Why are you applying for this position?

“What prompted you to apply for this job?” means, “Why are you so perfect for it?”

It’s one of the easiest job interview questions to answer if you research the company.

right
You’re looking for someone experienced in pairs programming and Scrum. I’ve been part of two programming pairs in six years. In the first we raised code efficiency 45%. In the second we helped the team win a BOSSIE Award. In that job I was on a Scrum team that delivered 15 projects 20% under budget.

wrong
I’ve been applying to just about every job I see on LinkedIn. This looked like a good fit, depending on the salary.

The first of those programming interview questions answers nails it.

The next of our common interview questions asks, “why do you want to work for this company?”

Read our complete guide to the why are you applying for this position interview question.

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Why do you want to work here?

“Why do I want to work here?” means: “Why will you be our best employee yet?”

Check out these answers:

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This is a high-end office with a great team. Your employees voted you the best place to work in New Hampshire. I know you’re looking for an administrative assistant good at resolving customer complaints. At CRM Mineral, I did that 43% faster than the previous assistant by triaging complaints and quickly escalating larger issues.

wrong
I need work and I’ve applied to 200 jobs in the past month. I’m ready to work hard and I’m a skilled admin assistant.

The second of those administrative assistant interview questions is from the gut. The hiring manager will hate it.

The first is how to answer why this company.

Read our complete guide to the why do you want to work here interview question.

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What motivates you?

This is another of those tricky behavioral interview questions.

It means, “Will this job motivate you to be a great employee? Do the career paths here excite you?”

Look at these answers:

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I’m motivated by a student-guided learning environment with great co-workers like you have here. I loved that at my last school. It drove me to double my professional development hours. I learned a lot about test-taking strategies, and my kids raised their averages by 20% in six months.

wrong
I’m motivated by helping young minds grow. I think it’s so important for our future to have engaged, happy kids. That’s why I got into teaching in the first place.

That wrong example sounds nice, right?

It shows passion, but it doesn’t show how passion translates to achievement. Read our guide to the what motivates you interview question.

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Why are you a good fit for this position?

Why would you be a good fit for this position means: What have you done that proves you’ll do a good job?

Reply like this:

right
I’m a good fit because you need an efficient nurse who is professional under pressure. At Harrison Memorial, we had a full ward and fast-paced schedule. The charge nurse commended me five times for efficiency and teamwork.

wrong
I’m a great nurse and I’d work very hard to do the best job possible here. I’ve always fit in very well with nursing teams I’ve worked with.

Why doesn’t that wrong example work? It says you fit, but it doesn’t offer proof.

Read our guide to the why are you a good fit for this position interview question here.

Want more nurse interview questions and answers? There’s a guide for that too: 25 Nursing Interview Questions and Best Answers

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