"What Are You Looking For In Your Next Role?": Tips & Answers

Nowadays, a candidate's expertise and experience are not the only defining criteria for hiring. To boost performance, employers try to make sure that a newcomer is willing to become a part of a company and fully contribute to its growth. That is why hiring managers love to explore things you are driven by and your vision of your future in the company. 

For this reason, the "what are you looking for in your next position" type of question is very common in job interviews. Keep reading to find out what a perfect answer structure looks like and how to practice this question before the interview.

What interviewers want to know asking this question

This type of question can be very revealing because it leads a candidate to demonstrate their professional self-awareness, knowledge of working in the industry, understanding of the company's values and goals, and personal motivation. There are three hidden questions that an average hiring manager puts by asking you to describe what you are looking for in your next job:

• Is your motivation well thought out and more profound than just getting paid?

Companies are eager to provide jobs to promising specialists motivated by professional perspectives and opportunities for self-development. This can be explained by numerous studies showing that such employees perform way better than those seeking only financial stability.

• How your vision of the job corresponds with reality?

A demonstrated understanding of responsibilities and directions for development is a strong indicator of a candidate's rich expertise. Such indirect questions work well for spotting these signs because they inspire these thoughts naturally.

• Do your goals and priorities go in line with the company's strategy?

One of the primary purposes of interviews is to assess whether a candidate makes a great match with the company in terms of values, corporative culture, and understanding of the industry. Sometimes even the best candidates don't get hired because of such differences, and this has a solid reason: a great sense of connection is a must-have for productive cooperation.

As you can see, the "what are you looking for in a job" question is much more multilayered than you may have thought, but this does not make it any more tricky. We have collected some tips to help you build a clear, well-composed answer for the interview.

How to answer "What are you looking for in your next role?"

To give an impressive answer, you should go for genuine and believable reasons for wanting a job, but at the same time, be concise and specific. And if you are wondering how to balance this in your response, take a look at the following tips:

Work toward research

‍To understand exactly what kind of person your target company is looking for, you should delve into the job description, information about the company from its resources, and trends in the industry. This way, you will get an idea of what features of yours may interest the company, as well as how your vision of the job position resonates with that of your potential employer.‍

Connect your skills, motivation, and goals

‍The answer to the "what is most important to you in your next position" question is more likely to sound better and more authentic if you build a logical connection between all its elements. For example, try to explain to yourself how your skills help you develop professionally and set goals for the future and why it all matters to you. Once you have these answers for yourself, you can connect them in the logical chain of what you believe can be expected of your potential position.

Stick to a realistic perspective

‍This advice may seem obvious, but it's important to keep it in mind, so you don't go too far trying to come up with a quality answer for the "what are you looking for in your next job" question. The hiring manager understands the approximate dynamics of professional development in the industry, so even if you dream of top achievements in a short time, try to describe your goals more pragmatically. This will highlight your ambitions more smoothly.

Tailor your thoughts to the company

‍With all the information about the company in hand, use it to your full advantage by showing how your expectations complement those of the company. For example, show that you were looking for the responsibilities that the position entails or that you are interested in projects that the company intends to develop. This will give you extra points in the eyes of the hiring manager.

Best sample answers

Example #1

Throughout my career, I have put much effort into developing interpersonal and negotiation skills. My target position includes this as one of the primary responsibilities, and therefore I look forward to the opportunity of productive work with partners within our projects. As I was told during the telephone interview, the ABC company is developing ways to expand cooperation with other companies, which I would be happy to contribute in my position.

Example #2

Even though I applied for a tech position, I have always wanted to contribute to social change and progress. That is why I will be happy to use my knowledge and skills in software development, as XYZ prioritizes working with applications for medical and public infrastructure, which is strongly related to my values and vision of the world.

Example #3

My key strength is understanding customers and personalizing services, so they are satisfied with their experience. As you emphasized in your recent social media campaign, your purpose is a quality customer experience, so I look forward to using this position as a platform to move closer to our shared goal.

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