I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates over the years and my favorite question to ask any prospective candidate is quite simple:
“Why do you want to work for our company?”
With some help from your HR team, this question can be a required field to fill out on all job applications. I love this question because I think it tells a lot about a candidate long before we have decided to give them our time and energy to interview them. If the candidate provides a thoughtful and authentic answer, that’s a good sign to keep reading their application and consider them for next steps. If they provide a poor answer, it could be a sign to move on.
The theory is that the candidate’s ability to answer that question is a reflection of their work ethic as a whole. If they cannot take a few moments to answer the question with a quality answer, why should we expect them to answer a guest question with a quality answer or follow a recipe with the appropriate accuracy?
So, what do good and poor answers look like? Let’s take a look at these real examples below. I’ve replaced the name of the establishment with a fake hotel.
Easy enough! This is a great example of an authentic answer. Short and sweet.
Just “yes”? Likely going to be a “No…”
Ok…moving on.
Ok—a solid answer! The candidate used complete sentences, proper grammar, and gave a thoughtful (while somewhat canned) answer. It’s generic enough that they could send it to any hotel, but it shows effort and professionalism.
Ha! I actually don’t hate this one—it’s definitely authentic, and I know plenty of great employees who come to work every day just for the paycheck but still do a great job. With that being said, I would tread lightly here. A savvy applicant would have provided a more thoughtful answer while still being true to their income-based motivation.
Now we’re cooking with gas! This candidate gave specific examples of why they’re interested in The Grand Hotel and also used the opportunity to provide supporting evidence on why we should interview them. Well done.
As you can see, an open-ended question like this can provide a variety of different answers. While I don’t think a poor answer is an automatic disqualifier, I do think it’s a strong indicator of applicant potential. You are welcome to also ask this question verbally on a screening call prior to a formal interview.
Next week, I’ll share my approach to conducting interviews—from the screening call to the final handshake. See you then!
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