Answering "why do you want this job?"

Give three things in a short answer: what draws you to this particular work, why this employer or service, and how your experience fits what the post needs. In the public sector, panels also listen for whether your reasons match the organisation’s values, such as the NHS Constitution values, the Civil Service Code or a school’s commitment to safeguarding and pupils. A specific answer that names something real about the job and the organisation scores far better than a general wish to help people or give back.

What the panel is listening for

“Why do you want this job?” often opens the interview. In some interviews it is scored, either on its own or as part of a values or motivation criterion. Even when it is not scored, it sets the panel’s first impression. They want to hear that:

• you understand what the job involves day to day, including the hard parts
• you have looked at this employer, team or service, and are not sending the same answer everywhere
• your reasons are likely to keep you in the post once the novelty wears off

The last point carries more weight than candidates expect. Recruitment takes time and money, and panels are wary of applicants who seem to be using the post as a short stop.

Building the answer

Start with the work itself. Name one or two parts of the job description that appeal to you and say why, linked to something you have done. Then say why this organisation: its service, its population, a project it is running, an inspection result, or how the team is organised. Finish with what you would bring.

Say you are applying for a Band 4 administrator post in an outpatient department. A hypothetical answer might run: you have handled bookings in a busy GP surgery, you enjoy the part of the job where a well-run system means patients are seen on time, and the trust is moving clinics to a new booking system that you have used before.

Look at the trust’s, council’s or school’s website, recent reports and the job advert for something specific. Do not overreach: one accurate detail is better than three you half understand.

The NHS

NHS employers use values-based recruitment, assessing candidates against the values of the NHS Constitution: working together for patients, respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion, improving lives, and everyone counts. Many trusts publish their own values, usually built on these. Reciting the list earns little; show the values through what you have done or noticed. A candidate who describes why they want to work on a stroke ward after supporting a relative through rehabilitation shows motivation far better than one who says they are “passionate about patient care”. The NHS values-based interview guide covers how those values are scored.

The Civil Service

Civil Service interviews follow Success Profiles, and many include strengths questions that test what energises you. “Why do you want this job?” can come up as a strengths question or as the opening of the interview. Panels listen for interest in the department’s work and in public service, and for an understanding of the Civil Service Code values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Do not make the answer about your political views on the policy area. Showing interest in delivering a policy well, whoever sets it, fits the Code. The guide to strengths interviews explains how those questions are marked, and Civil Service interview questions lists common ones.

Schools

Schools want to hear about pupils and learning. For teaching posts, refer to the school’s context, such as its intake, curriculum, specialism or latest inspection report, and to how you teach. For support roles, talk about the pupils you would work with and the part of the school day you would make easier. Safeguarding runs through every school appointment, so an answer that shows you understand your responsibility for children’s welfare is always relevant. The teacher interview guide covers the rest of a typical school interview.

Councils

Council jobs serve a defined area and its residents. Mention what you know about the place: the service you would be part of, local pressures such as housing demand, or a project the council is running. If you live locally, say so briefly, since knowing the area is useful in many council roles. The guide to council interview questions covers the other questions to expect.

Answers that lose marks

• Talking only about pay, the pension, hours or job security. They are real reasons, but they do not tell the panel anything about how you would do the job.
• Criticising your current employer. Even if you are leaving a bad situation, the panel hears a complaint and wonders what you would say about them.
• Generic lines such as “I’ve always wanted to work in the NHS” with nothing to support them.
• An answer that would fit any job in the sector, with no mention of this team or service.
• Over-rehearsed answers that sound recited. Learn the points you want to make and let the wording vary.

The same question in writing

Many applications ask the same thing in writing, in an NHS supporting statement, a Civil Service personal statement or a cover letter. Keep it brief there too, and spend most of the space on evidence against the person specification, which is what shortlisting is scored on. The cover letter guide shows where a motivation paragraph fits in a written application.