“What do you hope to get out of this job?” is a common interview question.
When you apply for a job or an internship, you have to go through an interview. They are used to find out if you want the job and if you are a good fit for it. A hiring manager may ask you what you hope to get out of the job during an interview. This shows them how your professional goals fit with the company’s goals. Getting ready for this question ahead of time could give you an advantage in the interview and increase your chances of getting the job. “What do you hope to get out of this job?”
In this article, we explain why employers ask this question during interviews, show you how to answer it, and give you some answers to look over.
“What do you hope to get out of this job?” is a question that employers ask.
Employers often use general interview questions like this one to find out more about their candidates and decide if they’d be a good fit for the company. This question lets the company know why you applied for the job, what your professional goals are, and if your short-term and long-term career goals are the same as the company’s.
If you tell an employer what you want from the job, they can learn more about you and why you chose their company. You can use this question to talk about the skills, knowledge, and experience you’ve gained in your professional life that are important for the job and how they relate to the job duties. For example, if you’re applying for a job that requires a lot of writing, talk about classes, certifications, or jobs that helped you improve your writing skills for the job you’re applying for.
If you write down some notes and ideas before your interview, you may be able to stand out from the other applicants.
What to say when someone asks, “What do you hope to get out of this job?”
Follow these steps to find a good answer to this question:
1. Before your interview, learn more about the job and the company.
Look at the company’s website and review the job duties you applied for before your interview. You might find information that will help you answer the question in a way that shows how your values and those of your potential employer are similar. Check out the company’s “about” page and mission statement to help you decide what to say. Also, look at the original job description to see what skills and experiences were needed. You can use these to make sure that your answer is right for the job you want.
2. Tell me what first interested you about the job.
Think about why you wanted the job in the first place before you come up with an answer. If it’s been a while since you sent in your application, remembering this interest could help you give a good answer to the interview question and impress the interviewer. Make a list of all the reasons you applied for the job and use the most important one in your answer.
3. Make goals that you can reach and are realistic
Talk about the real skills, knowledge, and experience you hope to get from working for this company in your answer. In the same way that an employer wants to know what you can do for them, they also want to know how their job can help you in the long run. This is also a good time to talk about the possibility of moving up in the company. This shows that you want to make a career with the company.
4. When you can, use skills and knowledge from the past.
You can put this question on your resume or cover letter to highlight the skills and knowledge you already have. Use these accomplishments to show what you’ve done so far and what you hope to get better at and learn through your work with the organization you’re interviewing with.
5. Run through a mock interview.
Ask a friend or coworker if they’d be willing to help you practice for the real interview with a mock one. Practice interviews can help you feel more confident in answering questions like these and in the whole interview process. Make sure a friend or coworker asks you, “What do you want to get out of this job?” so you can practice answering the question smoothly and with confidence.
When asked what you want to get out of the job, here are some answers:
Check out these answers to get ideas for how to write your own:
Example 1: Journalist
This is what a journalist said when he or she wanted to become a local reporter:
“I just got my degree in journalism, and I’ve been looking for a way to put my writing and reporting skills to use in the real world. I hope to talk to people from all over the San Francisco area as a local reporter, including from minority and working-class neighborhoods that don’t get enough attention in the news. I think talking to locals will help me improve my communication skills and build trust between your news organization and their communities.”
Example 2: A computer programmer
A computer programmer might answer like this:
“As part of my major, I was lucky enough to study data science and machine learning, but I haven’t had the chance to use these skills in a professional setting yet. If there was a way for me to get into computer science, I would love to use my programming skills to make big projects for your clients and learn more about how to work in an agency-level organization. By moving from local projects to agency-level ones, I think this role will give me the skills I need to do well in my programming career and help your company build its reputation.”
Example 3: Creative work manager
This is what a candidate for the job of creative manager said:
“I’ve done both copywriting and creative work, but I’ve never been able to combine the two in a professional setting. I think being a creative manager will help me understand how these two sets of skills work together. This will let me do unique work for your agency and improve my teamwork and management skills by letting me work with and manage other creative employees.”
