How to Answer the Interview Question: “What Draws You to This Industry?”

During a job interview, one of the questions you can expect to be asked is: "What draws you to this industry?"

This is a question designed to allow an employer to understand what you know about the wider profession.

In addition, it helps them to see whether you are excited by the opportunity of working in a particular career or whether you are simply applying for any/every job available.

This question is commonly asked within job interviews when recruiting for junior or entry-level positions.

If you have minimal experience to discuss, the interviewer needs to understand why you want to work in that specific career and what awareness you have of the career opportunities available.

If you are asked this question, you want to use your answer to showcase your knowledge and enthusiasm.

It is a chance to verbalize whether you are paying attention to industry trends or whether you have been inspired or motivated by key individuals or brands, or you want to try new innovative technologies.

What Are the Alternatives to This Question?

There are many variations to the interview question: "What draws you to this industry?"

You may find that your interview asks you similar questions such as:

• "What do you know about this industry?"
• "Why do you want to work in this industry?"
• "What attracts you to a career working as a...?"
• "Why do you want to be a...?"
• "What excites you about this specific sector?"

These are all relatively similar questions in that the recruiter is not necessarily looking for an explanation of why you want to work for their organization.

It's more general.

It is about what interests you about the entire profession or sector. It allows them to understand that you have not applied for any job available just for a paycheck.

Instead, you are ready to develop an exciting career that you care about and are passionate about.

In contrast, if the interviewer asks you a question such as:

• "What interests you about this job?"
• "Why do you want to work for our company?"
• "Why do you want to work for a small firm?"
• "What do you know about us?"

you can feel confident that the recruiter is trying to find out what you know about them as a business.

Your answer should be based upon the research you have undertaken into that business and that specific department.

Why Do Employers Ask the Interview Question: “What Draws You to This Industry?”

This question is often asked in interviews where candidates need to have a direct understanding of the sector.

Industries such as HR, technology, finance, energy, insurance and even hospitality have distinct traits and technical requirements distinctive to them.

Therefore, an employer needs to be confident that you are aware of these traits and needs before offering you a job.

For example, hospitality is a profession that requires lots of long hours and weekend/evening work.

As a candidate, you need to show an employer that you are aware of this and confirm that these requirements meet your lifestyle.

Another reason why an employer may ask you a variation of the interview question "What draws you to this industry?" is so that they can create a baseline understanding of your knowledge.

It is a simple question that allows recruiters to compare candidates directly. This is particularly true when applying for entry-level or junior positions.

You may make a great first impression, but if you do not know anything about the profession, the recruiter may have to invest heavily in training and development.

This can add high costs to their recruitment campaign.

Instead, they may wish to hire the candidate who perhaps gave a weaker interview performance but showed that they had a better understanding of what the profession does and how the job role fits into the wider sector.

What Are Recruiters Looking for When You Answer the Interview Question: “What Draws You to This Industry?”

This is an open-ended question, and as such, you can answer as much or as little as you like.

However, it may help you to break down your answer into four distinct areas:

Your Awareness of the Industry

You should be able to demonstrate to the interviewer what you know and understand about the profession.

This is not about memorizing a few paragraphs from Wikipedia.

Instead, it is about explaining what role that profession plays in society, what the latest trends are, who the key players are, and sharing examples of great work from that sector.

Let's take marketing as an example.

You may think that at a basic level, it is about promoting or selling products.

Instead:

• It is an industry built on communication
• It is about understanding who your audience is and what they want
• It is about using psychology to tap into their behaviors
• It is about understanding how to make the most of technology to improve customer experiences and using data analytics to predict what products/services may be favored

Finally, you may wish to give examples of brands such as Apple, who have continuously delivered innovative marketing campaigns to raise the profiles of their products.

Your Ability to Discuss the Industry

How you talk about the industry gives an insight into your communication style and how much effort you put into preparing for the job interview.

It is easy to simply repeat a paragraph or two from something you've read, but have you understood it correctly?

Can you answer any follow-up questions? The more research you undertake, the easier you will find it to talk about.

What's more, the employer will be able to deduce that you are a hard worker and that you have taken the time to prepare for your job interview in full.

They will consider this as part of your work ethos, and they will be able to glean insight as to whether you are a hard worker or someone who takes the easy way out.

Your Motivations for Working in the Industry

Some sectors attract people because they are known for their high salaries and generous employee benefits.

However, even if you are initially attracted to the remuneration, you want to show that you are motivated by other factors.

Perhaps it is the chance to work with like-minded people. Maybe you want to innovate and see the opportunities to work with and even develop new technologies.

Or perhaps you have a personal interest in working in that specific sector. This is your chance to show the recruiter who you are as a person.

It is your opportunity to showcase your personality and help them identify if you are a good fit for their team.

How Your Long-Term Aspirations Could Work Within That Industry

Employers are looking for candidates who are passionate and excited.

They want to work with ambitious people and have clear career goals.

By being clear about what you want to achieve in your career, you are not just helping the prospective employer visualize how they can see that happening.

You are showing that you understand whether that's possible within that sector.

As with any interview question preparation, you should always think holistically when doing your research.

It's not about researching the answer to one specific question.

Instead, it is about improving your knowledge and understanding of the profession to help answer any interview questions (and spark some follow-up conversations).

Here are some practical tips to help you understand how to answer the interview question "What draws you to this industry?":

Tips for Making a Great Answer to the Interview Question: “What Draws You to This Industry?”

You may find that writing down an answer to this question before your interview can help you to nail your response.

Here are some simple tips that can help you to improve your answer.

• Do not be afraid to show off. What you know about the industry. This is your chance to show that you have researched wide and far and that you can answer any follow-up questions.

• Consider your communication skills. Are you saying enough to open up a wider conversation, or are you simply repeating something you read online? Do not be afraid to have an opinion – if you have read something from an industry figure, you do not have to agree with their perspective.

• Stick with what you know. If you are unsure of a fact or not confident you understand a technical element of that industry, then leave that information out of your answer. Instead, you want to showcase the positives of what you have learned.

• Be concise. This question is not there to show everything you know about the industry. It's to give the recruiter the confidence that you know what to expect from the profession. Stick to four to five sentences as a maximum. This is enough to show your understanding without taking too long.

Example Answers to the Interview Question: “What Draws You to This Industry?”

With this information, let's look at how you can collate an answer that impresses a recruiter during a job interview.

What Draws You to a Career in Marketing?

What Draws You to a Career in Sales?

What Draws You to a Career in Hospitality?

Final Thoughts

Now that we have taken you through step-by-step how to answer the interview question "what draws you to this industry?", it is easy to see how your research and preparation could aid you in the entirety of your interview.

When preparing to meet a recruiter, you should never use your research for one particular question.

Instead, you should make notes of your research and consider how you can use that knowledge to collectively inform all of your answers and responses to every question.

Within this particular question, you are taking the time to understand the wider profession – what to expect and how you could fit in.

By carefully considering its history, the latest trends, and the influential figures, you are not just improving your answers, and you will be actively improving your capabilities to do the job once you have been hired.