How to Answer : " why do you want to apply for this role?"

If you were asked in an interview “Why do you want to apply for this role?” or “Why do you need this job offer?”, Do you know the best response to give? Will you reveal the real reason as one that you hate your current role or boss and just need another offer so that you can leave your current role? Or perhaps it is because even though you enjoy your work in your current role, you feel undervalued in the company and feel that your compensation is below market value, as a result this is the reason why you are looking for a new challenge?

Lets dive in and have a look, I will explain in this post what you should or should not do and hopefully, the next time this question comes up. You will be able to answer it well.

In the article :

1. I will explain the reason why this question is usually asked by recruiters,

2. The three proven techniques that can be used to provide the most suitable response

3. Damaging errors to steer clear of when responding.

So, let's begin.

The two reasons behind “Why did you apply for this job” asked by recruiters.

There are 2 major reasons behind this question “Why is this job of any interest to you?” or “Why did you apply for this job?” is usually being asked by employers.

They initially want to find out if you are familiar or have carried out a personal study on the requirement for the job.

Then, they also want to know if you understand what you are interested in, with your career in mind.

Employers don’t want to provide a job offer to applicants who are simply interested in any available job they can find on the internet. They are only interested in individuals with career objectives and are only interested in certain employment opportunities (or probably a couple of types).

Why is this? They are scared of the fact that if you are doubtful about the job opportunities that interest you, you might end up changing your mind, grow bored, dislike the role you are offered and eventually quit.

Here is an instance:

Consider the situation where there is a job opening for a salesperson, but an applicant indicated that they are ready to do any kind of work without any knowledge of the job requirement. They have no knowledge about what salespeople do, but since the job was available online, they simply decided to apply.

Also, consider another applicant who indicated that “I sent an application for this job because I only want to do sales in my profession and this role appears to be an excellent sales opportunity.”

The job will be offered to the second applicant.

This is the reason why it is very crucial to have an excellent response for “Why do you want this role?” Or “Why did you apply for this job offer?”

It is also essential to have a response to questions such as:

Why are you interested in the role?

What information do you have, concerning our company?

In a nutshell, recruiters are looking to offer employment to those with plans concerning their career and have considered their future and career path.

They are not willing to offer a job to someone who is not aware of what the job entails and did not even carry out any research before the interview because it is a clear indication that you have no knowledge of what you want, you’re desperate or simply careless.

Now, with the knowledge of the reason this question is asked by recruiters, let's consider the best response to this type of question.

How to respond to “Why are you interested in this role?”

After considering the reasons employers ask this question in an interview, let's analyze effective responses to provide and at the same time steer clear of possible mistakes that can make you lose the job.

There are three guidelines for responding to “Why are you interested in this job offer?”

1. Describe a particular thing that you are in search of during your job hunt.

This will give you a chance to make headway and an opportunity that will continually develop your expertise in specific aspects (such as Java programming, cancer study, project management, sales and so on). An avenue to function in new roles (such as advancing to a manager from a just a contributor) and many other things.

One major thing any employer is not willing to hear is “I just need a job”. The most important thing is to have a specific goal in mind.

You can specify the industry you would like to focus on, the position type, company size or type (such as a startup). Several things can be described in this area, but the most important thing is to show that you have pondered on the tasks you want to undertake, in your next employment. This is the initial method of providing a valid response to “Why are you interested in this position?”.

It is also vital that your statements are related to the organization or their line of work. This will be analyzed in the next step.

2. Inform them about one favorable aspect of their job

Tell them about what fascinates you about their offer after telling them the specific things you are looking for in your job hunt.

You can indicate some outlines in the job description they provided on their website. Make sure you inform them that you are aware of the demands of the role and willing to do the job.

I will provide complete samples later on if this seems quite challenging.

The last technique is:

3. Summarize the things you’ve stated, to indicate precisely how the job offer meets your requirements.

The last procedure is to link everything you’ve thus far stated.

You’ve indicated those things you are in search of and what fascinates you about their job offer, the last step is to respond like “So this is the reason I applied for this job. It appears to be an avenue to develop certain skills that I want to discover in my career and at the same time working in the industry that I’m passionate about”.

You can also indicate in this last step the method by which your past experience can give you an edge in their job offer.

You can include a sentence related to the sample given above that “So this is the reason I applied for this job. It appears to be an avenue to develop certain skills that I want to discover in my career and at the same time working in the industry that I’m passionate about.

