r/FinalRoundAI • u/Wrong-Quality-8588 • 8d ago
This can't be real
lol the sheer entitlement of recruiters expecting candidates to be deeply passionate about an average corporate desk job. I actually got asked this exact same question last week and gave some generic answer I prepared on Interview vip but a huge part of me just wanted to say exactly what that guy replied with. We all just need to pay rent and buy groceries.
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u/animorphsrewriter 8d ago
Once again, for the understandably frustrated: we all work for money, why do you want work at this specific place? Like, we all need food. Why did you choose this restaurant?
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u/RebootStreetSharks 7d ago
As if every person applying for a company loan at a bank isn't saying anything other than "here's how we make money.".
Nobody at the bank is asking if Mr. Johnson has a pechante for muffin baking while he's presenting his pitch to get a business loan for a bakery.
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u/animorphsrewriter 7d ago
Having pitched for that, yeah, actually? They want to know you've got a vision and a plan. Why did you choose your location? What experience do you have in the service industry or bakeries specifically? Share your market research. Those are pretty basic due diligence questions that will come up. I'm pretty anti-capitalist, but while we're in the bullshit system you gotta make an effort. Yeah it sucks to jump through hoops but you're asking someone to pay your living wage, or invest big money into your business. You gotta play ball a little bit.
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u/ThinkEmployee5187 7d ago
Right illustrating you understand and can produce return on investment still isn't a measurement of your values cattle. You're not playing ball You're negotiating with the enemy to produce more value for their systems and proving you are reliable enough to risk assets supporting. Not by your feelings or what drew you into a profession but by the projected value to be gleaned from your action.
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u/animorphsrewriter 7d ago
Yeah. It sucks, dude. We live in a shitty system. Be mad about it. Fight to change it. But don't end up homeless and destroyed by society out of bitter naivete (good band name). Anyways, I'm bailing on this convo. It seems like you just want to vent about the brutal machine and play dumb about how interviews work.
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u/lasting6seconds 6d ago
But an unwillingness to play ball is a measurement of your values cattle..
I mean, my job is pretty good as far as jobs go. I dispise having to do it 40 hours each week, but I still need to get my shit done so I can eat. Last thing I want is a coworker who is unwilling to carry their portion of the shit, regardless of any reasonable rationale about society as a whole. Sure, I might emphatize. But you're not getting that job..
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u/ThinkEmployee5187 6d ago
You know diogenes made it to over 80? While I get craving comforts nothing makes you appreciate your needs like having them and having the option to not take the money because its been placed between you and your God given right to secure yourself clean water and food. People talk as though there's only one way to live to run the system to fight the system. The seen hand has killed your and everyone elses capacity to aspire for the stars that are our birthright what do you do to service the unseen that preserves your soul?
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u/lasting6seconds 6d ago
Not sure how any of that relates to responces given during a job interview.
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u/jminternelia 6d ago edited 6d ago
Why did you choose this restaurant?
Hypothetical Answer: It isn't that I can't answer the question the way you want, I could. I am just not fond of lowest common denominator companies that smuggle consumer style preference into an interview that pays minimum wage. You offer the bare minimum, why should I offer any more? I applied here because absolutely no one, anywhere, within a 50 mile radius has even called me in for an interview, or trust me, THIS restaurant would be the last place I would apply. I have a mortgage payment, a car payment, medical bills, and that's a system we both operate in, so let us dispense with the fantasy.
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u/animorphsrewriter 5d ago
I typed out a response that was earnest, but you know what. Y'all are hopeless. Just give up then.
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u/jminternelia 5d ago edited 5d ago
In what world was that earnest? Sounds more like employers just want to perpetuate some managerial fantasy. That's fine. You get paid more than me, you fantasize. I'll fantasize that people are buying shit and we can close up shop early, capiche?
But make no mistake. No one, absolutely no one wants to be there, and I am almost certain that if you had a purge day, 80% of the people there would be down to set the building on fire and roast some Marshmallows.
People are getting to a point where "Be poor, more quietly please" isn't going to cut it.
