Interviewing the Interviewer Part 2: Why Are You Hiring?

Why are you hiring? Every person interviewing inevitably scripts an answer to the age old "Why are looking for a new job" question. "Oh well, I've been at my current job for a few years. I've been able to be involved in many parts of the program. Through it all, I've gained a lot of technical knowledge and experience. The program is closing down soon and I thought it was the perfect time to find the next challenge." You go into your script and give that perfect answer you've crafted. Interviews put you into this mindset where we know where our position is. We need to impress them so that they hire us. This is perfectly fine because some of us really need a new job, but it shouldn't just stop there. They ask us "Why are looking for a new job", but at the same time we should ask "Why are you looking to hire people?" Why not ask the question back? Find out why the company is picking up new people. Is business booming? Are there new projects and growth at this company? If this is the case, then working there might really work out. I've found that some companies are facing great attrition rates. People are moving from job to job leaving big vacancies in companies. If this is the case, then there should be some consideration in exploring the opportunity there. Why would all of these people be leaving? Before someone accepts a job, it would be great to find out exactly why the company is hiring.