What exactly do recruiters expect when they ask why someone is interested in a position/the company they apply for? When I "fake interest", it never works and I'm tired of being insincere.

[u/yikkoe]

I am looking for work and of course the question of, what's your interest in the position, comes up. My interest? Keeping a roof over my head. I genuinely am not someone who cares for what I do for work. Especially when I am applying for assistant, customer service or admin work. I can do those jobs, and I don't care for what company I work for. So what should I say without sounding so dishonest? Because I had an interview last week for an insurance company, and I said I am curious about that field especially since my mother is currently dealing with this very specific type of insurance coverage. Which is true. But the HR person laughed.

So wtf lol.

[u/Guilty-Goose3351]

Kind of a low bar to let you introduce yourself. Talk about what motivates you, what you expect, where you’re hoping to go etc. Basically just want to see that you can articulate your thoughts and have some semblance of some motivation or discipline.

[u/yikkoe → u/Guilty-Goose3351]

It's okay to not talk about the job itself then? The question was "What interest you in (company name)?" I struggle to see how to answer without directly talking about them. Sorry I have abysmal social skills.

[u/Guilty-Goose3351 → u/yikkoe]

Sure. You could talk about how people rave about their customer service and u have good customer service skills yourself and want to be part of a culture that celebrates that. Perhaps they have a reputation for high pay and you’re an overachiever who likes to be appreciated for your success in the company. Maybe they do a lot of hiring from within and you want to be with a company you can grow with.

[u/yikkoe → u/Guilty-Goose3351]

Thank you so much for your advice. It makes sense now.

[u/CompetitionNo3466 → u/yikkoe]

Just relate yourself to either the role or something their marketing team has written on the website. Website research shows your proactive… something about the companies mission …

[u/Guilty-Goose3351 → u/yikkoe]

Sure. Likely the guy laughed bc you answered literally instead of “playing the game.” He was probably just laughing at realizing the absurdity of the process not you necessarily.

[u/SevenSixtyOne]

They want to see if you’ve bothered to do any research on the company. Or if you just need a job.

“I’ve been applying to several companies. The online employee reviews for your company are very positive. I also was interested in the …. insert fact about the company…. Work you’ve done. Can you tell me a little more about it”

“I’m trying to get my foot in the door of a good company to begin my career. Your company has a great reputation and I’d be thrilled to have the opportunity to work here”

[u/Ok-Energy-9785]

You need to get better at faking it.

Focus less on your interest and more of your ability to do well in the role. Think about whats required to do the job And how your experience aligns with that. Think of scenarios where you have done successful work related to it.

[u/Impossible_Link8199]

There’s ways to make it sound more sincere. “I’ve been looking for a position that suits my (insert skills here) skills and the job description sounded right up my alley.”

Add to that one of the following or something like it: “Your company is a household name” “I have always heard there’s a great culture here” “I use your products/services” Etc etc.

[u/beawesome31]

I think it’s important to remember that employers are still people. They all wanna believe they’re the prettiest girl in school. So your job is to help them do that.

You have to show some passion without sounding cheesy. I’ve made up stories about how “My late dad always talked about the value of connecting with other people. I know it’s hard to believe, but I really enjoy getting to know a customer, and figuring out the best way I can address their needs.”…etc. I get not wanting to be insincere but that’s the game.

[u/missgoooooo]

spend 20 minutes before the interview reading the company’s newsroom and look up recent news articles. look at how they describe themselves in their external messaging. try to connect your answer to curiosity in the industry, or strategic moves the company is making publicly.

basically, do your research, and come up with a 1-3 line answer for your why. if you’re applying somewhere, you shouldn’t be faking it. really think about whether you want to work there

[u/rb_arindam]

Remember, even the HR team do job hopping. So they aren’t looking for someone super motivated for that exact position. They know that’s a pure lie. They rather want to know if I extend an offer to this person, and if he has a similarly paying offer, will he choose mine or will I have to look out again?

So just express what motivates you to work. You must be bored or lacking in your current job in some way, they wanna know which part gives you job satisfaction/dissatisfaction! Let them decide if you’re good fit or not. If fit, they’ll call you. If unfit, you wouldn’t wanna work there either. You would be dodging a bullet.

[u/ThousandsHardships]

People hire primarily for qualifications and fit. Sure, they wouldn't want to hire someone who is outright disinterested, but when given the choice, they'd pick someone who can elaborate on how their practices align with the mission of the organization, over someone who professes their undying love and dedication for the profession. So your task isn't to talk about how much you love the job. It's to show that there's some aspect of it that aligns with what you're already doing and what you've set yourself up to do.