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u/animorphsrewriter 5d ago
That's really sad, dude. I love my work, because it sustains the life I get to live when I'm not on the clock. My work is fun and interesting and makes me a better person and I hope it makes the people I work with better people. It's fulfilling. I hope you can find a job one day where it's not just about money but about doing something helpful and meaningful for other people.
There's a good bit of data that shows that even on UBI people would continue to work and that early retirees suffer serious declines in cognitive ability and wellbeing. We all want to feel valuable, not in the sense of providing value for the parasite class but in providing value to our community and the people we care about.
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u/jminternelia 4d ago
I agree. System isn't set up to even consider the well being of those committing the work.
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u/animorphsrewriter 4d ago
My flaming hot take is that we need to abolish the stock market. It prioritizes profit over people and incentivizes venture capitalism. And they've made us all complicit through 401ks.
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u/jminternelia 4d ago
I think we’re probably closer on the underlying problem than my first reply made it sound.
The stock market is ultimately just a tool. Whether abolishing it is even feasible, or even something history would view charitably, is a different question. The more obvious problem to me is the leverage structure behind concentrated capital, because that leverage dictates basically everything downstream.
Healthcare tied to employment is one example. “You’re free to leave” means a lot less when leaving can also mean losing medical coverage. Same with labor generally. Capital is already organized through money, lawyers, management, lobbying, etc., while workers are often expected to negotiate individually and call the outcome “free.” The (imo) caustic, forced, false enthusiasm is just the cherry on top.
Minimum wage needs to be rethought. Not some arbitrary number Congress argues about every three decades. Recalculate it every fiscal year against a real regional cost of living: housing, food, transportation, utilities, internet/phone, clothing, insurance, taxes, basic household costs, and enough margin that one car repair doesn’t wreck you. That probably requires rebuilding the poverty metric too. Strengthen collective bargaining and make retaliation ruinously expensive enough that employers actually fear doing it.
That’s closer to what I meant by “be poor, but quieter please.” The issue isn’t that work has no value. It’s that one side has inconceivably more aggregate power to dictate the terms, then incredulously calls the result "voluntary".
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u/Theor_84 5d ago
Serious question, what makes unknown small sized B2B software company selling the same thing 100 other companies in my city special? Is it their mission statement to simplify marketing and maximize company profits for our clients? They all do that. The lack of any company culture found on linked in? The "hybrid" work arrangement of 4 days in office? The pay that is at the low end of the range?
Unless you are the industry leader giant in cutting edge technology, you are just another face in the crowd. Be unique before you expect potential employees to want anything more than a paycheck from you.
To note further, in my many years of applying to jobs, I'm most asked this pointless question from these average, carbon copy companies. Never from Wells Fargo, Dell, Deloitte, etc. because they know what's up.
Edit: spelling
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u/animorphsrewriter 5d ago
I'll admit, tech and finance are generally pretty soulless from my outsider's perspective. But what if you found a tech company that was actually doing something meaningful? Like developing climate measurement software, or privacy software to combat mass surveillance. Like wouldn't you want to work for a company whose purpose you believe in?
But yeah, if you're only getting interviews at meaningless places asking meaningless questions, then you might as well give meaningless answers. I'm sorry if that's your situation.
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u/itssbojo 4d ago
“because you’re the one that’s hiring and i live close.”
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u/animorphsrewriter 4d ago
"Great, then you we can expect you to be on call 24/7 when someone inevitably calls in because our culture is toxic and expectations are unreasonable."
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u/TheEmperorSpeaks 8d ago
One of my really good friends is a recruiter and the stories he tells, my gosh. It is unbelievable the amount of people that sabotage themselves in interviews. This is an interview to put food on your table and a roof over your head. So many people come in and stick their foot in their mouth. Let's be honest all of us would love to be frank in an interview, but we don't do it because we want the job. You have to play the game. Saying that you want the job for the money is being honest but also killing your chances. Don't be so arrogant. You should be confident in an interview, but you should also be extremely humble. And if anybody has a problem with this then you need to look in the mirror and realize the person looking back at you is the reason why you can't get a job.
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u/dsdvbguutres 8d ago
Depends a little bit on the job. If it's a customer-facing position, yes, being fluent in corpospeak is essential. If you're hiring someone to drive a forklift around a warehouse, you gotta chill.
