Why do you want to work here, and why this field?
What they are really testing: They are checking two things: did you do any homework on them specifically, and is your interest in the field genuine or generic. Grads who give a copy-paste answer that fits any company signal low effort and low real interest.
A real interview question
Why do you want to work here, and why this field?
What most people say
drag me
“You are a great company with a good reputation and lots of opportunities to grow, and I think it would be a great place to start my career.”
Every word of this fits any company on earth, which tells the interviewer you did no research and have no specific interest. "Great reputation, opportunities to grow" is filler that signals you are mass-applying.
The follow-ups they ask next
What if you do not know much about the company?
Then do the homework before the interview, even 20 minutes on their product, blog, or job posting gives you something specific. If caught off guard, be honest and speak to what genuinely drew you to apply, but never wing this with generic praise.
What if it is honestly not your dream company, you just need a job?
You do not need to pretend it is your dream. Find something genuinely interesting about the work or the team and lead with that plus your real interest in the field. Authentic and specific beats fake enthusiasm, which interviewers detect easily.
What the interviewer is listening for
- References something specific about the company
- Genuine, experience-based field reason
- Two-way fit, not just needing a job
What sinks the answer
- Generic answer that fits any company
- No evidence of research
- Over-the-top empty flattery
If you genuinely do not know
Say this instead of freezing. Reasoning out loud from what you do know beats silence every single time, and a good interviewer is listening for exactly that.
“On the field: [a genuine reason tied to a real experience, e.g. I enjoyed the deploy/reliability part of my project most]. On the company: [something specific I found about them, their product/stack/scale] which [matches what I am learning and want to do]. I would rather be honest than flatter, [this is the work I want and you do it in a way I find interesting].”
Keep going with new grad
Foundation
You have no professional experience. Why should we hire you?
Foundation
Walk me through a project you built.
Foundation
Tell me about yourself.
Foundation
Tell me about a time you faced a difficult problem or got stuck. What did you do?
Foundation
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Foundation
This field changes fast. How do you keep your skills current?
Knowing the answer is not the same as recalling it under pressure
Sign in to send the questions you fumble to spaced recall, so they come back right before you would forget them, and learn the concepts behind them with hands-on labs.
Start free