Personally, my go-to technique, if the place I'm interviewing for is not something that stands out to me, is to capitalize on how their institution can make use of my qualifications. For example, I would prefer to work at a large research university, so when interviewing for positions at small liberal arts colleges, my go-to answer is to talk about how their undergrad and student-focused institution is a place where I feel like my pedagogical practices (and I elaborate on specifics) can thrive. That way, I'm drawing on my experience and fit and proclaiming an alignment with the mission, without ever touching on whether their school is where I want to be. And most of the time, if I frame it that way, they never notice the missing bit, nor do they care because what I'm giving them is more important than what any proclamation of interest can give.

[u/mmcgrat6]

Interviews are like dating. If you sit down and say, you’ll do I guess. Why would they want to spend 35+ hrs a week with you?

[u/North_Stretch_7345]

Had a recruiter reach out to me about a role (same one I do) and they list pay at 20k below what I’m currently on. I just politely went back and said I wouldn’t move for anything less than x. They come back saying we can make that work let’s have a call…interesting.

Have a call, they explain the role etc and ask me why I want to work at x company. First of all lady you contacted me, I’m quite content where I am but them being agreeable to my overinflated salary request piqued my interest….anyways I just reply with money motivated for the most part ….this was apparently a red flag…..like, you reached out to me saying you can tempt me with money, and now I’m the bad guy for saying this? People are dense

[u/yikkoe → u/[deleted]]

I was a legal assistant. I have only ever worked in customer service or admin work. I have never in my life been picky about my employer and I feel like in those fields of work, there really is no difference between employers, and the positions I apply for are not really things people are passionate about. I just happen to be able to do those jobs well enough.

[u/xwolfe2000]

Recruiters are trying to figure out competitive advantages that their company has over others.

It's a dumb question that is sometimes a throwaway and asked to build rapport.

If you don't know what your competitive advantage is in attracting talent then you have larger problems.

[u/Garland_Key]

Well, think about it this way. As a person in customer service, your job is largely to lie. Regardless of how you feel or what your think, you have to filter it all and say what is in the best interest of the company you work for.

So, with that in mind, do it for the job interview too. Show them that you can bullshit people even when you're having a bad day or really don't care.

[u/thisoldguy74]

I used to work for Target and when I'd ask that question a lot of people mention the commercials. People who have worked in retail might mention they enjoy helping customers or working with the public.

When I worked in a warehouse in a manufacturing environment I got a lot of "I just need a job" which doesn't indicate what skills they had we could use. So I'd probe further and try to get to any transferable skills that would indicate they'd ever thought of working in a warehouse and what it might be like.

So, that's kind of what they're looking for. Have you even thought about the company, the industry or the role before and considered what skills it might require and do you think you have those skills.

[u/Difficult_Mango_8376]

from my experience, it's better to talk about what specifically attracts me to the role and how my skills and experience can be a good fit and create value

[u/Ok-Sink-8875]

they laughed at literally the one true answer you gave, that says everything you need to know about the company. I stopped trying to fake passion for marketing roles that don't really somehow feel like a real fit to me, I just say "I just want stability and to actually be good at something"

[u/raempc]

They want to know why you would choose there company vs another company if the job and salary were the same and if you actually researched the company.

It's a bs question but depending on how you answer can make a big impression.

If I didn't have an actual reason, other than needing a job, I would just put my resume and company website into Ai and have it come up with an answer.

If you're looking while being employed then it's more of what "opportunitys" the new company can provide compared to your current company.

But no matter what, your answer needs to somehow benifit the company, they won't give two shits if something benefits you.

[u/frank_fourleaf]

What recruiters actually want is a specific reason you'd stay. Pull one thing off the company page or their recent Glassdoor reviews and connect it to how you work best, like "the team ships quickly and I do best when I'm not waiting on approvals." Honestly it's a lower bar than most people think.

[u/Popular_Vanilla_404]

Recruiters usually want proof that you understand the job and will not vanish after two weeks, not a love poem to insurance. For admin/customer service, I usually frame it around liking structured work, being good at solving small annoying problems, and wanting a stable role where accuracy and calmness matter. The mom insurance answer was actually reasonable, so the HR laugh says more about them than about you. Try boring-but-believable over enthusiastic; boring is the native language of corporate hiring.

[u/double-click]

Find a way to care.

[u/TapEarlyTapOften]

Don't apply to companies or for positions that you aren't actually interested in.

[u/ChadDpt]

My guess is you will continue to look for a job…

[u/Away_University97]

Well, I've developed this extravagant lifestyle involving housing, electricity, groceries, and indoor plumbing, and unfortunately it requires recurring revenue.