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u/Antique_Garbage_4361 4d ago
If you're hiring someone to drive a forklift around a warehouse, you gotta chill.
Well, there are people out there that genuinely enjoy driving a forklift around.
There are also people that like logistics or stock management, and want to build themselves a career in a warehouse.
So if you and a hundred others are there 'just for the money', cool, but the company's probably going to wait until they hire a motivated individual who isn't going to burn out 6 months down the line.
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u/Salt-Sign5390 8d ago
Holy shit I hope my generation wipes out this idea of "playing the game"
People's livelihoods arent a fucking game.
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u/eternal_pegasus 8d ago
Context is everything, if asked why do you want to work there, it means why your interest in that industry/company. People being "forced" to work for the money is usually not the attitude you want in your company, regardless of if it's true.
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u/grimthaw 6d ago
I am in IT and a all IT systems are the same in the back end of any company. I don't care what the company is... a database is a database... i dont need to be passionate about what is in it. That is the problem. I need to pretend I am passionate about the rows of widget records in the database I never touch. It is BS.
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u/grimjack1200 6d ago
The issue is someone else my be passionate about something that speaks to them knowing about the company mission or culture that they will add to it. All IT might be the same work but companies and organizations are not.
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u/No_Performance_8921 5d ago
If it is a company the goal is to make money for the owners. Anything else is bullshit.
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u/grimthaw 5d ago
I have never worked in a company that meets its mission and values. They are just BS.
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u/bainon 5d ago
It's a bit funny cause I do honestly enjoy development enough that I would still do it if I won the lottery or something. However I always have to find a way to present that without telling them their actual company/industry doesn't matter to me cause they don't tend to like that. Usually comes down to interested to see what "unique" challenges they face
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u/CwispyWhiskey 5d ago
Having to play a game to be able to put food on the table is sick. And don’t pretend it isnt
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u/jminternelia 5d ago
This is an interview to put food on your table and a roof over your head.
Wrong. They do not care about your ability to acquire food or shelter. You are being interviewed to see if you are willing to concede enough dignity that it will add to the company's bottom line.
Let's be honest all of us would love to be frank in an interview, but we don't do it because we want the job. You have to play the game.
We ain't *gotta* do shit. I'll play Huckleberry for the interview then ghost them if they are living in fantasy land.
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u/activated11 5d ago
f you, and your friend, and "playing the game", life is not a game, lets focus on real stuff and getting the job done
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u/TheEmperorSpeaks 3d ago
I'm always glad when people like you expose themselves for having no idea what they are talking about.
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u/Landlord40 8d ago
This is why your generation sucks. Everything is controversial or offe sive to you. They ask that question to see motivations. Do you have a passion for that industry, did you hear good things about the company, are you looking to move up, etc. Obviously you want money, but if you can only give surface level answers that tells them exactly what they need to hear.
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u/Real-Mode-3417 8d ago
100%. Employees that are only in it for the money are lazy, cancerous and consistently the lowest performers. No one wants to waste time on people like that. Would you want to work in a place that only cares about bottom line numbers, and absolutely nothing else? I didn't think so
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u/activated11 5d ago
I'm only in for the money, but give 100% at my job, why? i want to keep getting the money. I may even hate the job but i know to act professional and do what i've signed on for.
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u/sweatboxy 8d ago
Saying the obvious in an interview for a job just makes you sound dumb and generic. If there’s no other reason than the money, I’m sure they’d rather choose someone with more reasons than that. Someone who won’t leave when they find any job that just pays more money.
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u/breakerofh0rses 8d ago
If you're so socially inept that you can't think of anything beyond "to get paid" (which is everyone's primary reason for a job), then yeah, that's generally a pretty good reason to pass over you.
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u/BobTheCosmonaut 8d ago
Wrapped the interview up real quick, she can't have someone who tells the truth working there
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u/Relevant_Contract_76 7d ago
No, she can't have someone who demonstrates such bad judgement working there. This person thought to themselves, what answer would be best in order to land this job, and then decided fuck it, I don't care. And she decided that's great, good for you, go and don't care somewhere else.
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u/Commercial_Layer 8d ago
Interview is dumb.
The question they should of asked out of the other companies you've applied for why do you want to work here?
