When you are preparing to attend an interview, you will want to research and practice common interview questions because you will want your answers to be unique that not only differentiates you from other candidates but also leave an impression in the interviewer's mind.
Like most other questions this is not a question that relates to you or your qualification and experience but demonstrates the effort you put in to research about the company, its culture and its people among other factors.
To help you get started, here are four different angles to consider. You can use any 1 or more.
1. The Company’s Uniqueness
Your answer should be unique to each place you interview, just like your CV must be uniquely tailored to every job application (without misrepresentation) and not contain general statements about “working with talented people”.
You need to do a lot of digging to determine those unique points about you that excites you and differentiates this company from most other employers. This is the perfect chance to show off that you actually did some research.
2. Start at the Beginning
If finding out more about the place turns out to be more challenging than expected, try telling a story of how you first heard about the company. Do not get too descriptive. Your goal is here is to show that you were aware of and interested in the company before you even had the opportunity to apply.
Being able to comment insightfully about a brand’s history is certainly a good way to show that your interest in it did not develop overnight.
3. Think Ahead
Besides diving into history, also consider thinking ahead. Being able to talk about what areas of the company you think have opportunities for growth and showing your excitement about contributing to that growth is an excellent way to approach this question.
This forward thinking shows that not only are you invested enough to think thoughtfully about the future of the company, you have some ideas about how to continue driving its continued success. This is a great way of illustrating your knowledge and commitment in a way that goes beyond what you can find doing research online.
4. Offer a Personal Touch
It can be hard to talk about what makes a company special as an outsider, but one thing you can count on being unique is the people. Maybe you have a friend who works at the company. You can talk about how impressed you are with what their experience has been like—just remember to be specific.
And even if you don’t have an internal contact, simply being invited to the interview means you have interacted with some employee. Talk about a personal interaction with the people of the company and how they’ve made you feel welcomed or how you’re excited to see such enthusiasm in the team members you’ve spoken with so far.
There’s no 100% right way to answer this question. Be genuine and get creative.