‘Why do you want to join us?’: How high-achieving professionals answer this classic interview question
Without a doubt, one of the most common interview questions is ‘Why do you want to join us?’. At a surface level, it’s fairly easy to answer by pointing out the obviously good and impressive things about that firm. However, based on my experience in headhunting and as a career coach, I’d contend that you can go way beyond that response if you want to mark yourself as a particularly strong candidate. In this short article, I’ll discuss just that.
The first thing to say is that this is an obvious interview question - perhaps the obvious interview question - and so anticipating it and preparing a really strong answer is well worth doing.
Second, it’s likely to come early in the interview and therefore answering it strongly will set the tone for the rest of the conversation and, ideally, create a great first impression.
So what information is this question looking to elicit? I think there are 3 key things, from the perspective of the interviewer(s):
What do you know about us?
Have you done any research and how well prepared are you?
What do you like about us - which implies the question “how do we fit with what you are looking for?” This further implies “do you know what you are looking for?”
A key step in answering this question effectively is to prepare your unique job and firm selection criteria. When we’re working with our coaching clients, we spend quite some time becoming clear about exactly what has to be present in any future firm. This includes:
the job, the leadership, the mission and the people and the culture for you to know that this will be an environment in which you’ll flourish, grow, give your best and be happy. I’d suggest that you do exactly the same for two reasons:
Knowing what you want with some degree of precision is key to finding it and is therefore worthwhile on its own merits
You’ll be able to use this list to answer the question “Why do you want to join us?” in a powerful way.
With that done, here’s how to use that list.
You can now say that you have thought carefully about your criteria for any firm that you want to work for. You have decided not to even meet any organisation that doesn’t meet them at a most basic level. You have 5 or 10 key criteria, and here is how you believe that their firm matches up on the research that you’ve been able to do so far. Then, go through your list in a snappy manner.
For example, you could say: “One of my criteria is that employees are generally happy. I have looked at your ratings on GlassDoor and spoken to network contacts who work here and the feedback that I have gathered is great. People are happy.”
Another example could be:“ I read in the job specification that I would be handling xyz issues, which is something that I very much enjoy doing”. This example has the additional benefit of the interviewer now envisioning you already doing the role that they have in mind.
You might also mention that there are some of your criteria you have not been able to come to a view on and you’d like to ask about them at the appropriate point in the interview process.
All of this should be done in a very polite and professional manner. By taking what is implied by the question and answering them, you will be positioning yourself as thoughtful, organised, and thorough in your research and preparation. It is clear that you are not yet sold but you are certainly curious, enthusiastic and discerning. These are qualities that most good employers would value. Positioning yourself as a candidate with these attributes from the outset of the interview will no doubt allow you to hit the ground running and to stand you in good stead for the rest of the interview.