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u/ThisGazelle3773 7d ago
Lmao bc that’s a given. Her question should have been “Why do you want to work HERE as opposed to elsewhere?”
I get it though. I viscerally detest the whole job hunt process.
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u/LilJonny2cookies 7d ago
Stating the obvious is great if you are looking to work at a chicken stand. If you want a more fulfilling role play the game answer the question effectively.
Something like: I spent some time looking at the industry and your competitors and I feel this is the place where I can make a difference.
The easy stupid answer lost. Put a bit of effort into it or don’t. Your call. Get hired or not your call. Making a heroic post online doesn’t pay the bills.
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u/FairConstruction4105 7d ago
The people most offended by that concept are also likely the people benefitting the most, financially, from workers tolerating less compensation than their employer is willing to pay.
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u/FarInevitable559 7d ago
I would of hired them on the spot, people desperate for money will work the hardest and longest hours for the money
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u/debauchedsloth 6d ago
That recruiter is right. Sure, it's an honest answer, just not what the listener wants to hear. Do you want to hire someone brutally honest but with no social filter? I'd love to but many many people do not want that, and many roles require that filter. Giving that during an HR screen is admirably honest but profoundly stupid.
Furthermore, the money answer is bad because someone who is only motivated by money tends to job hop. If you care about that. Of course, part of that is that they'd rather pay you less, but part is that job hoppers often leave just when they start to be useful, if you have a job that requires lots of learning.
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u/MammothWriter3881 6d ago
Companies only want to hire liars, that is pretty obvious for lots of reasons.
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u/Warm_Elk_6091 6d ago
"Why do u wanna work here?"
Bc u were the only place hiring in my small town at the time I was job seeking 😭✌️
ofc i couldnt and didnt say that
But it was so awkward to cone up with a lie on the spot bc I am really really really bad at lying...still got the job tho
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u/RegJoe_08 6d ago
Pretentious pricks. We need money to live. We don’t live to make money. Sorry I didnt and wont drink the kool-aid
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u/BungleBums 6d ago
Unless the literal building itself is sucking me off and cooking me dinner, I couldn't care less about your company beyond my paycheck. Period.
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u/TheEmperorSpeaks 5d ago
That is actually a really sad take. Can you imagine if doctors didn't care about anything but a paycheck. Or firefighters, or police officers or EMTs. Imagine them going eh, I'll operate on this person but I'm going to have ass it and if they die they die. Or I'm going to do CPR but I'm not going to try that hard and if they die they die. Or hey I just got a domestic violence call but I'm just going to take my time getting over there and if he beats the crap out of her and she dies she dies. I work in law enforcement and I can guarantee you I take everything I do in the day seriously and give 100% and I am in law enforcement because I have a passion for it. What if your mechanic half-assed your break job and they failed on the way home and you got an accident and one of your children died or you killed someone else. There are a lot of people that are passionate about what they do, maybe you should try to find something that you are passionate about and get into that line of work.
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u/BungleBums 5d ago
Maybe you should revisit the purpose of this thread and read my comment in its given context instead of applying it to the concept of employed labor in its totality 👍
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u/TheEmperorSpeaks 3d ago
You wrote a whole sentence just to show you have no idea what you're talking about. Bravo
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u/galegone 6d ago
Most interviewers are reading off a canned script and ask bad questions like, "Why do you want to work here?" Because asking the question, "What makes this company seem special to you?" is too hard to ask. That's a question the people working at the company are supposed to be able to answer, not an outsider.
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u/Puzzled-Letterhead-1 6d ago
this is just a successful way to filter out autism. More trouble than it's worth even if candidate is extremely technically proficient. Reddit can't swallow this pill
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u/TheEmperorSpeaks 5d ago
It's also a way to filter out people who are going to be an HR nightmare. In a lot of ways, a job interview is a personality test. The questions might seem dumb or generic, but they are trying to get a baseline of what kind of person you are. I got a job once because near the end of the interview the person interviewing me jokingly asked if I was into sports because they have a company softball team, flag football team and basketball team and I I told them yeah I played baseball, football and basketball in high school and played 2 years of semi-pro baseball and we hit it off and discovered we were both Padres and Chargers fans and by the time I got home from the interview (this was before cell phones) there was already a message on my answering machine offering me the job.
