How do you answer the question: Why are you interested in this position in a job interview?

When this question comes, you won’t know if it was planned and considered necessary by the interviewer, but you still have to answer it. The good news is that the question is an opportunity to sell yourself, but it requires some work ahead of time.

The first step in being ready for this question is to know as much as possible about the job you are applying for before you are asked this. It can be beneficial if you have found out more about the job than just what the posting says or what you have learned in the interview. You will want to answer this question by mentioning what you have learned about the job that you like.

Tell them something you noticed about their job that you liked, something that would have required you to have researched to learn the specifics, or that you can explain in such a way that it will be evident that you looked deeper into the job than the posting.

It also allows you to explain what caught your interest and shows that you are targeting specific things, making you a better option for displaying your sincere interest and understanding of the job.

Another predictable question will be, “what is your greatest weakness.” Again you won’t know if this question is just a time filler or if they really will hang you with your answer. The best reply is not to find the worst thing about you and dump it out for all to see. Instead, find a weakness that you conquered. For example, you could say you get so involved in your work that you can miss appointments, BUT that you have found by using a calendar and always writing assignments down and, of course, checking it regularly each day at a specific time that you conquered that. Companies don’t want people that can’t keep appointments. The value of informational interviews is that you can learn more about their approach to interviewing.