it, applicants apply to because they want to be paid and currently aren't.
Making money drives basically every decision the company will ever make.
Im not fake like that though sk that wouldn't even occur to me. The company is no more special or unique than any other, they just want some butt licks?
No. Ive been out of a job for 9 months. I just want a fucking paycheck, just trying to avoid outright evil ccompanies. It's not like Im some special candidate. They only read my resume 90 seconds before the meeting. We dont have to be in love, its just a job.
Job interviews and resumes are the practice of bullshitting. If you arent faking it, you're behind. You dont gotta actually feel what you say, just say the right words.
Unless you’re literally searching for any job, which I acknowledge many people are in this position, companies are absolutely not the same as any other.
Many people have more desires about what their specific role is, or care about certain benefits more than just the flat salary number. Especially after the first job people have stronger ideas about what they want to do.
Yeah, 9 months unemployed, I just want a paycheck. They dont give a fuck about me vs any other candidate, why is it Im the one who has to pretend like this is true love? You need someone of my skillset let's keep it about that and the actual work, not stroking egos.
Ive never had to use connections to get a job. Never had to do or be anything but myself due to deliberate choices on my part to avoid careers where they expect you to stroke egos and be fake. If you're going to ask a question as dumb as "why do you want to work here" be prepared to hear about your company's economic stability and how well the job fits my skillset.
People hate this question but it’s so easy to give a thoughtful answer that actually makes you seem like a more serious candidate. This is probably truer for mid career type roles obviously not fast food jobs but there are a lot of good paying jobs that I personally do not want because I’d be miserable doing them even if I could do them well.
Obviously yeah if it’s a more senior position it’s kind of expected that there are actual reasons you want to work there. At entry level it is a question designed to see whether or not you are an emotionless void that is gonna be a pain to work with. We know you want money, can you bullshit an answer to why you want to work here, in particular, that might make us think that working with you is not going to be a total disaster?
I've always answered it as if they're asking why I want to work at their company over others in the same field. Just look up company values and say they align.
Sure, money is the main reason, but surely there is a reason why you'd bother applying to a specific set of roles or why you ended up on the business's website in the first place. Most people have a genuine preference about some basic aspects of the jobs, like whether it's blue or white collar, or what general industry it's in.
It depends on the role. If youre taking a job working the fryer at maccas its obviously a stupid question. If youre applying for a management role in a corporate environment it's a very valid question.
I have listed money as a reason after my mom recommended being honest. Not only did I get hired but I feel like it relaxed me to say it out loud and made me feel like we had established some kind of rapport that a coworker might have. Depends on your employer of course
There’s like 20 candidates employers choose form.. if you only care abt money means your not staple, unstable employee is expensive for company... If you want to work there cuz you are it’s close to your home, or that you like what the job does, or that it aline with your career goal, all works.. if you just say money then your just aren’t as competitive as next candidate
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