In this guide
Interviews and salary conversations
How to answer “Why do you want this job?”
Link the work, the employer and your experience with research you can show. Includes examples for career changers and internal moves.
Three parts of a convincing answer
| Part | Question it answers | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| The work | Which parts of the job do you actually want to do? | The responsibilities in the advert |
| The employer | Why here rather than a similar organisation? | Their website, recent news, annual report, the people you meet |
| The fit | Why does this make sense for you now? | Your recent experience and where you want to go |
Most weak answers cover only one part. “I've always admired your brand” covers the employer but not the work or the fit. “I want to develop my skills” covers the fit but could be said about any job.
Finding something specific to say
- Read beyond the careers page: a service the organisation launched, a report it published, a change it announced.
- Note how it describes its own priorities, then connect one of them to your experience.
- If you have used its products or services, say what you noticed as a customer.
- If you spoke to someone who works there, mention what they told you about the team.
Examples for different situations
Illustrative example
Moving from a call centre into a housing association's tenancy team
After
“The tenancy role is mostly the part of my current job I enjoy: working through a problem with someone until it is properly sorted rather than handing it on. Your association's move to named officers for each estate stood out, because continuity is what my callers say they miss. My three years handling repairs complaints means I already know where tenants get stuck.”
Illustrative example
Internal move from finance to the data team
After
“I've been building the monthly finance dashboards on my own initiative for the past year, and the most useful conversations I have are with the data team about how to model the figures. This role would let me do that work full time, and I'd bring an understanding of what finance colleagues actually need from the data.”
Illustrative example
Experienced manager applying for a role with less responsibility
After
“I've managed teams for ten years and I want to spend more of my time on the specialist work itself. This role is focused on complex cases, which is where my experience is most useful, and your training programme for new caseworkers is something I'd be glad to support.”
If a move looks like a step down, address it directly and positively rather than waiting for the interviewer to wonder.
Reasons to keep out of the main answer
Pay, commute, flexible hours and job security are legitimate reasons to want a job, and you do not need to pretend otherwise. They just do not answer the question the interviewer is asking, which is about the work and the organisation. If they matter, raise them later or when the conversation turns to practical terms.
Common questions
Is “why do you want this job” the same as “why do you want to work here”?
They overlap. The first leans towards the role, the second towards the organisation. A complete answer touches both, with more weight on whichever was asked.
How long should the answer be?
About a minute. Long enough for one specific detail about the work and one about the employer, short enough that the interviewer can ask a follow-up.
Put it into practice
Prepare with interview practiceDrafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards. Examples are illustrative, not real people’s results. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.