Interview Tips: Why do you want to work for us?

Don’t be fooled by the looks of this question. It may seem utterly stupid at a glance following an obvious answer. But not being prepared can cost you that dream job.


It is honestly a very simple question. Why do you want to work for us? Easy! You have a job opening and I need a job. But unfortunately, that answer will not get you the job. Here is a complete guide on answering the most common interview question – why do you want to work for us – how to prepare and make a positive impression followed by samples answers.

Remember that this question may come across to you in multiple forms

1. Why do you want to work with us?
2. What do you like about this job?
3. What do you like about this company?

Why do employers ask you this question?

1. Because they want to determine which candidate deserves the job.
2. To understand the amount of effort they put into landing the job.
3. To understand if the candidate really needs the job and if he is genuinely interested in contributing to the success of the company

How to prepare.

All it takes to excel in any interview is preparation. So make sure to do your homework before you walk in. The reason why you want to work in this specific organisation can be answered in two forms.

1. What you can offer to the company
2. What the company can offer you in return

The most important thing here is to impress the employer by talking about the ways in which you can contribute to the well-being of the company instead of speaking about the benefits you expect from them.

Step one – Identify your long term and short term career goals

When applying for a position, it is important to identify your career goals. You need to first understand about yourself in order to determine if you really want to work here and if your dream organisation is the right place to begin or grow your career. Without this understanding, you will not be sure of what you can offer to the company and how well you’ll be able to perform.

Step two – Do a thorough research about the company

Do not hesitate to spend a few minutes, or even a few hours to learn about the company. There is so much that you can learn by observing the organisation’s culture, possible challenges it holds, the co workers, the environment you will be operating in and the employers you will be reporting to, in order to be able to align your goals with the company expectations.

When preparing to answer common interview questions like “Why do you want to work for us”, the best way to earn bonus points is to know everything about the company history, its ethics and philosophies. By reading some of the latest press releases you’ll learn about the company’s future goals. To keep up with the company’s latest achievements and changes, you will need to stay connected on their social media pages.

Networking with company heads in addition to the above-mentioned stands as an effective form of gaining reliable news about the company. By doing so you’ll be looked upon as a candidate who is genuinely interested about the company.

Step three- learn more about the position and construct answers that match your goals with the company expectations

Before moving forward ensure you have a clear idea about your job, the responsibilities that come along with it and your employer’s expectations. This will help you determine if you are capacitated to serve the organisation up to the required standards.

Once you have the above figured out, you can come up with a few sample answers and finally select the most effective one. When constructing answers, make sure that you combine every detail we mentioned about. Your final answer should be a combination of your career goals, how you can achieve employer expectations and why this company is the ideal place for your career growth.

Here are some of the best answers that we generated for you

1. As a person who strongly believes in hard work and dedication, I thoroughly admire this company for how it has reached the number one position in the market with a rough start. The company has inspired me to never give up in the face of temporary defeat therefore I believe I can serve the organization with the same dedication and effort.
2. Ever since I first heard about the company I have been following you on social media. This has helped me to stay updated with the current achievements, activities and changes that are taking place within the organization. This is when I realized the environment that you are working in and the principals that you follow strongly match mine. This is why I consider this organization to be the place where I want to pursue my career.