Interview questions

Why this job, why here

Why you want the role, why this organisation and why you are moving on, answered honestly and backed by real research.

From the interviewer's side

What the interviewer is looking for

  • These are "will do" questions. A capable candidate who does not really want this job is a risk, so interviewers look for genuine interest in the work itself, not just in having a job.
  • Whether you prepared. A good answer needs facts you could only find by researching the organisation, so a vague answer reads as low interest.
  • Whether you understand what the job is really like day to day, and still want it.
  • Whether you are likely to stay. When what you want matches what the job offers, people settle in and do well. When it does not, they tend to leave.
  • How you talk about your current employer. Criticism is one of the warning signs hiring managers mention most, because they assume you may one day talk about them the same way.

For candidates

How to prepare

  • Research at three levels: the sector, the organisation and the role itself. Use its website, recent news, social media and any inspection, regulator or annual reports.
  • Find two or three specific things that genuinely appeal to you, and be ready to say why each one matters to you.
  • Read the job description as a list of the tasks you would actually do, and pick out the ones you would most enjoy.
  • Prepare an honest, positive reason for leaving that points towards this job rather than away from your current one. Keep it short.
  • Keep pay, location and hours out of your main reasons. They may matter to you, and that is fine, but they are not what the panel is scoring.

Why do you want this job?

What the interviewer is really asking

The interviewer wants to know whether you want this work or simply a job. People who genuinely want what the role involves day to day tend to learn faster, perform better and stay longer. The question also checks that you understand what the job actually is, because some candidates apply for a title without knowing the tasks behind it.

What a strong answer shows

  • Knowledge of what the job involves day to day, beyond its title.
  • Two or three specific parts of the role that appeal to you, and why.
  • A link between the role and your own skills, experience or direction.
  • Awareness of the harder parts of the job, and that you are ready for them.

What loses marks

  • "I need a job" or "it is close to home" as the main reason.
  • An answer only about the organisation, with nothing about the work.
  • Enthusiasm for tasks the job does not involve.

How to answer

  1. Pick out two or three parts of the job description that you would genuinely enjoy.
  2. For each one, give a reason from your own experience: a time you did something similar and liked it.
  3. Show that you know the less appealing parts of the job too.
  4. Link it to where you want to go next, and keep the whole answer to about a minute.

An example answer

I have worked on the shop floor of a large fashion store for three years, and the part of the job I always volunteer for is the overnight floor change when a new season arrives. I like taking a plan from head office and making it work in a real space, with real customers walking through it. Last spring my manager let me lead the window for our summer launch, and the featured range sold better in our store than anywhere else in the region that month. This role would make that the main part of my week rather than something I fit in around the till. I also like that it covers five stores, so I would learn how different layouts and customers change what works. I know it means early starts and plenty of lifting, and I am fine with both.

Why do you want to work here?

What the interviewer is really asking

Interviewers want to know whether you chose them or simply applied everywhere. A candidate who has a real reason to want this organisation is more likely to accept an offer, settle in and stay. The question also tests whether you prepared, because a good answer needs facts you could only get by doing some research.

What a strong answer shows

  • Specific knowledge of the organisation: its services, customers, plans or reputation.
  • A link between what the organisation does and what you value or want to do next.
  • That you understand the role you would play in it, not just the brand.

What loses marks

  • An answer that would fit any employer ("you are a great company with good values").
  • Talking only about what you would get: pay, location or an easy commute.
  • Facts copied from the home page, recited without saying why they matter to you.

How to answer

  1. Research two or three things that genuinely appeal to you: a service, a recent change, how they treat their staff or customers.
  2. Say why each one matters to you, using your own experience or values.
  3. Finish with what you would bring to the team in return.

An example answer

I have been following how you have moved your home care visits onto a single scheduling system, because in my current job I see what happens when carers get rotas late: visits are rushed and people notice. You clearly care about continuity, and your inspection report mentions families saying they see the same carers each week. That is the kind of care I want to give. I also like that you train new senior carers from within. I have mentored three new starters this year and I would like to grow into a senior role somewhere that takes that seriously.

What do you know about our organisation?

What the interviewer is really asking

This is a direct test of preparation. The interviewer does not expect you to know everything, but they want evidence that you looked beyond the job advert and that what you found means something to you. Knowing nothing reads as low interest, however good your other answers are.

What a strong answer shows

  • Accurate basics: what the organisation does, who it serves and roughly how large it is.
  • Something recent, such as a new service, a change of direction, a project or a piece of news.
  • Why what you found matters to you or to the job you are applying for.
  • Some awareness of the wider sector and the pressures on it.

What loses marks

  • Nothing beyond what was in the advert.
  • A list of facts from the home page with no comment on any of them.
  • Getting the basics wrong, such as what the organisation does or where it works.
  • Guessing to fill a silence, rather than sticking to what you do know.

How to answer

  1. Research the basics: what it does, who it serves, how it is funded or makes money and where it works.
  2. Look for something recent in its news, social media, annual report or inspection reports.
  3. Choose two or three facts and say briefly why each one interests you.
  4. If there is something you could not find out, save it as a question for the end.

