To help you answer the interview question, “How did you hear about this position?”, we asked career experts and HR managers what their strategies would be. From referencing the company’s most desirable qualities to being thoughtful and doing your homework, there are several recommendations that may help you answer the question, “How did you hear about this position?” in future interviews.
What is one strategy for answering the interview question, “How did you hear about this position?”
Here are nine strategies for answering the interview question, “How did you hear about this position?”
- Reference the Company’s Most Desirable Qualities
- Make Sure to Name-Drop
- Display Your Enthusiasm
- Be Honest
- Show You Are Specifically Interested in Them
- Imply You’ve Always Wanted a Job Like This
- Search for Articles On the Business Beforehand
- Show You’re Keeping up with What’s Current
- Be Thoughtful and Do Your Homework
Reference the Company’s Most Desirable Qualities
One tip for answering the interview question, “How did you hear about this position?” is to highlight the qualities you find attractive in the organization rather than the process of discovering the posting. For instance, “I was searching for an employer that values innovation and gives employees input on shaping projects, which is how I came to find your company.” This answer reveals insights into your character and motivations, and is much more interesting and enlightening than “I found the listing on Indeed.”
Tasia Duske, Museum Hack
Make Sure to Name-Drop
An easily underrated strategy for answering the interview question, “How did you hear about this position?”, is to always make sure to name-drop and tell them who told you about it. If you’ve ever heard or known about the employment opportunity from someone influential or who already works in that company, drop their name! Your connection’s name is proof that you already have strong professional contacts within their organization and shows just how interested you are in the company by asking their friend or colleague about them. Also, it shows proof that you took initiative to network within the company before joining.
Jonathan Finegold, MedCline
Display Your Enthusiasm
Rather than answering this question in a brief and concise manner, use it as an opportunity to showcase your excitement about the job. Your answer matters little here so it could be that you found the job through a former colleague, a mentor, a LinkedIn search query, an ad that you saw online — at the end of the day, the hiring team simply wants to see how enthusiastic you are about the job and the confidence you display about becoming a new employee. You could even highlight why this opportunity is a great match for you or how the news of the position simply reached you at the right time.
Riley Beam, Douglas R. Beam, P.A.
Be Honest
Usually when it comes to answering “how did you hear about this position” you should just tell the truth. Oftentimes, interviewers are genuinely curious to know how you found out about their company or your specific role. It helps them understand where to focus their recruiting efforts, and pivot as necessary. Just be sure to emphasize your excitement when you discovered the role, and show why you’re a great candidate.
Joe Spector, Dutch
Show You Are Specifically Interested in Them
If you are an active job seeker and after applying for a role at a company that is potentially a good fit for you make sure to express these thoughts during the interview. First, think of the specific reason the role description attracted you and read over the company’s mission. You can answer the question like this:
“I’m actively job searching and found this posting on [job site name] while searching for my dream role as a [role being offered]. I reviewed the job description and specifically loved that the job description includes [task you enjoy]. After reading [company name]’s mission to [mission], I knew this would be a great fit for me so I applied to learn more about this opportunity.”.
Liz Hogan, Find My Profession
Imply You’ve Always Wanted a Job Like This
Let a potential employer know that you are extremely interested in their niche by implying you’ve always been drawn to it. Elaborate by informing them that you’ve scoured job boards in search of this kind of opportunity, and that you feel you’re a perfect fit based on your skills and experience. Through this approach, the hiring manager will likely see you as a natural fit who is passionate and ready to take on whatever challenges the role brings.
Stephanie Venn-Watson, fatty15
Search for Articles On the Business Beforehand
In the event you didn’t have a personal contact at the company, or any other engaging story for what drew you to this specific position, before your interview, run a quick Google search to see if there are any articles on the business. That way, if you’re asked this question, you can mention the article piqued your interest in the company. Interviewers love to hear that applicants are showing interest in their particular company, not just casting a wide net with their applications and hoping something works out.
Dan Bladen, Kadence
Show You’re Keeping up with What’s Current
This interview question is pretty basic, but it can help you dive into your deeper story. For example, were you browsing an industry jobs board or did you hear about it through a trusted person in the industry? If so, then talk about other ways you follow along with what’s happening in the industry. That shows you’re keeping up with what’s current and important before you discuss your background experience more. Having a career path in which you’re seen as a knowledgeable resource is really important.
Anne-Marie Faiola, Bramble Berry
Be Thoughtful and Do Your Homework
Always attempt to give thoughtful answers to all questions. If a hiring manager asks you how you learned about the position, don’t let them think you came upon the job listing by chance and applied for the position on a whim. Make them think you searched for that job specifically, or better yet, make them think you searched for a job with that company specifically. If it’s a company you hadn’t previously known much about, make sure you learn about the company’s background. Research and take notes and pull out one or two examples of why you think working for that company is something that would be good for you. They often want to hear that you found the job during a targeted, deliberate search.
Scott MacDonell, Bambee