Say you’re asked this in a job interview:
Assume you come to work here. One year from now you go home at the end of the week and think that this is the best job you’ve ever had. What happened to make you feel that way?
What will you say?
If you ask others about the best job they’ve ever had, they almost never mention money. (If they do, it’s in relation to “I made great money while I was having fun!”)
The hiring manager wants to know that you’re excited about THIS job, working for THIS company. They want to know that your expectations are clear and align with what you will find here, and that you have their big-picture goals in mind, too.
Does your vision for the perfect job match with what their job will actually be like? Will you enjoy this job (and stick around in it, creating success) or will you get frustrated and leave? Do you expect to be successful, and why?
You have two options here:
(1) Think about what will be the most rewarding parts of this job for you, and talk about those. Focus on what THIS company can do for you or be for you that others can’t. At least part of your answer should focus on that you’ll be happy because they will be happy:
“I will know that I am using my skills in X, Y, and Z to make a real, significant contribution to boost our company’s growth/market share/profit and I will feel excited and happy about that.”
(2) Refer to the job goals you may have talked about already and talk about how you have achieved those (in a year).
“I will have accomplished X, Y, and Z, that you said were our primary goals, and ….”
Answer either way, incorporating both job accomplishments and your own personal goals and desires, and focus on your success.
Remember that if you are receiving a paycheck, you are achieving a quantifiable goal. That’s the only reason a company would hire anyone. So tie your goals and objectives to quantifiable goals the company needs to accomplish. For instance, if you know that the company wants to accomplish “X” in a year, you would say that at the end of the year you would have achieved that goal for them and felt a great sense of accomplishment because you did so.
Relate your answer to what they need, but be sincere about what would make THIS company a fun place for you to work. Your enthusiasm will show, and make you more attractive to this employer.
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This question and answer is just one of the 101 job interview questions and answers in my ebook How to Answer Interview Questions II, available on Amazon.
If you know there’s a job interview in your future, I encourage you to get this book (How to Answer Interview Questions II) as well as the first book, How to Answer Interview Questions. Both books have 101 job interview questions and answers that will have you ready to stand out in any job interview and get the offer.
