We’ve all been in interviews where we get the question: “Why Do You Want To Work Here?” I was talking with a friend the other day about his job search, and he said the most frustrating question he gets in the interview process is: “Why do you want to work here?”
“More often than not,” he said, “the answer isn’t why do I want to work there, it’s why don’t I want to work where I currently work. Or, it’s ‘your job description sort of sounds like something that might fit my qualifications and I thought it’s better than sitting around on the couch.’”
(Used Under Creative Commons, thanks autiscy!)
I found myself pondering that statement. Obviously, you’d never want to say that in an interview, what if you did? What if you looked the interviewer straight in the eye and said, “I don’t know why I want to work here. I just want a job that differs from the one I currently have.” Sure, that’s not the most articulate way to get your point across, but it sure beats coming up with some B.S. answer that an interviewer is going to see right through in a matter of seconds.
So, Doing what I do when I have a burning question in my head when it comes to career/ interview questions, I went to LinkedIn and posed the question to one of the groups I’m in. Here’s some of the responses I got to the following question:
As an interviewer, why do you ask the question: “Why do you want to work here.” What answer (or kind of answer) are you looking for?
A1: The deep-rooted answer is of course to have money to sustain life, or a lifestyle, and in this economy, dream jobs are scarce. Knowing that, as an interviewer, do you consider your company “dream job” worthy, or is the company staffed with people that just need to punch the time card? Outside of that, I have wanted to know that someone has taken time to know the company, what we do, our purpose for existence. As a job-seeker, I think the answer to the question just shows how much care and effort one has invested.
(Used Under Creative Commons, Thanks Richard.Asia)
A2: An interview wants to know just three things – 1) Can he/she do the job? 2) Do I like him/her? and 3) Will he/she fit in around here? While there’s no hard and fast way in which you should answer that question, it most certainly should be framed in a way that addresses one, two or three of these things. Genuine is important, too. Never, ever forget genuine. Hiring managers can see B.S. answers coming from a mile away.
I’m not sure either really answers my question; however, it did give me pause for thought. If you’ve been in a position to hire, why do you ask the question? If you’ve been the interviewee, how do you generally answer?
What are some of your favorites? 
Top 11 Posts of 2011
Well, we’re almost to 2012 and recently I posted my top 11 photos of ’11, so I thought I would dig around in my stats and share with you the items that a plurality of you decided to visit over the year. They’re ranked by number of views.
11: (Dis)Engaging Google+ – I’ve written that I’m not a fan of Google+. Based on my experiences, my opinion hasn’t changed from August 11, 2011.
10: 10 Things (About me) – Interesting, this post, written around my birthday in 2010 garnered enough views this year to make my list. I find it funny that it’s number 10.
9: Oh, to be Popular. #199 – My 199th blog post here. A photo essay of my top Flickr photos. Be sure to check out #1 if you haven’t already.
8: Crossroads. Help Me, Pathfinder! – A great post about my future education and where I want to go from here. I say it was a great post because it offered me some good conversations with people about the state of education, what I should focus on as I continue forward and helped me figure out where I truly am in my head.
7: Good Customer Service: America’s Tire – I’m thrilled that a “Good Customer Service” story made the list. The adage goes, a happy customer will tell no one, while an unhappy customer will tell everyone. That’s not true in my case, I try to give equal time to good and bad customer service.
6: O.H. in the E.R. – On of my funnier (and sad) posts about an ill-fated trip to the ER last August. My pain is your joy. The things you hear in an ER waiting room are rather funny. If you take the time to listen.
(Photo Credit: Sea Turtle on Flickr)
5: Following the Pack (or not) – A post from last February where I offer my commentary on a “gorilla marketing tactic” on Twitter that was horribly spammy. I found it interesting that my desire to speak up was met with extreme hostility and mob mentality, which border-lined on bullying. I still stand by my opinions and observations. Sometimes you have to go out on a limb. Be bold.
4: The Lone Zebra, an Educational Opportunity – Written regarding a kerfuffle in the Real Estate Community about copyright and trade dress infringement. This gave me an opportunity to put into real life practice some things I had been learning in my Business Law class. It was a great case study.
3: Guest Post: Judgment Between The Lines – I’m so thrilled you liked, or viewed, this post. It was an important post. A guest post by my close friend Sarah Salter, she writes about something I think we all struggle with: Judgement and its many forms. An extremely timely, timeless and poignant post, worthy of read, whether it’s your first time or tenth.
2: Missing The Mark: Sears – Christmas Customer Service – Wow. This post, written just six days ago, outlined some poor customer service I received from a National big box store. Outlining the systemic issues from corporate culture, to employee detachment (An employee adds his comments to the post) it has become one of my most popular Customer Service Commentary posts.
(Photo Credit: Synchroni on Flickr)
1: You’re Welcome?!? - A post from this summer, I volunteered at a women only half marathon this year, I was struck and moved that almost every single runner, no matter how fatigued or festive, took a moment to thank the volunteers, when all I really was doing was standing in the middle of the road. I’m very thankful and grateful that this is my number one viewed post. It makes me believe that you all enjoy a little bit of gratitude in our world and maybe we/I need to be sharing a little more of it.
I’m extremely proud of these posts and some of them I think are close to “my best.” I hope that this streak continues in 2012!
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Posted in Customer Service, School, Thoughts, Writing
Tagged 2011, About me, commentary, flickr, Good Customer Service, Google, Google Plus, Gratitude, Hope, Judgement, love, Sarah Salter, Schnikism, School, Sears, statistics, thankful, Year in review