“Why Do You Want to Work Here:” Example Answers + How-to

“Why do you want to work here?”

“I’ve always been passionate about earning money and not starving to death”.

Okaaay, Dwight Schrute. While deep down this is true, it’s just a fraction of the bigger, more complex truth. And you certainly wouldn’t say this.

In this article, we will teach you how to realistically answer the “Why do you want to work here” question and spice it up with meaningful details that will set you apart from the competition.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• 3 elements to cover in your answer: why this company, why this position, why you
• How to research the company
• How not to answer the question
• Sample why-do-you-want-to-work-here answers for different seniority levels and positions

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How to Answer “Why Do You Want to Work Here?”

First off, be aware of different versions of the “Why do you want to work here” question:

• Why are you interested in this position?
• Why do you want this job?
• Why do you want to work for us?
• Why are you applying for this position?
• Why do you want to work for this company?

When answering the interview question “Why do you want to work here”, you need to cover three things: why do you want to work at this company (which will show you did the research), why this particular position interests you (to show you’re a great fit), and why you’ll be successful in this position (to showcase your relevant skills).

1. Explain why you want to work at this company

There must be something that set this company apart and made you apply. It can be the industry they operate in, company reputation and values, or perhaps you prefer startups over corporations or vice versa. Whatever it is, make sure to bring it up in your answer.

Additionally, you’ll want to do some research beforehand, so that you’re in the loop with the company’s current situation, future plans, events such as mergers & acquisitions, reputation, and similar.

2. Emphasize why this particular position interests you

Is it a great fit for your skills and experience? Or is it just a bit outside your comfort zone and will help you grow? Does it represent a meaningful transition from your current job (e.g. from customer service specialist to sales representative; or from English teacher to content writer; etc.)? Will it be a great opportunity for collaboration with different teams and individuals?

Think about what makes this position appealing; filter out the best factors, and remember to mention them.

3. Convince them why you’ll be successful in that role

This is the perfect opportunity to promote yourself a bit, which will make you stand out compared to everyone else that sticks only to one of the first two points.

Mention some of the skills you possess that are needed for this position, and bring up your top achievements. Tell them how you can contribute to the company and why you’ll be successful in that particular role.

If you don’t have enough relevant experience or you’re looking for your first job, mention transferable skills and high school/university achievements that could be an indicator of future performance.

All of this will give recruiters a sense of how you’ll perform in the future, but it’s also a nice opportunity for you to display your unique strengths.

If you’re feeling uncomfortable speaking about yourself, we get it. A lot of people feel the same because they think selling yourself means bragging. This is not true. Selling yourself is simply speaking about your skills and experience in an engaging and appealing way, mostly through storytelling. We’re here to help you with this: check out our lesson on how to sell yourself and feel good about it.

Sample Answers to “Why Do You Want to Work Here” for Different Career Stages

Let’s put all that theory into practice. Below are sample answers combining those three elements we mentioned above.

Sample “why do you want to work here?” answer for an entry-level candidate

Why we love it: The candidate is a fresh grad without sufficient work experience. That’s why they mostly focused on the organization, the industry it operates in, and the new project they’re rolling out. It shows that the candidate did the research and has very specific ideas in mind. Additionally, they briefly mention their broad skills (language + planning), which hints at why they’d be successful in this role. For bonus points, candidates with no experience can mention relevant coursework or projects, thesis topics, volunteer work, and similar.

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Sample “why do you want to work here?” answer for a mid-level candidate

Why we like it: The candidate did their homework and is acquainted with what’s going on in the company they applied for. They pitched an idea with specific outcomes in mind and emphasized the fact that day can contribute from the beginning (and thus save time and money on training). Additionally, they’re not seniors yet, so there’s room for improvement, and the candidate is willing to jump right in and displays the right attitude. There are also some hints that they are looking to settle in a company and won’t change the job too quickly.

Sample “why do you want to work here?” answer for a senior candidate

Why we like it: The candidate combined their admiration for the company with their track record and specific skills they possess (a huge sign that they could contribute immensely to the new team and company). They also mentioned parts of their personality that could indicate they’d be a good culture fit. It’s music to any hiring manager’s ears.

Sample “why do you want to work here?” answer for a career changer

Why we like it: The candidate might have switched careers but they put their previous experience to good use (the transferable skills they mentioned). In addition, they provided the details around their new certification, which serve as a testimonial to their creative skills. Finally, they mentioned the values they share with a company, which indicates they’re a culture fit and are likely to fit in well with the Marketing team.

