What the interviewer is looking for:
Employers ask this question to assess your level of interest in their company and in the job opportunity they’re offering.
Employers seek to gauge your interest in their company and the offered job. They want to know if you actively pursued this role or stumbled upon it incidentally.
Employers prefer candidates who actively seek roles aligned with their career goals. Demonstrating enthusiasm for the job by referencing specific points in the job description and aligning your skills with the company’s needs is crucial.
Employers are interested in whether you have internal connections within the company. If you learned about the role through a referral, it can positively impact your application, showcasing the effectiveness of the company’s internal network.
Employers want to know how you discovered the job opportunity. Whether through a referral, online platforms like JobStreet.com, the company website, or social media, your response helps them evaluate the effectiveness of their recruitment efforts.
Examples of good and bad answers
Good answer: “I found this job opportunity on JobStreet.com. After reading the job description, I found that the role of Social Media Manager would be a great fit for me because I have five years of experience promoting my current company’s service offerings on social media. I am also creative, digital-savvy, and aware of the current trends in the digital marketing space, which are the characteristics of an effective social media manager. I also read up on your company through your website and found your goals and achievements very impressive, it seems like a great place to work. That is why I decided to apply for this role.”
Bad answer: “I found this role online, I think. Your company looks cool, and I really need a job right now, so I decided to just go for it!”