How to answer motivational questions during an interview?
Tess Read
So why do you want to work here?
There is a question that you can be guaranteed to be asked at every single job interview you ever have. It is simple to ask but not so simple to answer. It is – why do you want to work in this company? It is essential that you have a good answer to this question, an answer which shows a passion for the business, and is specific to each individual company you interview for. If you don’t have such an answer then you will be highly unlikely to get the job. So it is fundamental preparation for every interview which is needed to thoroughly answer this question. But how do you prepare? What does the company want in your answer?
“你为什么想在这里工作？”
有一个问题，保证在你的每一个工作面试中都会被问到。问这个问题很简单，但是回答它可就没那么容易了。这个问题便是 – 你为什么想在这家公司工作？你是否能很好的回答这个问题是非常重要的，你的答案要表现出你对这个行业的激情和兴趣，并具体到你面试的这家公司。如果你还没有准备好对此类问题的回答，那么你有很大可能得不到这份工作。因此，这是每次面试都必须好好准备的一道问题。但是你该怎么准备呢？雇主想要的答案又是什么呢？
Passion
The first thing the company wants to hear about is your passion for their industry, for their business. Everyone wants to hear that others admire what they do. So tell them how impressive they are. Begin with phrases like: “I want to work at xyz because it is a world-leading firm in the xx industry with a global reputation for excellence and innovation run by world class industry experts from whom I know I can learn a great deal about how to deliver excellent customer service and client satisfaction.” This is a nice start, but it isn’t enough, why? Because a phrase like this can apply to almost every company in that industry. You need to have specifics to say about this company.
激情
雇主想要听到的第一件事情就是你对他们的行业，他们的业务充满热情。每个人都想听到别人崇拜他们做什么，所以告诉他们他们是多么令人印象深刻。可以以类似的句子开头：“我想在xyz工作，因为xyz是一个在xx行业领先世界的公司，由世界一流的行业专家经营，享有全球在卓越和创新方面的声誉，我知道我可以从中学到很多关于如何提供卓越的客户服务和提高客户满意度的知识。”这是一个很好的开始，但还不够，为什么？因为这样的句子可以应用于几乎每一个行业的公司，你需要具体说明你申请的这家公司的特点。
Details
What details are the right details? It is easy to look on the company’s website and find out how many people work there, exactly how much profit or revenue the company made last year and then you can learn these facts and repeat them at interview. Great idea, right?
Wrong. The company does not want you to learn facts from their website and regurgitate them; if they want to know just how many people work for the company they can look up the number themselves. Instead you need to find out particular things about the company which are not easy to find on their website.
How do you do this? Find out about recent news that the company has been involved in, perhaps they have won an industry award, or have been quoted in a news story, e.g. about a recent deal, acquisition, or speech by the Chief Executive. What can you find out about them in recent news? Check the Financial Times, search on Google, read the news section of the company’s website.
Whatever you can find out you need also to have an opinion about it. For example, if you were interviewing for PwC you could find out that this company advises the greatest number of FTSE-100 companies of any of the big four. This is a much more interesting fact than just how many people work there. Knowing this fact enables you to say something like: “It really impresses me that PwC advises more FTSE-100 companies than any of its rivals and so I really want to work for the company that clearly leads the field.” Of course if you are interviewing for Deloitte’s, KPMG or EY you are going to have to find an interesting fact about them instead that impresses you!
