Crafting a Standout Interview Narrative
Have you ever booked an interview even though you weren't super interested in the company/role?
You thought "I just need a job so let me just take this interview."
It's a common feeling for job seekers in this market. I don't think it's bad to feel that way, and always good to take the interview to get the practice.
But you must have a compelling answer to the question "What interests you in this company?"
Even if you're not sure you are interested in the company for real, forreal.
Last year I interviewed candidates for an internal HR role at the company I was working at and I asked this question.
I heard a variety of answers and most were not great.
A common response was "I want a remote job." ...And that's it? 👀
Also, candidates would frequently list generic reasons they liked the company based on their online research.
There is a better way.
To learn how to better answer this question better, you must understand the question behind the question.
Let's get into it.
Most interview questions have a deeper layer of questions that are more specific.
The "core question," so to speak.
You must learn how to recognize the core question behind the question so you can craft strong answers that address what is truly being asked.
To be clear, interviewers are not trying to trick you, it's just that interview questions are usually pretty broad, but the answer they are often looking for is specific.
Anyway, here's how to structure your answer for "What interests you in this role/company?"
The core question behind this question is essentially "what are you about or what's your personal mission and how are you qualifying your next role/company?"
To make a lasting impression, tell them who you are professionally in a broad sense (your professional strengths/brand) and what you are looking for in a new role.
Start by describing your personal brand or personal mission in a few words, aka what are you about?
Examples of words that could describe your personal brand are "growth mindset," "driven by impact," or "0-1 builder," etc.
Then structure the rest of your response by sharing 2-3 high-level criteria that you are using to qualify your next company and job.
Examples of criteria could include "strong marketing leadership", "opportunity to build a team", and "a company with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion values".
Put these two parts together and you have a much more compelling answer than simply describing what you read on the company's website.
Here is an example answer:
”As an agile developer with most of my experience working in early-stage startups, my brand is rooted in adaptability and having a growth mindset. My mission is to bring accessibility to the forefront of technology, with a big focus on AI. In my next role, I'm seeking an environment with strong engineering leadership that fosters bringing new ideas to the table. I'm also looking for an opportunity to build a team and a company with a genuine commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion values. Based on my research it seems like this role at X company could potentially fit into these categories so I'm excited to learn more about the role and team.”
This type of answer paints a picture of who you are and what your mission is professionally, which helps the interviewers feel like their company fits into the mission you just described.
It's also a strong answer because you are sharing that you know what you are looking for next.
People want to hire people who have clarity and can articulate what they want next.
Your response should be true and broad enough that you can recycle it for any interview.
Because it's about you, not the company, you can really focus on refining the content and delivery of your answer.
Recycling interview answers is key to getting good at interviewing.
If you want to share that you like the company as well, just make it very specific or personal so it stands out, not something anyone could say like "remote work" or "your mission."
There you have it. Hope this was helpful. If you try this in an interview let me know how it goes!
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