Why do you wanna work here? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I've been asked these questions in a phone interview recently (last stage, so I did well in previous interviews, with upper management)...and apparently my answers weren't really clear.

I'm usually good at answering those type of questions (I just give honest answers..).

It's an infosec position....

So can you guys help me in answering these questions on a more clear and concise manner? Why do I want to work in Security? Where do I see myself in 10 years??

(PS: I'm not debating whether these questions are ridiculous or not, I personally think they are..not smart questions, but I just don't want them to stop me from getting the job that I want).

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thomas_

Best answer I have been able to come up with is:

After reading the job description I felt that my experience/skills would allow me to be successful in the role and help contribute positively to the company(ideally you know what business pain they are currently having that is the cause for the job opening.)

In short, you're interested because you thought you could help them solve their problems. I also like to throw in a comment about how after researching the company I really liked the culture and thought it sould be an interesting place to work, yadda, yadda...

UnixGuy

thomas_ wrote: »

..

In short, you're interested because you thought you could help them solve their problems....

love it!!

Mike-Mike

that's a pretty good response

scaredoftests

Because my mom told me to apply. How well do you think that will go?

Danielm7

I got the "why do you want to work here" question from a recruiter recently who searched me out on linkedin. I wanted (badly) to say, "you want me to work here, you found me!"

scaredoftests

I despise the 'where will I be in 10 years?' question. Hopefully alive and able to work.

jamthat

"Where do you see yourself in ten years" - If in hiring manager's office, point to his/her chair

scaredoftests

jamthat wrote: »

"Where do you see yourself in ten years" - If in hiring manager's office, point to his/her chair

Ha Ha..good one.

cyberguypr

^ 3-4 jobs ago we had a candidate pull that. CIO asked him where he saw himself 5 years down the road and he was honest and answered "in your chair/office". CIO's office was all glass so those of us sitting within line of sight were wondering why his demeanor changed so abruptly.

dustervoice

1. Why do you want to work here?
Ans: Do you have a better company you can refer me to?

2. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Ans: Being the owner of this company. Will that be an issue for you if you are still around?

scaredoftests

cyberguypr wrote: »

^ 3-4 jobs ago we had a candidate pull that. CIO asked him where he saw himself 5 years down the road and he was honest and answered "in your chair/office". CIO's office was all glass so those of us sitting within line of sight were wondering why his demeanor changed so abruptly.

I guess he didn't find it funny?

jamthat

cyberguypr wrote: »

^ 3-4 jobs ago we had a candidate pull that. CIO asked him where he saw himself 5 years down the road and he was honest and answered "in your chair/office". CIO's office was all glass so those of us sitting within line of sight were wondering why his demeanor changed so abruptly.

Whoa! I was joking around, but like always some people never cease to amaze me. How'd that interview turn out?

Kinet1c

Danielm7 wrote: »

I got the "why do you want to work here" question from a recruiter recently who searched me out on linkedin. I wanted (badly) to say, "you want me to work here, you found me!"

I got something similar:

"Why are you looking to move after only 12 months in your current role?"
"Your recruiter approached me so decided to attend and see what the role was about."

networker050184

I hate when people have well rehearsed canned answers for questions when I'm doing interviews. It's pretty obvious. I'd rather hear why you really want to work here rather than what you rehearsed thinking I want to hear.

koz24

thomas_ wrote: »

Best answer I have been able to come up with is:

After reading the job description I felt that my experience/skills would allow me to be successful in the role and help contribute positively to the company(ideally you know what business pain they are currently having that is the cause for the job opening.)

In short, you're interested because you thought you could help them solve their problems. I also like to throw in a comment about how after researching the company I really liked the culture and thought it sould be an interesting place to work, yadda, yadda...

This is usually what I do as well. I actually do research the company before the interview so if they follow up on something, I'm usually able to answer.

gespenstern

So one day I applied to a position at one company which is known for their special attitude in this regard. I didn't know that at the time and I don't actually believe most of the corporate BS regarding this. They claim that that place is special, many people dream about working there, they are among the best workplaces of the year in their location according to this or that survey, etc. But in the end it is always a cube in the office building. So I was called back by their recruiter to feel me and check my general adequacy.

So the conversation got a little heated as the recruiter expected answers like I've been dreaming about working at this amazing company since I was in my mother's womb and devoted whole my life to prepare myself to fight the challenges that this amazing company may present me with, yada-yada. But I was asking him hey, so you claim that you are special, so what exactly it is that is special about this company? Salary? Pretty much what market pays. No cubes? Nope, just as usual. Less working hours? No supervisors like at Valve? Swimming pools at facility like at Google or it's possible to bring your pets? Nope.

In the end I told him that I'm a mercenary for hire and I'm good at what I do according to my self-assessment and some names that I worked with in the past and if they want me -- I have my price and will get the job done for that price. If they don't want me -- I could care less.

So you guessed it, I didn't get the job because of this confrontation (usually I'm pretty polite but prefer honesty over corporate hypocrisy).

