This is probably the most-asked interview question, next to “[d]o you have any questions for us?”. And there is a reason for that. The answer to this question really tells the employer a lot about you and what you are all about.
In order to answer this job interview question effectively, you must be succinct, confident, but not overtly conceited. The answer should be longer than 1 minute but shorter than 3 minutes. Beyond a few minutes, you are just going to lose their attention. To answer this question, talk a little about where you grew up, your education, and any relevant work experience you have. Be sure to concentrate a lot of your time on your career.
This is not a question for you to talk about your personality or character traits—but the interviewer should be able to get a good grasp of who you are from your answer to this question.
Do not ever bad-mouth your previous employer when answering this job interview question. It doesn’t matter if the previous employer really stuck it to you or not. Doing so is very unbecoming and unprofessional and can easily disqualify you from the job you are applying for. If you really did leave your previous job because you did not like your boss, you can simply state that you and the previous employer did not see eye to eye on certain aspects of the job.
Be sure to have specific examples in mind. Another good answer to this question is to say that there was no room in the company to grow professionally and further your skills. You should also never say that the previous employer did not pay you enough—this will make the interviewer think that you are only in it for the money.
Do not say “because the salary is high[er].” You need to be really specific as to why you want to work for the company that doesn’t involve a higher salary.
Here are some things you can say to answer this interview question properly:
And if you are really applying for your dream job at your dream company, you can say that it has always been your dream to work with them since you were young. But be sure to explain why it has always been your dream.
This is a pretty tricky question to answer and the answer may be dependent upon the job you are applying for. But in most cases, it is best to say that your preference is dependent on whichever gets the job done the most efficiently and produces the most quality product. So here is an example response you can use if you are asked this question:
This question is used to gauge what your attitude towards money is. To simply say that money isn’t important to you is not a very believable response. Money is important to everyone. However, when answering this question, you should illustrate that you want your life to be defined by more than just money. And if you truly love the field you are in and the work you do, it is okay to say that you love the work too much to retire. Here are a couple of answers that can be given if you are asked this question: