4 ms·
There is no need to make this more complicated than it really is. In this individual's case the conversation could go as follows: > Q: Why do you want to work
by zkirill 2y ago
There is no need to make this more complicated than it really is. In this individual's case the conversation could go as follows:
> Q: Why do you want to work for us?
> A: Because I need the money.
Generalization is dangerous and people want to join groups of other people for many different reasons. Some of them are bored and have nothing better to do with their time. Others are charmed by that particular group of people because of who those people are or the kind of work that they do. A few are interested in moving to a different city or country and expanding their horizons. Making it sound like this is all about money everywhere all the time seems nihilistic and pretty depressing to me. I would not want to work with a person who is doing it just for the money or refuses to give a reason why they wish to join my group. I suppose therein lies the merit of asking "why".
- metabagel 2y agoYou would turn away an expert professional contributor, because they are only in it for the money? I would quit my job if it wasn’t for the money. Same applies to everyone I work with.
- spencerflem 2y agoIf money is your ONLY reason to work at a specific company as opposed to other companies, then your philosophy is wack. There's plenty of companies where I like what they do, or the work is interesting and would thus be willing to accept less pay. There's companies I feel are making the world worse much more directly than most and I refuse to work for them at for any price.
- metabagel 2y agoSure, and I’m the same way as you, but I’m talking about the vast middle which are neither exciting nor offensive.
- kelnos 2y agoThe general reason for wanting a job is to get paid so you can have and do nice things. That's a given. Set that aside. Now that we've established that you need money, and have five companies in front of you that will give you money, surely there are some other reasons why you'd pick any one of those particular companies to work at, no? Reasons why you'd choose one over the others, or those five over the other 30 you looked at but decided not to apply to. You seem incredulous that someone would turn away an expert because they're only in it for the money. Sure, fair. But it's not really about that. If they're so... one-dimensional?... that they can't think of anything they like about the company aside from "paycheck gets sent every two weeks", that feels like a red flag to me.
- chongli 2y agoNow that we've established that you need money, and have five companies in front of you that will give you money, surely there are some other reasons why you'd pick any one of those particular companies to work at, no? Why assume the candidate has five companies willing to hire? What if the candidate has been searching for a job for the past year and, through a run of bad luck, hasn’t had an interview until now? “Why do you want to work for us?” “Because you’re willing to give me a job.”
- dzikimarian 2y agoWe assume that, because we're talking about article of software engineer posted on HN. IT jobs market might be worse recently, but I haven't heard about anyone looking for a job for a year.
- chongli 2y agoI just graduated a few weeks ago and I’m looking for a job right now!
- dzikimarian 2y agoWell not the best moment, but I still doubt you'll be looking for a job for a year.