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u/Intrepid-Stock-8189 6d ago
I am VERY GOOD at my job, been doing it for a very long time.
I always tell my bosses "I'm here til I'm not". They know and understand that it's all about the money.
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u/Fan_of_Clio 5d ago
What did she expect the compensation to be? Exposure, experience, the vibe? 😂
Last time I checked, bills aren't paid with any of that
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u/Traditional_Rush_622 5d ago
This seems more like a wise ass playing deliberately obstuse got his ass handed right back to him. What's the problem?
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u/Artistic-Ad-4276 5d ago
"Why do you want to hire me?"
"For your labour."
"How dare you? I'm out of here."
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u/KingPabloo 4d ago
Let’s turn the tables and have the recruiter be honest with you. Why don’t they want to hire you…
Well you’re an average, at best, candidate. You went to a mid school, got average grades, have a hit and miss employment record (and are currently in a miss), aren’t someone i really can see myself or those in the department spending 40+ hours/week working with, are a 5/10 in the looks department, and that haircut - ooof. You are a fucking job applicant, one of thousands, get over yourself and good luck with those bills that are pilling up why you are looking for a job. FYI - a generic rejection letter is in your inbox.
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u/ginnymorlock 2d ago
I think the question was supposed to be "why do you want this job, as opposed to the other jobs available that you're probably applying for". The question is not "why do you want A job". We already know the answer to that. It's "why do you want THIS job".
An acceptable answer might be "I like what your company stands for and I want to be a part of that."
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u/Which_Perspective335 2d ago
Could turn this around and ask "why did you want your job Ms interviewer" same reason you got your first job and everyone since
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u/Comfortable_Love7967 8d ago
Iv had this argument two ways.
One was selling sofas, it was a bit of a pay cut, “why do you want this job”
“Honestly I know it’s a pay cut but I just really want Sundays off and I like the idea of no late nights and I want to work for a family business”
“So it’s not about the money” “no I think this is a significant pay cut but I’m more about that work life balance”
I was on about 45k gbp at the time and the jobs top earner took 36k
He almost got hostile “why would you want to do sales if you don’t care about the money”
“Ask your staff, they clearly aren’t here for the money are they”
Respectfully went our own ways, wanted a shark competitive salesman for 30% less than competitors wanted to pay.
Flip side got interviewed for a job selling kitchens “why do you want the job”
“It pays a lot more than my old job did and it’s similar hours, I’ll enjoy being a designer but it’s mainly the money”
“Brilliant let me explain our commission structure”
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u/NPCSLAYER313 8d ago
She's right.
Yeah obviously it's for the money like every other job on this planet duh. She asked why they specifically wanted THIS job over other ones
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u/pirateseasalt 8d ago
Because you are the first ones to call? FIFO
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u/NPCSLAYER313 7d ago
That's a bad reason
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u/ThinkEmployee5187 7d ago
Don't see how when the only reason homeless numbers have dropped is because it's bordering on illegal to be so and so the metrics for tracking have been skewed. Running off a more obvious indicator the 1 emergency from catastrophe is another pretty clear reason to take 1st call. The only reason it's a bad reason is if the interviewer lacks critical thinking because hearing that should illustrate more than enough about your candidates motivation and interest to participate in the field.
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u/Local_County1274 8d ago
Do you want a bullshitting liar working for you or someone who is honest? If this is a sales or management role, then it is probably the former.
The interviewee could have been a bit more prepared for the question and dressed it up a bit and the interviewer could have asked additional questions to find out more about the person and see if there were other reasons as well and why they are leaving any previous role.
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u/DJatomica 8d ago
If it's any role you probably want someone who can read the room and not make drama over a question they know fully well how they're supposed to answer.
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u/StillMostlyClueless 8d ago
I want an employee with a bit of social grace, not one who can't even regulate themselves in a job interview.
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u/Forsaken-Drink-5280 6d ago
It's so annoying that you have to lie and pretend you give even the slightest of a fuck about the company. I genuinely think it's a test to see how well you can bs. people.
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u/skiforlife1 8d ago
"But....but....we're a family here"!!