How to Answer "Why Do You Want to Work Here?"

"Why do you want to work here?" is asked in almost every interview, and almost every candidate answers it generically — "I've always admired your mission" or "I think this would be a great opportunity for growth." Both of those could be said about any company.

What the question is actually screening for

Interviewers use this to filter out candidates who are applying everywhere with no specific interest — someone who clearly researched the company and can name something real reads as more likely to stay and be motivated than someone giving a template answer.

The structure that works

Name something specific and real about the company (a product decision, a stated priority, something in their engineering blog or recent news) — then connect it to something specific and real about your own background or goals. Two specifics, not two generic statements.

Weak example

"I want to work here because I've always been impressed by your innovative products and I think it would be a great opportunity to grow my career." This sentence could be said to any company in any industry — it commits to nothing specific.

Strong example

"I've been following how you've approached [specific product/technical decision] — it's a different bet than most companies in this space are making, and it's the kind of problem I want to work on given my background in [specific relevant experience]." Specific to this company, connected to a real part of the candidate's background.

Do 15 minutes of real research before every interview

Read the company's recent blog posts, a product launch, an engineering post-mortem, an interview with a founder — you only need ONE genuinely specific detail to build a strong answer around, and 15 minutes is usually enough to find one.