We asked a careers expert to explain all about how to tackle this tricky interview question.
Preparing for a job interview can often feel like an emotional rollercoaster. From deciding what to wear to pumping yourself up beforehand, there’s a lot to do – and that’s not forgetting the effort involved in preparing responses to those commonly asked questions.
While these questions are pretty simple on the surface, knowing how to answer them in a way that showcases your skills in the best possible way is a little trickier. This is especially true when it comes to the dreaded question: “Why do you want this role?”
Money aside, there are many reasons why a job might be appealing to you – but not all of those are going to make you the most desirable candidate. So how should you answer this question? We asked Charlotte Davies, career expert at LinkedIn, to explain all.
How to answer the question “Why do you want this role?” in 3 steps
1. Make it about them
On the most basic level, this question is designed to test your knowledge of the company and how your skills can contribute to its goals. With this in mind, you want to frame your answer around the organisation and how you fit into it and show off what you know.
“What this question really means is: ‘How can you contribute to the position and our company,’” Davies explains. “Don’t lead on what you want from the role, but what is great about them as a business. They want to assess your interest and commitment to their company, and see if you understand the position and how you plan on contributing to it.
“This response should demonstrate that you’ve done your research, that you understand their culture and values and how they resonate with you.”
2. Share what you want from the role
It doesn’t have to be all about them, though. You can share what you want to achieve with the company – aligning those goals with the skills you can bring to the table.
“Tell them what you want to gain from this opportunity – whether that’s specific skills and experience, as well as perhaps an alignment with a personal passion or interest,” Davies suggests. “Try to weave this into the context of what you can contribute to the position.
“The interviewer also wants to know what your long-term goals are and how this role fits in with them. Having an answer that addresses this demonstrates self-awareness and ambition. Feel free to be honest about this – if your interests aren’t aligned from the start, one or both of you may end up frustrated at some point.”
3. Speak sincerely and from the heart
While you want to deliver a considered answer, there’s no point in making things up on the spot. Speaking sincerely will ensure you’re not making empty promises and allow your potential employer to get a full idea of who you are and what you’re about.
“Authenticity is key to impressing an interviewer,” Davies says. “Being yourself (in a professional way) is the best approach to sincerely securing a job that you will enjoy and feel fulfilled by in the long term.
“Many interviewers are aware of the pitfall commonplace responses that people ‘think’ they should give. Be authentic and you’ll hopefully garner more respect for this. Ensure that your personality shines through; the LinkedIn Learning course ‘Memorable Interview Answers With Effective Storytelling’ can give you inspiration on how to demonstrate this.”
Images: Getty
Source: Read Full Article