How to answer: "Why do you want to work at this company?"

One of the most difficult questions for those that do
not get prepared for the interview is ‘why do you
want to work for us?’ If you know nothing about the
company interviewing you, it will be almost
impossible to give an honest
answer that will be
good for the impression you are trying to make. If
you got into a situation like this, there are some
things you can do. You can begin by mentioning
things that you’ve heard from the interviewer (fast-
developing company, international company,
company with high standards, etc). However, if you
are asked to elaborate on whether you know
something about the company, you might fall into a
trap and they will know that you did not know
anything about them. In case of high number of job
applicants, each thing you say may influence you
directly.
 
There are four basic steps on how to answer this
question:

Unique
 
You must acknowledge the company’s uniqueness,
and the key to do it well is to be specific. If your
answer could be given to any company you are
interviewed at – you are not specific enough.
Mention things you learned about the company and
how they suit you. Mention that you appreciate that
the company spends resources on education of its
employees and that you always dreamt of working
with teams of leaders developing new leaders.

History
 
If you do not know much about the company, you
can tell the story of how you heard of it the first
time. Tell that you were interested in the company
well before you had the chance to apply for the job.
In case you know how the company developed over
time, you can tell about it at the interview.

Future

Think about spheres of the company that you think
are able to grow big in the future and showing that
you are excited about contributing to the growth is
another wonderful way to answer this question. This
will show that you are not only willing to work for
the company, but you also have some ideas on how
to help its success.

Friend
If you have a friend working at the company, the
best way to answer it would be to tell the
interviewer about great things you have heard
about it. If you do not, mention the personal
interactions you had at the company – talk about
how they made you feel welcomed and how much
enthusiasm you saw in them.

Good Luck