These sample answers are for “Why do you want to work here”, but we have a full article on the most common interview questions. Check it out if you want a breakdown of the 10 most common interview questions.

Examples of “Why Do You Want to Work Here” Answers for Different Industries and Roles

Customer service

Why we like it: The candidate demonstrates they took the time to ask around and get to know more about the company and its culture and reputation. They also referred to the job ad and briefly mentioned why they are qualified for the role.

Retail

Why we like it: This answer contains all three components we covered in this article. The candidate openly says why they want to work in this company, why they’re the right person for this job, and why this position is appealing and fitting for them.

Healthcare

Why we like it: The candidate decided to focus on the hospital and single out what they like about its values and initiatives. Then they complemented this statement with their key skills and how they can contribute.

Sales

Why we like it: Saying it is good, but proving it is even better. This candidate was focused on the numbers and hard data to prove their skills (this is especially important in fields like sales and marketing where KPIs are almost always tied to numbers). They also listed their secret ingredients to success, which can help interviewers understand their approach to work and get a sense of how this person may perform in the future.

How to Prepare Your Answer to “Why Do You Want to Work Here?”

Let’s go through the list of tips that will help you make an informed answer that will blow recruiters away.

Research the company

Company website

Visit the company website and look for its vision and mission, values, history, and the latest events. All of this is easily tracked on pages such as About Us, Careers, Press/Media (for press releases, news, etc.).

Social media

Check company pages on social media for additional information, to see employees and what they’ve been up to and to gauge how the company interacts with its online audience

Glassdoor

Check Glassdoor for company reputation and insider info on the hiring process, working conditions, company culture, and similar.

Forums

Check Reddit and other forums (google the company name) for any employee stories, general information, public opinions, etc.

Hiring platforms

Check hiring websites such as Indeed and CareerBuilder — in addition to open positions, websites of this kind usually allow comments from applicants, past, and current employees. Perhaps you’ll obtain valuable info.

Acquaintances

If you know someone, or someone who knows someone who works/worked at the company, get in touch.

By gaining all this info, you’ll have a much clearer picture of what the company is like. It will also boost your confidence (and chances of winning a job) because you’ll have all sorts of details at your disposal.

You can bring them up at the right time to subtly set yourself apart from the competition (there’s nothing worse than a candidate who doesn’t know anything about the company).

In short, you’ll have your answer to the first question you need to cover in your answer (Why this company?).

Research the position

Try and learn more about what exactly the position entails.

Which team will it belong to? Is that team connected with the rest of the company (regular collaboration, etc.)?

What will be your main goals for the quarter/first 6/9/12 months? Will your career path be clearly communicated to you?

What will your everyday life in that position look like? What are the types of tasks you’ll handle daily?

Are they hiring another social media manager and you want to apply? Go to their social media to check the type of content they post; their communications style, their audience, etc.

Are they hiring a customer service specialist and you want to apply? Thoroughly check their product/service. If it’s not in accordance with your values and opinions, you probably wouldn’t enjoy working there. Nobody wants to help other people around a boring/confusing/useless app.

You get the drill.

Ask yourself if it’s really a position you’d be excited about. Identify what aspects of that job are genuinely the most important ones to you and see how they overlap with what you found out about the job on offer.

This will give you the answer to the second question you’ll need to cover in your answer (Why this particular position?)

Know the specific reason you want to work there

Figure out, deep down, what it is that makes you want that job. This will make your answer honest and more believable. Here’s a story to illustrate what we mean:

A candidate we were interviewing, when asked why they wanted to work here, said <drumroll>:

“I’m interested in this position because a colleague of mine applied and interviewed with you and got rejected. I wanted to see how I’d do.”

Now, was this a textbook answer? Absolutely not.

Was it believable? 100%. We thought — fair enough. They then proceeded to explain additional reasons and mentioned why they’re attracted to what we do, and that was it. We ended up hiring them. It was not only because of this answer — but the answer was a clear sign they are honest, so they stood out.

Now, we’re not saying you need to be equally bold. But an honest, specific answer will always beat a generic “This position is a perfect opportunity to further develop my skills” cliche.

Practice!

You can do all kinds of research and know the tiniest of details about the company. You can know exactly why you want to work there and why you’ll be good at it. But if you don’t know to articulate it well, it’s all in vain.

