Why Do You Want to Work Here? (Answer this Tricky Question)
About this video
Jeff Su explains that unlike ‘Why should I hire you?’, where selfish elements can keep an answer authentic, ‘Why do you want to work here?’ (and variants like ‘Why are you interested in this position?’) should focus mainly on selfless reasons and the value you bring. Interviewers are implicitly testing three things: whether you have a growth mindset, how much research you have done, and how enthusiastic you are about the role. For growth mindset, frame the move around new challenges rather than higher pay: moving from smaller sales accounts to large key accounts as a natural extension of growth, bringing best practices from an established corporation to a smaller, less formally structured firm, or, when pivoting industries, proving you can ramp up with minimal guidance — he cites teaching himself Apple Keynote in his senior year to stand out in class projects when interviewing for his first management consulting role, signaling presentation skills that would need little review. For research, he warns that mission statements, news, and social media are too high-level: citing Google’s mission to ‘organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful’ for an account manager sales role would sound too idealistic. Instead, focus on the role and learn it from someone already working there, via a college alumni database or LinkedIn, and always ask, ‘What are you measured on when it comes to performance review time?’ — their KPI — which reveals your exact metric, yields day-to-day examples to reuse, and enables natural follow-ups; if no insider is reachable, find the same title at a comparable company on LinkedIn. For enthusiasm, he says companies favor enthusiasm over a particular skill set because skills can be trained, and visible energy also reassures the interviewer about their own choice to join and stay. He recommends practicing in front of a mirror or recording yourself, and warns against mentioning salary, location, or commute.
Key takeaways
- Answer ‘Why do you want to work here?’ with selfless reasons focused on value you bring, not what the company provides you
- Show a growth mindset: frame the move as seeking new challenges (e.g. larger accounts, more responsibility, or a proven ability to ramp up with minimal guidance), not higher pay
- Research the role, not just the company: mission statements are too high-level for this question, so talk to someone in the role
- Always ask an insider, ‘What are you measured on at performance review time?’ to learn the role’s KPI, get concrete day-to-day examples, and enable natural follow-ups
- Demonstrate enthusiasm deliberately — practice in a mirror or on recordings, use energy and body language — and never mention salary, location, or commute in this answer
Episode details: published September 23, 2020 · 8:34 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Jeff Su’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.
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