How To Answer: "What Are You Looking For In Your Next Role?"

Interview questions are designed to keep you on your toes. All too often, the questions are challenging and you need to walk on a tightrope to get the answer correct. When an interviewer asks you what you’re looking for in your next rule, you could feel the pressure. You need to proceed with caution, or your answer will give off red flags to the hiring manager. Learn more about how you should answer this question in a way that paints you in a positive light.

Why Employers Ask This Question

If you want to know how to talk about your expectations for the role, you need to know why an employer is asking this question in the first place. Here are a few reasons you might encounter this question in an interview:

See If Your Goals Align

The most obvious reason a hiring manager asks this question is to see if your goals align with the position. If your goals don’t align, you won’t be very happy at the company. It’s only a matter of time before you quit.

Determine Your Ambition

Employees who have ambition perform much better than those with no ambition. By asking this question, a hiring manager can gauge your level of ambition. They want to know that you can motivate yourself to succeed and that you don’t always need someone pushing you.

Figure Out If Your Character Matches the Company’s Values

If your character doesn’t match the company’s value, you’re unlikely to last. It’s important for you to fit in with your coworkers and managers. To determine whether or not you’ll fit in well, an employer may ask this question. Before you go in for an interview, you should research the company and make sure it’s a good fit for you.

Improve Employee Retention

Overall, a hiring manager cares the most about employee retention. The HR department fails if employees quit every few months. During an interview, the hiring manager asks questions that help them pick employees who are in it for the long haul. If the position is a permanent one, the hiring manager wants to know that you don’t plan on leaving in three years.

How to Come Up with an Answer to the Question

Even if you have a general idea of how to talk about what you’re looking for in your next role, you should take the time to write down an answer. There are a few common mistakes people make when answering this question, and making one of those mistakes could keep you from a job offer.

Here are a few tips for creating an answer to this question:

Start with Your Skills

It’s always helpful for a job applicant to emphasize their skills. To answer this question, start off by talking about your skills. Then, explain that you’re looking for a job that allows you to use and further develop your skills. Doing so highlights the value you add to the company. Furthermore, it shows that you plan on growing as an employee.

If you’re not sure what skills to talk about, read the job listing. What’s the hiring manager looking for? Use hard or soft skills from the job description to have the most significant impact. Skills that don’t translate to the job don’t do the employer much good.

Discuss Your Career Goals

After you mention your skills, you should discuss your future plans. Where do you want to be in five years? You should talk about how the position will help you achieve your career goals. Typically, hiring managers prefer hiring employees who envision a lengthy career with their company.

Make it clear that your future is with the company. If you’re only using the job as a quick stepping stone for a job with another company, don’t mention your plans. Instead, you should talk about how you plan on growing in your role so you can move up the ladder within the company. As your skills develop, you can help the company and help yourself.

It’s OK if your plans don’t involve holding the same job title for ten years. In fact, a hiring manager would prefer to hear that you have the ambition of moving upwards within the company than hear that you want to keep the same job.

Bring Up the Company’s Values

Don’t make your answer solely about you. When you write an answer to this question, relate your answer back to the company’s values. Spend some time researching the company’s values and mission. Then, include a few sentences about those values in your answer.

You might say something like this. “The fact that your company gives back to the community is so important to me. I’m hoping to find a home with a company that has a focus on community involvement.”

Be Honest

While you’re writing your answer, you may have a temptation to stretch the truth or lie. That’s one of the worst things you can do in a job interview. For one, it means you may get a job you don’t want. If you don’t share a company’s values, do you really want to work for them?

Lying also sets you up for failure. If you lie about your ambition, an employer could have high expectations of you. You don’t need to be dishonest to get a job offer.