That’s why practicing before the interview is the essential step you need to take.

Now, don’t learn your answer by heart and recite it in front of the recruiter. You’ll sound robotic and boring.

Instead, create a bulleted list of the key information you want to include and think of the best order. Then, play around and improvise each time.

Grab a pen and paper for this, Google docs, Notepad, or a tool like Big Interview’s Answer Builder. While you’re working, you’ll be able to view Sample Answers right in the builder and read tips on the best way to structure your answer.

You can save your answers and revisit them any time until you’re 100% confident in what you want to say.

Then, use the Mock Interview Practice Tool to record your answer and get an instant custom-made report on how to improve.

How NOT to Answer “Why Do You Want to Work Here?”

1. Being dishonest

The worst mistake ever. If you find the company pretentious, if you don’t dig the industry, if you don’t want to work with them — it shows. The worst thing you can do in this case is to lie and cover up the situation.

If you can’t find valid reasons to be interested in that position/company, move along.

2. Being too direct and honest

Similarly, you don’t want to be too honest.

Remember that example from the intro? “I feel very passionate about not starving to death” is a disastrous answer. That might be the essential reason we’re all here, but there’s so much more to it.

Passion, ambitions, plans, interests, causes — all of these are noble things that help us strive in our roles and do good in life.

Disregarding them won’t make us cool. It’ll make us bitter.

Instead, be honest (that’s always good), tell them why you’re there, but add something to your answer that shows you’re driven. And you’ll be golden.

3. Focusing on what you want

Remember that hiring is a 2-way street.

Both you and the company need to give something and get something in return.

And sure, this question is an invitation to reveal what you think you’ll get out of that job, but don’t focus on the salary, medical and dental, location, remote work, or any other perks (there will be time for this during the negotiation process).

Instead, highlight your skills and best achievements; utilize your experience and demonstrate all the ways your presence will benefit the company.

Key Points

• When answering “Why do you want to work here”, cover these three questions in your answer: why this company; why this position; why you’ll be good at it.
• Depending on the context and your experience, you can favor one element in comparison to the others.
• Visit the company website, social media, Glassdoor, etc. to get as much info as you can about the company and their reputation.
• Find out what exactly a particular position entails so that you can know if you’re the right fit for it (speak to a person in that position, check social media, Google, etc.).
• Avoid being dishonest in your answer.
• Avoid bitter and obvious answers (“I need the money, duh”) and add a dash of your honest personality to spark their curiosity.
• Avoid focusing on your needs; focus on what you bring to the table instead.

So there it is. The perfect answer to “Why do you want to work here?”. We hope it’ll help you tame your inner Dwight and create an honest, yet flattering answer that’ll increase your chances of getting hired.

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Need a hand? There are 3 ways we can help you:

1. If you need a confidence boost, read about How to be confident (not arrogant) during a job interview.
2. If you’re looking for a template for answering behavioral interview questions, read about Most common behavioral interview questions and answers.
3. Learn how to turn more job interviews into job offers here. (Rated with 4.9/5 by 1,000,000 users).

FAQ

How to answer “why did you choose this job?”

When answering this question, focus on specific aspects of the job that appeal to you. Show enthusiasm and knowledge about the company and its values. Explain how the job aligns with your skills, career goals, and personal interests.

What if my main motivation is that I’m out of work?

Avoid mentioning your unemployment as your main motivation. Instead, discuss the positive aspects of the company and the role. Highlight how it matches your skills and career goals, and express your excitement about the opportunities it presents to learn and grow.

How to answer “why do you want to work here?” if you have no experience?

Express your eagerness to learn and grow within the company. Talk about the company’s mission, culture, and values that resonate with your interests. Mention how your transferable skills and personal qualities can contribute to the team, and how the role aligns with your long-term career ambitions.

What’s the best answer to “what can you bring to the company?”

Describe your unique skills and experiences that directly benefit the company. Emphasize your enthusiasm for the role, dedication to learning, and commitment to contributing to the team’s success. Share examples of accomplishments that demonstrate your ability to add value to the company in the new role.

What’s the worst mistake I can make when answering “why do you want to work here?”

The worst mistake is being generic or unprepared in your response. Avoid speaking solely about salary or personal benefits. Instead, research the company and role beforehand and provide a thoughtful, personalized answer that showcases your interest in the company’s values, mission, and your passion for contributing to its goals.