The Best Ways to Articulate Why You Want the Position in a Job Interview

If there’s any question you should be prepared to answer at a job interview, it’s “why do you want this job?”

Answering this question effectively is deceptively simple. You don’t just want to discuss why you want the job you’re interviewing for; it’s equally, if not more, important to talk about why you’re interested in this company in particular. Your interviewer isn’t asking why you want to be a financial analyst; they want to know why you want to be a financial analyst at their organization.

So, what exactly should you say to convey your interest in both the position and the company? Here are our top tips.

Research the company and write down what genuinely excites you about it.

One of the most important parts of effectively answering this question is tailoring your response to the company. So, why do you want to work there? Do you appreciate their professional development programs? Are you enthusiastic about the projects they’re working on that you’ve read about in financial publications?

Be as specific as possible in articulating reasons; ideally, what you mention will be unique to the organization.

Talk about how this role and company matches your personality, not just your skills.

“Why do you want this job?” also invites you to describe how your personality matches the company culture. So, when researching the organization, find out all you can about work styles and culture. For instance, is the company formal or laid-back? Do they have a collaborative or a hierarchical organizational structure? Ideally, you can even ask your contact at the company for information about how the company operates.

Then, based on what you discover, also mention how you would like to work at an organization that operates in the way they do. In the interview, then, you want to connect your preferred work style and attitude to what you’ve learned.

Familiarize yourself with the job description, and share how you’d be able to develop your existing qualifications in this role.

You also want to be clear about the unique responsibilities of the position. While job descriptions can be similar across companies, re-read the posting several times so you can mimic the language and focus on the responsibilities the company cares most about in your interview.

Pick out three or four key job duties you would enjoy in the role. Then, you can talk about how you have that experience already but would look forward to developing these capacities if offered the role.

Situate this role in your career path.

The step above encourages you to describe how the position will help you develop competencies you already have. But take it a step further by describing how the role would be the hugely important next step in your career trajectory. You could even loop in the company once more by mentioning how you would like to build your career at their organization.

Preparing for Interviews with Career Moves LLC.

Certainly, you should plan your answer about why you’re interested in a particular job. Even if they don’t ask you this question exactly, you should take the opportunity to prove that you’re familiar with the organization and are sincerely excited about working there.

There are many other questions that you should also be prepared to answer in interviews. Paul Wigglesworth, CPA and founder of Career Moves LLC., can help you plan your interview responses so you’re making the strongest possible impression. Over the past two decades, he has helped nearly 600 finance and accounting professionals land satisfying new roles at more than 100 companies.