细节
什么样的细节是正确的细节？在公司的网站上，可以很容易地找雇员数量，去年公司的确切利润或收入等信息，然后你可以记住这些事实，并且在面试过程中提到。看上去是个好主意，对吧？错！公司是不希望你从他们的网站上重复他们的事实的；如果他们想知道他们有多少雇员，他们可以自己去网站上看。取而代之的是你需要找出在网站上不容易找到的关于公司的信息。
怎么做到这点呢？了解最近关于公司的新闻和参与的活动，也许他们获得了某个行业奖项，或者在某个新闻报道中被引用，例如，关于最近的公司收购，协议，或者行政长官的演讲等。在最近的新闻中你能找到什么？多读读金融时报（Financial Times），在谷歌上搜索相关信息，或者阅读公司网站的新闻部分。
无论你找到什么信息，你都需要对其有你自己的看法。例如，如果你正被普华永道面试，你发现普华永道给FTSE-100英国富时指数公司做咨询的频率比任何一家四大都多。这比“这个公司有多少雇员”有趣得多。知道这样的事实使你能够在面试中提出：“普华永道对FTSE-100公司做咨询的公司数量比其他竞争对手都多，这点真的让我印象深刻，所以我想为真正在行业领先的公司工作。、并且使你印象深刻的事实。
Values
If you can’t find out any news about the company that you can talk about, you can always refer to the company’s values and pick out one or two and describe how they match your worldview. This does not mean that you should learn word-for-word how a company sets out their values and simply repeat it, instead they are looking for you to say something like: “I know that two of your company’s values are integrity and professionalism which really appeals to me because I believe that integrity in all business dealings is vital, as is professionalism because…”
价值观
如果你找不到任何你可以谈论的关于公司的新闻，你可以参考公司的价值观，挑选一两个，并谈论它们如何契合你的世界观。这并不意味着你需要逐字地学习这家公司是如何设定他们的价值观，并且重复这些内容，他们想要听到的是：“贵公司的其中两个价值观 – 诚信和专业精神 – 非常吸引我，因为我相信诚信在所有的商业交易中是至关重要的，专业精神同样也很重要，因为……”
Why this role?
The motivation question of why this company is often followed up by the question of why this role. To answer this well you need to really understand what the job involves. How can you do this? You can find out online what people say about the role in a range of different companies, because the role will be similar across different companies in the field. Perhaps you know or have met someone who does this role – can you take them out for a coffee and ask them about it?
Even if you can’t get this inside track you can structure an answer talking about how their team is the best in the world, how their particular role within the company is important, and praising their training programme. For example, your answer might say something like this: “I have three reasons for applying for this role. Your team for ABC is the most prestigious in the world, and I want to be a part of this excellent team and add value to it. This role carries out a vital part of financial services because of the great uncertainties faced by businesses in the world, such as for example posed by xyz. Thirdly, I know that with this role I will enjoy a three year training programme with a platform to develop technical, business and soft skills with hands on experience of real business situations.”
为什么申请这个职位？
往往在“为什么选择这个公司”这样的动机性问题之后，紧接着就是“为什么申请这个职位”。要回答这个问题，你需要真正了解这份工作涉及的方方面面。那该怎么做呢？你可以在网上找到其他人对不同公司的这个职位的看法，因为该领域的不同公司的这个职位其实是类似的。也许你认识或者遇到过某个正好是这个职位的人，你可以跟他/她约出去喝个咖啡，并向他们请教。
即使你不能获得内部消息，你也可以谈论他们的团队是为什么是世界上最好的，公司的某个特定职位是如何的重要，并称赞他们的培训计划。例如，你可以说：“对于为什么申请这个职位，我有三个理由。您的ABC团队是世界上最负盛名的，我想成为这个优秀团队的一员，并为其增添我的价值。这个职位是金融服务的重要组成部分，因为世界上的企业都面临巨大的不确定性，比如由xyz提出的……第三，我知道通过这个职位，我将获得一个为期三年的培训机会，这是一个能帮助我通过真实的业务经历来开发我的技术，商业和软技能的平台。”
In conclusion
For every answer in an interview you should have a conclusion. For the crucial motivation question your answer can conclude with a simple phrase emphasising how keen you are for the job. But if you say “So I really want this job because my visa is about to expire” you may be disappointed. Instead how about a phrase like: “I cannot think of a better place to start my career than abc.”
Now that’s what they want to hear!
Good luck!
总结
对于每一个面试的回答你都应该有一个完美的总结。对于动机性问题，你的结论可以用一句简单的句子来强调你对这份工作的热情。但如果你说 “因为我现在的签证即将过期，所以我真的很想得到这份工作” 你可能会因此而大失所望。相反，一个简单的句子例如 “我想不到还有什么比ABC更好的公司来开始我的职业生涯。”
这是他们想听到的！
祝大家好运！