How to Answer What Is Your Dream Job (Interview Question) - Career Sidekick

How to Answer What Is Your Dream Job (Interview Question) - Career Sidekick How to Answer What Is Your Dream Job? (Interview Question) Interview Questions and Answers / https://www.edenscott.com/blog Employers like to ask, what is your dream job? or tell me about your dream job for a few reasons and there are definitely some mistakes you want to AVOID when answering.In this article, Ill walk you through why hiring managers ask about your dream job and the best way to answer.Lets get startedWhy Employers Ask “What Is Your Dream Job?”First things first: Doesnt the hiring manager want to hear that their job is what you dream of doing?Not quite…What hiring managers really want to find outis what you’re passionate about and what you enjoy. That’s why they ask this.They want to learn about your long-term career goals and what motivates you. And they want to figure out whether you’ll be happy in this job, or whether youre bail after six months! Thats the main reason theyre asking you to tell them about your dream job or dream career.So, they dont expect or need to hear that their job is your dream position. However,theyd ideally like to hear t hat there are some similarities.For example, if you say your dream job would involve never stepping in an office again, and youve applied for an office job, its going to cause some concerns and probably cost you the job offer!Dont worry if this sounds tough to navigate well talk about how to answer, tell me about your dream job step-by-step nowHow to Answer: “What Is Your Dream Job?”1. Give a General Description, Not a Job TitleThe first trick to answering this question without raising any red flags is to NEVER give a job title. Instead, tell them about your dream jobs characteristics.Characteristics are things like this: a job that involves helping people, a job that will let you work with cutting edge technology, a job that is meaningful to you, etc. And you want to combine multiple characteristics, at least two.Ill give you a full example answer coming up soon if youre still not sure exactly what I mean. But for now, the important thing to understand is that you do not want t o name a job title when describing your dream job. So dont say things like Pilot, Doctor, Director of Sales, etc.Lets continue with the next step to answering this question.2. Tailor Your Answer to Fit the Job Youre Interviewing ForThe next step when answering, what is your dream job? is to adjust your answer to make sure youre showing some overlap between the qualities you want in a dream job, and the characteristics of the position youre interviewing for.Study the job description and know about the company before your interview. That way, you can name a few things that your dream job would have, that also seem to exist in THIS job.Thats how to give an honest, upfront answer that also shows the hiring manager why you want their job.This step is very important, and not showing some overlap between your dream job and this job can cost you the offer!If the job youre interviewing for is focused on managing a team and you talk about how your dream job would involve working independently and only being responsible for your own goals, thats going to kill your chances of getting hired.So if youre interviewing for a leadership job, talk about what type of leadership your dream job would involve.If youre interviewing for a highly technical role, talk about what types of technical challenges you enjoy.Hiring managers get excited when you show them some overlap between their job and what you enjoy doing because that means youre more likely to be motivated and stick around longer if they hire you.3. Explain Why You Want Their JobTo wrap up your answer, tell the interviewer exactly what you read or saw about their company that excited you. Thats how to put their mind at ease in terms of why you wanted this job.For example, you might say, So thats why I applied for this position. I saw the job description mentioned that this team is working to create life-saving medicines, and thats something Im really passionate about and motivated to work on.Well look at more sample answe rs right now in the next section, so keep reading.Example Answer For What Is Your Dream Job?:Now that weve looked at the three key steps to follow when answering, what is your dream job?, I also want to give you a couple of word-for-word answer samples to help you create your own answer.Dream Job Example Answer #1I think my dream job would be a combination of creating products thatare making a difference in the world and getting a chance to share them with as many people as possible. I was excited about this position because I read that millions of people use your companys products each day and it seems like the work youre doing is having a big impact in the world.Notice youre not telling them your dream job in terms of a job title like I mentioned earlier. Youre only sharing characteristics like making a difference, and having a large number of people seeing/using what you create (remember you need at least two. I would say two or three is the ideal amount).And then youre completin g youranswer by relating it backto what the company is offering, and showing you did a bit of research about them!Lets look at one more sample answer nowDream Job Example Answer #2My dream job would be leading a team thats creating cutting-edge technologies that are used by millions. I read on your job description that this Supervisor role has a chance to grow into a Manager in the next 1-2 years, and it seems like the apps your company is building are having a big impact on the business world already, so I knew I should apply!Now that weve looked at two word-for-word example answers, heres a quick recap of the method I recommend, that I shared at the start of this article:Never use a specific job title. Use words that describe what your dreamjob would look like.Choose at least two or three phrases/words, and try to pick thingsthat overlap withthe job youre interviewing for.Conclude by showing the hiring manager that you did some research about them, and explainwhy youre interested in theirjob.If you follow these guidelines you will have a great answer to, what is your dream job? every time.Just make sure you practice your answer in the mirror a few times, too (or by recording yourself talking with your phones sound recorder app). That way, youll be sure you sound confident and clear when answering.After that, youre ready to handle this question in your next interview!Before you go, here are two other resources to help you ace your next interview:Related question: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?The top 14 interview questions and answers