Job interview tips

Job interview tips: Why do you want to work here?

It appears almost habitually in job interviews and on application forms – the simple question “why do you want to work here?” does not have a simple answer.

“Impressing the interview panel with your response to this question requires more than a little thought – its easy for your response to appear too short or generic,” advises Justin Murray of Norwich-based accountancy recruitment specialists, Big Sky Additions.

Here are Justin’s top tips for the perfect answer to this tricky question:

Research is key to many aspects of your search for the perfect accountancy job in Norfolk. You need to look beyond the company’s website home page to get a genuine understanding of the organisation. Seek out news articles about your potential new employer in trade journals and blogs, and try to get a thorough understanding of their recent successes and plans for the future.
When formulating your answer, don’t just spout quotes from the company’s website – use examples from news articles to show that you have a deeper understanding of the business and the market in which it operates.
Talk about what you admire in the company’s culture using illustrated examples – “I’m really impressed by your environmental commitment, especially your new food waste recycling scheme. While working at … I led the working group reviewing our environmental policy…”
Focusing on the company’s philosophy and mission can give you another opportunity to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the business’ strategy.
Discussing the company’s training and development schemes gives you an ideal opportunity to link their professional development pathways with your career aspirations.
Remember that a job interview is a personal sales pitch – giving reasons adds credibility to your answers and enables you to further demonstrate why the potential employer must choose you.
Steer clear of talking about the attractive salary or generous holiday entitlement – it paints a picture of someone who is more interested in the perks than the organisation.
If you struggle to find anything that piques your interest in the course of your research, it’s a good time to be honest with yourself about whether this is really the job for you.