An example answer

I know you are a further education college with three campuses, teaching adult learners as well as school leavers, and that you run apprenticeships with local employers in engineering and health. On your news page I saw that you are moving every course onto a single online learning platform next year. That matters to me, because I supported a similar move at the school where I work now. The hardest part there was not the technology but helping staff who were nervous about it, so I ran short drop-in sessions every week until people felt confident. I also read your latest inspection report, which praised your support for adult learners, and I would like to help make the new platform work for people who are less comfortable with computers.

Why are you leaving your current job?

What the interviewer is really asking

The interviewer wants to know whether you are moving towards something or running away from something, and whether the same problem might follow you here. They also listen to how you talk about your employer, because someone who criticises one employer may one day criticise the next. If you were made redundant, dismissed or left on bad terms, they are mostly judging your honesty and what you learned.

What a strong answer shows

  • A short, honest reason framed around what you want next.
  • A link between that reason and what this job offers.
  • Respect for your current or last employer, even if things were difficult.
  • For redundancy or dismissal, a plain account, what you learned and what you have done since.

What loses marks

  • Criticising your manager, your colleagues or the organisation.
  • Pay as the main or only reason.
  • A long, emotional story, or one that changes when the panel asks a follow-up question.
  • Hiding a dismissal or inventing a different reason. References and checks can bring the truth out, and the lie then matters more than what happened.

How to answer

  1. Give your reason in one or two sentences, focusing on what you are looking for rather than what you are escaping.
  2. If you were made redundant, say so plainly with the business reason, then mention what you achieved before and what you have done since. Most employers understand that redundancy is a business decision.
  3. If you were dismissed, be truthful and take responsibility. Say what you learned and what is different now, without going into more detail than the panel asks for.
  4. If you left on bad terms, describe it neutrally as a poor match, then say what it taught you about where you do your best work.
  5. Finish by linking your answer to what attracts you to this job.

An example answer

My role was one of several removed when the company closed its packaging site in the spring and moved production to another region. It was a business decision, and I was offered relocation, but I chose to stay in the area for family reasons. Before the closure I was production manager on the day shift, leading a team of fifteen, and in my last year we reduced waste on our main line by changing how we set up between product runs. Since leaving, I have completed a course in lean manufacturing and helped a friend's food business plan its first production line. What attracts me here is that you are growing rather than shrinking, and this role would let me carry on the improvement work I enjoy most, in a larger team.

What motivates you at work?

What the interviewer is really asking

The interviewer wants to know what will keep you doing good work once the job is no longer new, and whether this role can provide it. There is no single right answer, but yours needs to be true and it needs to fit the job. A candidate driven by things the role cannot offer is likely to lose interest or leave.

What a strong answer shows

  • A genuine motivation that this job can actually offer.
  • A real example of a time it drove you to do good work.
  • Self-awareness about what brings out your best.

What loses marks

  • Money as the only motivation.
  • A vague answer, such as "I like helping people", with no example.
  • A motivation the job cannot meet, such as rapid promotion in a small team with few senior posts.
  • Saying what you think they want to hear, which shows as soon as they probe.

How to answer

  1. Think about the days at work when you felt most satisfied, and what they had in common.
  2. Name one or two motivations honestly, and check that this job offers them.
  3. Give a short, real example of that motivation in action.
  4. Connect it to the role you are applying for.

An example answer

I am most motivated by seeing someone make progress they did not think was possible. As a physiotherapy assistant on an orthopaedic ward, I work with patients after hip and knee operations, and many of them are frightened to put weight on the leg at first. Last month I worked with a man who refused to try the frame for two days. I took time to find out what he wanted to get home for, which was his garden, and we built each session around that. He walked the length of the ward before he was discharged. That is what gets me up for early shifts. What appeals about this community role is that I would follow people through their recovery at home and see more of that progress, rather than saying goodbye at the ward door.

What are you looking for in your next role?

What the interviewer is really asking

The interviewer is checking whether what you want matches what they can offer, because that match is one of the best signs that you will settle in and stay. They also want to see that you have thought about your next step rather than drifting into it. An honest answer helps both sides: if the job cannot give you what you need, it is better for everyone to find out now.

What a strong answer shows

  • Two or three clear wants that this role and organisation can genuinely meet.
  • A sense of direction, even if your long-term plan is still open.
  • Wants framed around the work, the learning and the team, not only the package.

What loses marks

  • A list that describes a different job.
  • Only pay, perks or hours.
  • "I will take anything", which suggests you have not thought about it.
  • Wants the organisation clearly cannot offer, stated as non-negotiable.

How to answer

  1. Decide honestly what matters most to you in your next job: the work, the learning, the team, the kind of manager or the chance to progress.
  2. Check the advert and your research to see which of these this role offers.
  3. Name two or three that match, and say briefly why each one matters to you.
  4. Close by linking them back to this job.

An example answer

Three things, really. First, more responsibility in the kitchen. I have been chef de partie on the grill section for two years, and for the last six months I have covered for our sous chef on her days off, including the ordering and the rota. I have found I enjoy running the pass as much as cooking. Second, I want to cook with seasonal, local produce, because a menu that changes keeps me learning. Third, I would like a kitchen where training is taken seriously, so I can help younger chefs come through the way I was helped. From what I have read about your restaurants, and what you said today about promoting from within, this role offers all three.