You’ve arrived at an interview for the job of your dreams. Your resume is polished, your interview clothes are nicely pressed. You’re sitting across from the interviewer, who smiles, takes a breath, and asks you one of the most common job interview questions in the world:
"Why do you want to work for us?"
What do you say?
I’ve gone to many different job interviews over the years and I’ve sat on the other side of the table as an interviewer. The questions I’ve encountered have ranged from practical ("When can you start work?") to expected ("Why do you think you’re right for this job?") to downright fun ("What Star Wars character do you most identify with?"). But I’ve encountered some version of "Why do you want to work this company?" in every single interview.
It can be a daunting question. As an applicant, you might wonder why a company is asking this question or what kind of answer interviewers are looking for. In this article, I’ll breakdown why companies ask you this question, what constitutes a strong answer to this question (spoiler alert: what makes a strong answer changes with every interview), and talk about how to get ready for this question and others in your interview prep.