Additionally, since I was performing this task in my previous employment for about 2 years in a similar industry, this will enable me to start at a faster pace to instantly contribute to the team efforts.”

This is among the crucial things recruiters are impressed about. The capacity to instantly deliver and be successful in a new job by revealing previous milestones and achievements in the same industry.

This is the reason responses like this impress the interviewer.

You are demonstrating a profound knowledge about the job and have invested time to research. Don’t forget that they are much more interested in offering employment opportunities to someone who craves their job and not any available work.

You are also demonstrating to them that you have certain objectives that you hope to achieve in your job hunt. This indicates how much your career means to you which they would also appreciate. Why is this? It shows there is a higher chance that you would be more productive, improve your skills and spend a long time on the job (if it is favorable).

Lastly, you are drawing their attention to how you can be of help instead of just telling them your needs.

Let’s now consider some exact sample responses.

Sample responses to “Why do you want this job offer?”

Since you are already aware of the 3 methods in developing a valid response, below are sample responses that you can provide for questions such as “Why do you want this job?”, or “Why did you apply for this job?” and so on.

Sample response 1

“I was employed in a digital marketing firm and this is a role I’m fascinated about and would really love to keep developing. I applied for this job after examining the job description. It appears to be an excellent chance to keep developing my skills in digital marketing such as ad Facebook advertising, social media marketing and so on. And since I’m already experienced in this line of work with my previous employer for about three years, this will enable me to start at a faster pace to instantly contribute to team efforts.”

Sample Response 2.

“I hope to keep developing my leadership and project management skills in my next role. I examined the job description and I noticed that emphasis is being made on project management and team leadership which makes it seem like the most appropriate position. And as I’ve already had 3 years’ experience in this line of work handling multi-million projects for clients and a leader in a 5-member team at my latest organization, I have no doubt that I can rapidly catch up and become very productive in this position.”

Sample Response 3.

“I’m currently in search of leadership roles because I’ve been handling projects throughout the departments in my current role for 4 years. I noticed in the job description that the candidate you are looking for will handle 4 to 5 projects and will likewise have the opportunity to train their personnel team later on and delve into direct management. This is what I’m fascinated about, but sadly the role is currently not available in my current organization, which is the main reason I applied for this particular job.

I am confident that my previous project management experience would instantly enable me to be an asset in this position. Can you describe the future objectives of the leadership role in the position?”

Another method of being an outstanding candidate during an interview is to make inquiries similar to the sample provided above.

This is a technique I strongly suggest in my job interview response guidelines because it transforms the interview into a dialogue that goes both ways instead of a tedious interrogation.

Ending your responses with a question has likewise proven to be very effective.

1. The recruiter will consider you as a colleague and someone they can work with.

2. They will hold you in high regard.

3. You will also appear as a sought-after candidate because you are examining them by making exceptional inquiries and simply not desperate to acquire the first job offer.

4. The interview will appear more like a discussion instead of an interrogation. The outcome? It will allow you to experience less stress and become more relaxed. This will make you provide effective responses. Before the conclusion, let’s consider the mistakes and errors you should steer clear of, when responding.

The errors that should be avoided when responding to “Why are you interested in this job?”

Several things should be avoided when you are asked by the interviewer the reason for applying for the job. Mistakes that should be avoided are:

Don’ts

Don’t make it appear as if you care less about the job you are offered.

Don’t point out the fact that you’ve tried applying for other available jobs without having the knowledge or going through the position.

Don’t appear like you are ignorant of the company’s operations. Avoid attending an interview without having an idea of the operations of the company, the revenue flow and so on. Not knowing this information indicates that you are not entitled to the job offer (and there is a possibility that you won’t be offered).

Don’t indicate that you are not aware or not certain.

Don’t provide a response that relates to your demands such as in need of higher pay, a short distance, and so on. Concentrate more on what they require and the advancement of your career (ensure that both are balanced).

Don’t criticize your past or present employment. Speak about what you hope to achieve in your next employment opportunity and not those things you want to avoid in your present job, if there is any. This is a guideline you should adhere to when responding to any question during an interview.

So, now you know the effective response to:

a. “Why did you apply for this job?”

b. “Why are you interested in this role?”

c. And several related questions.

This 3-step guide, as a matter of fact, can be used for responding to “Why do you need this job?”.

Carry out this procedure when responding to an interviewer’s question on the reason you applied for the role, the reason you have an interest in their job and so on.

This will impress any recruiter if properly done and it will put you in a better position to get that letter of offer for that job you want.