There are two main reasons why I ask this question and why some of the industry leaders like to ask these questions when hiring talent.
To be honest with the candidate.
The first reason is to be fair and honest with the candidate. I need to know if the person is looking for a job or a career. We can be upfront with the candidate for specific roles and whether the position offers a long-term career or not. Additionally, it is vital as a hiring manager to keep our selfish interests like hiring the best candidate aside and be fair to the candidate.
There were moments in my hiring journey when candidates would share their career goals, and I had to be honest with them, making them aware that the job they were applying for wouldn’t lead to those goals. You would not want a candidate to be hired with false hopes about how the job will support their long-term dreams. Not only that, it will only lead to having to start the hiring process all over again.
To understand the inner drivers of a candidate.
The second reason is to understand what drives the candidates. It is essential to know where they want to see themselves in the near future. If I find their career goals are tangent to the job they are applying for, I would be interested to know what made them decide to take up that particular position. Perhaps they do not understand the role fully yet, or maybe there is a side of their personality that could shed more light on him or her as a person.
As hiring managers, we want people who work for their goals and not just for gaining income. Such individuals who are focused on their goals will have an innate motivation to perform better, stay goal-directed, and thereby will produce better results.
Why should hiring managers ask this question?
This is a crucial question to express your true personality and attitude towards the person who is hiring you. You will never know if the individual you are hiring could be your peer or even your manager someday. So be open, and seek openness.
How should job seekers answer this question?
The reasonable answer to this question is only one – Truth, Truth, and Truth. If the candidate does not articulate their answers clearly and honestly, they are taking a significant risk of steering their career path towards something they don’t want or in a direction from where they can’t revert back. I would not recommend a ‘template’ answer.
Collected from
career.du.edu
