In this post, I will teach you how to answer the common interview question, why did you choose this career? If you have a job interview coming up for any role or any organization, make sure you stay tuned because I promise to help you pass it.
Let’s jump straight into the presentation, so to help you pass your interview, I will cover the following three things during this tutorial.
- Number one, I will explain why the interviewer is asking you the question, why did you choose this career? If you understand why the question is being asked, it enables you to give the perfect response.
- Number two, I will tell you the three things you really must include in your answer to the question, why did you choose this career?
- And then finally, number three, I will give you five example top scoring answers. I will give you a generic answer that is suitable for all job roles and answer for customer service and retail job roles, and answer for sales roles, health care roles and also an answer for technical job roles so there’s an answer for everybody.
Number one
To begin with, why is the interviewer asking you the question, why did you choose this career? Well, the interviewer wants to be assured that you are going to be happy in your work and you are going to be committed to their organization for the long term. Because remember, it takes a lot of time, effort and resources to recruit and then train someone up for a job. The interviewer wants to be certain you are going to be satisfied in your work and by asking you the interview question, why did you choose this career? It allows the hiring manager to assess your motivations for the job.
Number two
Let me now tell you the three things you must include in your answer to the question.
Include answer number one
- Number one is to say that you have held an interest in this career for a long time now.
- If you say you’ve had an interest in your chosen career from a young age that perhaps stems back from your education.
- It tells the interviewer you are going to be more passionate about your work because you have invested a lot of time and effort into learning about it.
Include answer number two
- Number two is to tell the interviewer someone or something influenced you to choose this career.
- Perhaps you have seen someone you admire, choose this career and you want to emulate their success.
- Perhaps a teacher encouraged you to go down this career route or maybe you have read a book that influenced your choice of career. Whichever it is make sure you reference the main influence for you.
Include answer number three
- Number three is to align your personal and professional goals with your choice of career. This is a good one, so a good thing to say in response to the interview question, why did you choose this career?
- Say that you have ambitious plans in life, and this career is going to help you to achieve them. For example, if your choice of career is sales, you could say the earning potential is good in sales, and this will allow you to eventually buy your dream home.
- If you are working in retail or customer service, you could say the opportunity to work additional hours inspires you because you are saving up to buy a car or you want to support your children through their education.
Number three
Let me now give you five example answers to the interview question, why did you choose this career? You can then decide which one is most suitable for your needs.
Example answer number one
Number one is a generic response that is suitable for all job roles. Here we go.
- I chose this career because it is one where I feel I will get the most job satisfaction from everyone I know who works in this career has said how happy they are in their work.
- I have also been influenced by the positive feedback I have received from people, including my teacher who recommended this career to me based on my skill set and qualities.
- I also chose this career because it is something I am very passionate about.
- It is a career where there are opportunities to learn new skills and develop existing ones, and there is a chance for me to eventually progress and gain promotion.
Example answer number two
Number two is for customer service and retail roles. Why did you choose this career? Here we go.
- I chose this career because I get lots of job satisfaction from helping people from responding to their needs and from making a positive difference in people’s daily lives.
- Now, being a sociable person, I enjoy interacting with people and I will also find the business. A career in customer service, appealing now, having spoken to friends and colleagues who already work in customer service, they agree that I have the personality and the resilience to excel in this position.
- Finally, because there is the opportunity to work additional hours in this career, this will help me to quickly reach my financial goals outside of work.
Example answer number three
Number three is for sales positions. Here we go.
- I chose a career in sales because I prefer the type of work where I have challenging targets to work towards, where I get the opportunity to increase my earnings and where there is a competitive nature in the working environment.
- Now, being an enthusiastic and driven person who has numerous goals outside of work. A career in sales is most suited to my personality.
- Furthermore, because I can quickly build positive long term relationships with people that will be of benefit to your business, I feel a career in sales is one where I will be able to succeed and excel.
Example answer number four
Number four is for those people who are working in health care related roles. Here we go.
- I chose a career in health care because I want the type of work where I get to make a positive difference to people’s lives, where no two days are ever the same and where I will be able to develop a diverse range of skills and qualities. I wanted to work in health care.
- Ever since I was at school and because a member of my family was a nurse, I have always had a connection with this type of work. I also want to work in health care because the employment is secure and the benefits in terms of the pension are appealing to both me and my family.
Example answer number five
Number five is for technical roles. Here we go.
- I chose this career because I am naturally an inquisitive person who diverse range of technical skills and knowledge will be beneficial in the role.
- I enjoy developing myself and because continuous learning is a vital part of working in tech.
- I feel I will be most suited to this type of work now, being an avid reader. I have read numerous books and blogs over the years, and I feel my ability to apply myself and solve challenging problems makes me most suited to technical work.
- Finally, because there is the opportunity for enhanced earning potential in tech, it is a job I feel I will be highly motivated in for the long term.
Now the next thing to do is head through to my website and you can find full set of interview questions and top scoring answers, including the ones I’ve worked through together today so make sure you go through to the website because I’ve also placed more questions on there that I recommend you prepare for. There’s also some really important additional tips that will help you to polish your interview. Make sure you check those out.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the tutorial. As I said at the start, it’s really important because I can then help you not just pass every job interview, but I can help you to negotiate a salary, get a pay rise and also get a promotion and make sure you share your feedback on the comments section. That’s all I ask that motivates me to create more articles for you. It’s really good to connect with like minded professionals such as yourself. Thank you so much for reading, and I wish you all the best for passing your interview. Have a brilliant day!