I absolutely joke with the interviewer by saying I like being able to pay my bills. It always gets a laugh, and then I go into fake reason I want to work there.

Iirc I have said that. But it was because the interview was going well. By that I mean that when I left the two looked at each other, said their sides hurt from laughing, and they said “Let’s hire him even though he isn’t qualified and just see what happens.” Best job I ever had.

Tbf, I interview well. It is far more about being comfortable and competent in the topics you would be doing. It takes reading the room. In the case of the interview above I could tell that humor was my best option and had them in tears multiple times through the interview.

If we were allowed to be honest that’s what everyone would say. But honesty doesn’t pay. Lying does. Spinning a yarn of bullshit about opportunity and gratitude yields a better result sadly.

Yeah. I’m brutal in the interview. I’ll let them know they are a finalist, but that I can ultimately only choose one employer for the daytime role.

But I want to weed out the egotists and ‘family’ shops so everyone understands. I’ll connect stand-by, OT and hybrid work rules to a higher wage given more demand and bad architecture, and ask them to justify de-prioritizing reliability and proper architecture with band-aids. And we’ll talk about the cost of living around the mandated office location and how 4x a 2/2 rent compares to their entry wage.

Sometimes, though, I’ll wordsmith it a bit to get the answers and then only review their answers later in the competition before confirming that their position as a candidate for my next employer has ended.

The last time I was asked that question was in 2012. Every interview since has been all about how I go about doing the job and case scenarios.

I’ve had a few candidates openly say that they took some time off and now their savings for that time period were used up and they needed to find a job to begin paying bills from income again. I enjoy such comments because it leads to me asking how they’ve spent their time away, what brought them to the realization that they wanted a dedicated time for themselves and how the last job before this time off went for them. Lots of opportunity to learn about the human in front of me.

I said that on the interview for the job I’m currently working. Sure I didn’t it with those exact words, but pretty much. Guess it worked.

No, because I need that job to get money but saying so would most likely prevent me from getting that job and, by extension, money.

Let’s reverse roles for a second. You’re the employer. What reasons would there be, for you to advertise an opening? Could your primary motivation possibly be paying people money? (Rhetorical question) Considering you already have a team, what kind of person do you want to fill the position? What profile should they have? And how would their motivation reflect on their expected performance?

P.S. I’m not saying, not to talk about money, but there’s a time for talking about that vs. finding out, whether you’re a fit. And answering a question about your main motivation on why you want to be part of their team with money, doesn’t reflect well on you or any expectations of you.

I’m essence, yeah. I had nothing but nice things to say about the current company I was working for. Liked my job, like the company, boss, etc. Whenthe interviewers asked why I was leaving I told them that it was a small, family owned business (not my family). I loved working there but I’m only making about half the market value for my degree. The current boss told me from the start that he wouldn’t be able to pay what I’m worth, but asked that I learn what I could there, then let them know when I’m going to move on. I relayed all that to my interviewers and they loved it. Later they cited that answer as one of the reasons they hired me.

Not that I recall. The trick to answering the question, I think, is to say a few nice things about about the organization, or the position, or yourself.

“I’m interested in working for a dynamic institution like Yoyodyne Industries…” or “As you can see from my resume I have a wealth of experience in spline reticulation…”

I found it was useful to write out my own cheat sheets of answers for common/likely interview questions, including some “personal experience”/“tell me about a time you…” type questions just to drill with.

It’s honestly trickier with overtly shittier jobs/orgs, like sales, food service, or cleaning. Kinda hard to say why you love Target or Walmart or McDonald’s. You can touch on how you like the product, but best to circle back to talking about your work ethic.

An interview is an opportunity for both of you to decide if it’s a good fit. Unfortunately the seeker is usually happy to accept anything. Lying is counter productive. They only want to hear any reason that you picked their workplace. Consider it structured small talk and focus on your energy.

I generally say: "let’s be realistic, I’m not passionate about what your company does. I am here to trade my time for wages and I have heard good ones about [company name].

Elaborate by mentioning something from their website to appear engaged and interested. Say you were a perfect fit because you meet all the requirements, talk about a friend who works there, mention using their products or services, or just mention that it’s close to your house and will be a short commute. Ultimately this is a soft question that is just to get a quick idea of each person applying.

I say it sometimes as a bit of a joke. It depends on when it comes up. It’s moreso with third party recruiters through forms that refer your resume to other places because they ask things like “what are your top 3 wants.” So I’ll typically say salary is number one because I wouldn’t work for free.

If the question is ever “why are you looking?” No. I wouldn’t say I “needed money”, even if I was taking a sort of unpaid sabbatical and ran out of savings. The reality is everyone knows you need money. Another reality is looking “desperate” is a negative at times. Frame yourself as someone confident and ambitious. “I’m looking for the next step in my career journey.” “I’m looking for an increase in responsibility and an increase in compensation to match.” Things like that.

Yeah when I was 15. 😂 The manager suddenly got huffy. The interview was at Target, so no big loss.

Said it in every interview I’ve ever been in. It’s the truth, usually not my only answer though.