The question is simple, "Why do you want this job?"
When I was asked this question by the hiring director and his HR partner, I heard the question, "Why should we hire you?" Maybe I spent too long preparing for THAT question such that I failed to listen. I answered by selling my capability and was quickly stopped and alerted to the fact that I wasn't listening. Once I realized my gaffe, I quickly recovered, well enough to get the job anyway.
I later came to realize why it is as or more important to understand why the candidate wants the job compared to why the candidate is capable of the job. In my recruiting situation (which may not be a universal truth) insight and motivation will block someone long before we get to their capability, and in our job market, there are many capable candidates.
It is critical for me to identify what drives them to seek a new job and be willing to put up with the pain and nonsense in our environment. And this motivation can come in many different, even unusual forms.
I once interviewed a candidate and I just wasn't getting it; the story didn't make sense to me why he wanted to leave his job. Interviewing books often advise candidates to dodge this question by saying how much they like their current employer but the perspective company is so amazing that they just can't resist the opportunity. This is a bullshit answer that sets off a red flag with me because I know our company is not so amazing, or it's not amazing for everybody. If I cannot understand the motivational factor to leave the job then I am very concerned with what I don't know and am hesitant to hire the candidate regardless of their capability.
So I had enough with this guy, told him as much and finally broke him. He spilled the beans:
"My boss is a little crazy. He cannot just be the boss but also wants to be friends. One day he called me after work and asked me to go out and I lied and said I was already out with someone else. He said he was down on the sidewalk outside of my building and could see that I was actually in my apartment."
This revelation brought instant clarity. I gave the guy the job and the guy is great. If you work for a great company and say you love your job but you know you will love my job better even though you have never worked for my company, I know you are hiding something as this makes no rational sense. But I can quickly conclude that I am less crazy than your current boss if he is stalking you outside your apartment and perhaps, we can build on that.
