Could you quickly answer this common interview question: What interests you about our products or services?
Imagine if you did not know anything about Apple. You know nothing of the iPhone, the Mac, the iPod – Maybe ninja scientists from Microsoft secretly kidnapped you and erased your memories using one of those nifty flashy contraptions from Men in Black. You have a job interview with Apple the next day. One of the questions they ask you is “What interests you about our products?”
You Had One Day to Research:
If you did minimal research, your answer is going to be:
“The iPod is a great music player. Also, the iPhone is a great smart phone. There is also the Mac… something. MacBook, I think? It’s pricy, but worth it.”
If you did a lot of research, your answer is going to be:
“I’ve always been interested in innovation. Most companies see a need and do their best to create a product to fill that need. Apple, on the other hand, creates needs. They design their products, like the iPhone and the MacBook to address the needs of society before the society realizes it can use those technologies. That’s true innovation, and something that illustrates how important Apple products really are.”
That’s a clear difference. That’s what researching a company allows you to do. Companies know their own products. They know their own products. They don’t need a recap of what their products are, nor do they need a candidate that didn’t take the time to learn about them. They want to find employees that are interested in what the company creates, and only through extensive company research can you craft an answer that satisfies the question.
How to Answer:
There is no right answer. What interests you is what interests you. You simply need to do enough research to learn about the products and generate real, intelligent opinions about them, then share those opinions in your answer.
Take Away Interview Tip:
- Simply, research the company.