So as you can see honesty usually leads you nowhere in this regard, so if you want the position -- give a corporate hypocrisy type of answers. Research the company, know their motto, try to apply some of your personal traits to this motto and tell them that their company is one of its kind and how badly you want to be there. Supply some details, don't make them up totally, but certainly exaggerate this company's good features you can find.

Let's say that you are applying to a position in food industry company. Tell them that you love food, especially the type that is produced/served by this company, that your grandpa was a chef, that you love to experiment at your kitchen and always dreamed about making this world better by doing your share at making this particular food better, more recognizable across the world, how you eager to make their clients satisfied (research everything -- for example, Target Corp for reasons unknown tend to call their customers as "guests" -- use this word in your speech, this shows your good alignment to the company) etc. Even if you won't ever deal with what the company does (which is expected from an infosec engineer) -- it still matters for their management and recruiters if you express your good attitude towards what their company does. You may have zero interference with anything food-related in years on this postition -- but still it matters what you say about it (it really doesn't, but they want to hear it -- and it is what matters).

If you applying for a position in infosec industry then it would be much simpler because you can be more honest.

E Double U

UnixGuy wrote: »

Why do I want to work in Security? Where do I see myself in 10 years?? .

1. Because security is the hot thing right now. I'm notorious for jumping on the latest trends.

2. I see myself in the same position ten years from now. Doing the exact same thing every single day for a decade would make me some kind of expert.

tedjames

In 10 years, I'll be retired. At least, I'll be eligible for retirement in October 2024 if I stay with the state. Of course, by that time, I may not be able to afford to retire depending on how things go with the economy.

UnixGuy

Top answers thanks guys!

I gave him honest answers on the phone the other day, but some people are...I don't know...he kept pondering around 'why security' why this why that why apply why did you move to this city why did you move from that city.....I really don't wanna judge his intelligence but he's making it hard not to.

Anyway, I'm scheduled for a face to face interview with him because he thought i wasn't convincing in answering the all the 'why' questions...and they're looking for other candidates as we speak, but he still wants to see me. I think working for him might not be in my best interest anyway.

Why do I want to work in Security? Because it's one of the few interesting technical aspects in IT.

Why did I want to work in that firm? It's just another financial institution, absolutely nothing special. They use technologies that I'm really interested in, and I thought Medium sized firm is better for than my current work place (gigantic firm).

I know you guys don't know me in person, but I'm a VERY honest guy who doesn't take life too seriously, but maybe it wasn't easy to convince him over phone. I've been in IT for close to 10 years now and I've never blown an interview if I make it past the technical interview. I always interview for positions that I'm not qualified for.

Keep the answers coming though, I'm getting inspired

thomas_

networker050184 wrote: »

I hate when people have well rehearsed canned answers for questions when I'm doing interviews. It's pretty obvious. I'd rather hear why you really want to work here rather than what you rehearsed thinking I want to hear.

I hate it when interviewers have canned questions for me. I'd rather them ask questions that actually matter and hire me based on if I'm tood for the role and not how well I answer a canned question.

Danielm7

Being in security too, I find the question easier to answer than most. I'm referring to the "why do you want to work in security?" one. We interviewed a few people recently for a security role and what I want to hear is that they like puzzles, they like to dig into complex problems, it always changes, etc. That's one of the specialties where it's easier (for me anyway) to show some passion in the answer and have it be believable.

koz24

thomas_ wrote: »

I hate it when interviewers have canned questions for me. I'd rather them ask questions that actually matter and hire me based on if I'm tood for the role and not how well I answer a canned question.

Yep, canned questions usually get canned responses. Personally I hate the HR screen because of it. I'm usually thinking "can't wait to get past this BS so I can get to the technical interview".

fmitawaps

Interviewer asks "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?".

The answer I WANT to give: "I see myself as a retired Powerball winner for over 4 years, living in a nice rich area of California, hanging out with my harem of 18-25 year old females".

The answer I actually give: "I am training for and learning the skills for better positions within companies of this type, and in 5 years I could possibly be a network administrator, and maybe have at least one CCNP, etc".

And then the answer to "Why do you want to work here?": I want to say "Well, it isn't so much that I actually WANT to work here, but I find a steady stream of good paychecks to be very useful. That's where this company can help me".

kohr-ah

I've seen people say for the 5 year spot "I want to be there. In your chair. In time I'd like to move myself up the career chain as most people would want to do. So when you move up I'd like to move up as well"

Granted it wasn't to a CIO sort of position they told that to.

I usually tell people the truth. For the most part it seems to have worked in my favor. Why I want to work there, the technology they have, a new dynamic environment where I'd like to progress my career and move up.

For the 5 year question I had a guy ask me once where I wanted to be. I told him. He said "What if you cant get to that position/goal in that time?"
So I told him "Then I'll go find a new job. If my company isn't willing to invest in me as much as I invest in it then they aren't a company worth staying at."
Got a job offer before I even made it back to my old job.