Why did you choose our company? This is one of the very first questions an interviewer asks a candidate during an interview. What is the purpose of asking this question?

• Determine your motivation: understand your priorities and preferences – what aspects of the work attract you and why.
• Find out your goals and plan how this business can help you to achieve it.
• Make sure you are interested in this position.
• Find out what you know about the company, industry, position.
• Understand how you differ from other candidates for this position and why you are more suitable than others.

How to prepare an answer to the question

Your answer should consist of 2 parts. You should not only say that you enjoy this organization   this is only the first part of the answer. In the second main part of the answer, you should explain why you are interested in the vacancy and how your competencies meet the requirements of this position. Therefore, two questions need to be answered:

•  Why are you attracted to our company?
•  Why is our vacancy interesting?

1. Why are you attracted to our company

Choose from the list 2-3 reasons why you want to have work in this company. It can be:

• Company reputation
• Company policy and values
• Company positioning in the market
• Company growth/success/ratings
• Company awards/prizes
• Career Opportunities
• Large-scale and interesting tasks/projects
• Opportunities for additional training, professionalism of colleagues

There are several reasons you shouldn’t mention when answering this question:

• Wage level
• Social package (official registration and “white” salary)
• Benefits: corporate car, honey. insurance, compensation for fuel, communications, etc.)
• Convenient office location (close to home)

Answer examples:

1. “Certainly, NN’s impeccable reputation is an important factor. I would love to work for a company that has such a long history in the perfume market and is still a leader in the industry. In addition, from the feedback of the company’s employees, I learned that initiatives are welcome and corporate training is highly developed, and the efforts and fulfillment of the tasks set are evaluated by the results and contribution of each employee.
2. “I read an interview with your new CEO in NN magazine, in which he said that the company is heading towards the development of innovative technologies. I consider myself an innovator and would like to work for an organization that plans to become a leader in this field in the near future (tell us about your latest project in the company below). In my work, the opportunities that the company presents for applying my previous experience and knowledge are important for me.”
3. “I heard a lot of positive things about your company from employees / clients / partners / read on the Internet. I know that the company has an impeccable reputation, is in the top 5 companies in the X ranking of 2017, and also receives awards for the most innovative projects in the X direction. I know that you are open to change, develop and grow in the market. As far as I know, the company has a strong corporate culture and a team of professionals in their field. I like that a lot of attention is paid to training and development of the team, as well as the transparency of the employee evaluation system.”
4. “Your center is one of the largest laboratory and diagnostic centers. Operation for more than 15 years on the market indicates a stable position in the chosen area. At the same time, your company does not stand still, expanding the services provided, developing new technologies, as well as implementing projects in world-class research activities. I believe that working in your company will be the best step for me in the development of my professional activity, and I will also be useful with my extensive experience in technical support and IT project management.”

2. Why are you interested in our vacancy

As a rule, candidates take into account only the general criteria for assessing the company, and lose sight of the criterion for meeting the qualification requirements for the position they are applying for. Be sure to include evidence in the second part of your answer as to why you are a good fit for this company.

Answer examples:

1. “I believe that my qualifications in the field of IT technologies meet the requirements described in the vacancy. In addition, this position is interesting to me, as I have extensive experience in the development of modern software applications (below, give an example of your work on the last project). At Company X, I acquired the ability to think creatively and learned to find new and more effective ways to solve problems. I know that your company values ​​employee initiatives and encourages the use of unusual approaches to completing tasks. So that’s one of the main reasons why I chose your company.”
2. “Your position is interesting to me, it includes a wide range of interesting tasks. Also, from what I was able to learn from open sources, the company has plans to develop new strategic projects, a huge focus on employee development and, in my opinion, a rich and positive atmosphere. Your vacancy indicates a mandatory requirement for the candidate: work experience in a company with a developed branch pharmacy network. My last job in Dubai was Company X, a network of pharmacies located in 25 regions. I also have an ITIL certificate and extensive experience in project management for the implementation and development of IT services in the company.”
3. “Your vacancy interested me, since my goal is to get a position of a manager in a large bank. The vacancy is interesting for the tasks that are worth it. It combines the main functions that I performed as a manager in the company “X”: (list duties from the job description): sales management and people management. Job requirements are fully consistent with my competencies and experience. Over 10 years of work in the bank, I gained significant experience in building a successful team, mastered management skills, incl. setting SMART goals, developing motivational schemes, providing effective and constructive developmental feedback. I also have sales skills: I know how to identify needs, build productive relationships with clients, I know how to work with objections and resolve conflicts.I was also responsible for working with VIP clients and supporting transactions at all stages. Thus, during the reorganization of the bank, I completed the plan to transfer corporate clients by 120%, VIP clients by 115%, and also carried out the best (out of 28 branches) migration of private depositors to the Head Office, while fulfilling the plan by 130%. Therefore, your tasks in this position completely coincide with my past experience, and I would be glad to pass the competition and continue to build my career in your bank.” Now combine the two answers into one and get a ready answer to the question: Why do you want to work in our company?

Answer examples:

1. “Of course, I plan to work in a large leading company with a good reputation. I am interested in working in your company with a developed corporate culture, in which there is a positive atmosphere, where everyone works as a team and for a common result. I am also looking for a job where the level of position and responsibilities will match my experience and knowledge. Your vacancy attracted me precisely with its tasks and functions. I held a similar position in X company and was responsible for managing a department of 16 people, organizing KDP outsourcing and outstaffing projects, developing LNA with their subsequent implementation, developing step-by-step procedures for personnel operations, conducting internal and external audits of personnel documents. As far as I understand from the job description, the requirements that you place on a candidate for this position are consistent with my previous experience. That’s why I chose your company.”

Trap

At the end of the interview, you may be asked another question on this topic. It may sound like this: “If you get job offers from two companies at once, offering the same salary conditions, including social. package, how will you decide?

This trap. What is it and how to prepare the correct answer?

First, it is a test of your previous answer to the question “Why do you want to work for our company?” When answering, your task is to repeat the same criteria in terms of importance that you voiced earlier.

Secondly, it is a test of how you can solve problems and make rational decisions, and how you have analytical and research skills.

The interviewer voiced the problem: the candidate was offered an offer by two companies with the same initial data. It is necessary to explain how you will solve this problem and on the basis of what to make a decision. Of the two alternative options, you must choose one company and justify your choice. A rational decision goes through the following stages: the formulation of certain criteria for decision-making, a detailed study of the information necessary for an objective analysis, a comparison and the final choice of alternatives.

Duplicating your previous answer would be a losing move for you in terms of skill assessment. But, even if you repeated your answer again, for example:

1.“I will make a choice according to the following criteria: corporate policy and opportunities for applying the accumulated experience and career growth”, then let’s predict what the interviewer’s further questions might be. He will suggest another situation: “Okay. Let’s assume that both corporate policy and opportunities for development attract you in both companies. In this case, how will you make a decision about choosing a company? After a few clarifying questions, the interviewee most often runs out of prepared criteria and there is either a long pause or a repetition of the same criteria, but in other words.