We have arrived at the beginning of another new series of Career Chat. Over the next four weeks we will explore how to prepare for a job interview.
So far, at Career Chat, we’ve primarily focused on preparing for the earlier stages of the job search process—focusing on your career goals, identifying key job skills, writing your resume (and the second part)—and things you can do to speed up your progress, like finding a mentor and expanding your network.
If all goes well in those first few stages, you’ll likely receive an interview invitation, where you’ll find the answer to a question that connects those first stages of your job search to the following:
“Why did you apply for this role?”
This question usually comes up during a phone interview, although you can get it in any type of interview. Similar to “Tell me about yourself,” this question can be a good way to start your conversation.
Recruiters or hiring managers usually ask why you’re interested in the role to find out a few things: what you’re looking for, some of your long-term goals, and whether the position will be a good fit.
When you answer, it helps to cover three main points:
- Any previous experience relevant to the role
- How do you plan to continue to grow in this role
- Why do you want to pursue this role at this particular company?
Then connect those pieces to your career goals.
Since you can almost be sure that this question will come up, prepare yourself in advance to give a confident and comfortable answer. Think back to what was going through your mind when you applied for this role – what job responsibilities excited you, what job skills you wanted to use, and what about the company piqued your interest. (You can even ask yourself this question while reading job descriptions to weed out roles that may not fit your long-term goals.)
Here’s an example of what a project manager can share when asking for a promotion:
“Recently, my team launched a major update to our mobile app that increased daily active users by 12 percent. I really enjoyed leading that effort and coaching my direct reports through obstacles that tested their growth edges. Now I want to challenge myself by leading a larger team on more complex projects. I’m particularly impressed with the way Company X prioritizes intuitive, user-first design, and I think that would be a useful place to grow.”
Where to start
Answering this question honestly and tactfully requires two things: clarity of your goals and strong communication skills. The University of Pennsylvania’s Achieving Personal and Professional Success specialization combines courses in both of these topics.
For a shorter commitment, you can also consider:
This is where we’ll leave you this week. Next week we will discuss behavioral interview questions. I’ll see you then!