Santosh (name changed to maintain confidentiality) who I was coaching was struggling to answer this interview question – Why are you interested in this job? When I analysed I noticed that Santosh would always state things that would benefit him; he completed forgot to focus on the employer’s benefit. This is a common mistake made by job seekers while answering this interview question.
Tips to answer this question effectively.
Answer it in 3 parts:
1] Find a connect with the company:
Express how you are passionate and impressed with the company’s products / services, about what the existing employees say about the work culture so that the employer knows that you are already aligned with the company’s vision and goals. So on one aspect the interviewer finds a match.
2] Matching of your skills with job role:
Tell them you are excited about the role. Break up the role into different aspects and specifically talk about how you are a great match to these individual aspects and hence you know you will deliver the results expected. Also present your attitude to accept challenges and ability to learn where the match is not perfect. This gives confidence to the interviewer that you have an overall positive attitude and will add value to the company.
3] Share success stories which perfectly match with the requirements of the job:
Demonstrate by sharing relevant success stories which help the interviewer understand that you have it in you to deliver results because you have already handled similar situations successfully and that is why you are exited. Again here the interviewer sees the benefit for the company in your being interested in the role.
So the lesson to be learnt is that while you are interested, it needs to be presented also from the point of view of the employer, not only from what you gain by joining the company.
Best of luck!
Sarabjeet Sachar
Seasoned Career Coach, Founder & CEO, Aspiration