Answering "How Did You Hear About This Position" In An Interview

a picture of business person and how did you hear about this position

A lot of interviewers ask this question - how did you hear about this position? This way, they can judge you if you are a passive or an active job seeker. If you appear eager while you answer this question, the interviewers would assume that you will put complete efforts to reach the goal of the job position you are being interviewed for. So you must know how to be strategic while you answer this question.

how did you hear about this position

Few Points You Should Emphasize On Your Delivery

You can answer - “How did you hear about us?” - in many different ways. It depends on how you actually heard about your job. Also, you can impress your interviewer by adding a few more interesting points. Here are some tips:

Don't beat around the bush. State your source of the job position clearly. But keep in mind one thing while you are at it, do not elaborate on your source's details. Just give them the name of the resource, individual, or the company you heard it from.
You can include the reasons and aspects of why you are attracted to this job position.
In a few sentences, you can impress upon why you are the right fit for this job.
Finally, finish by saying how excited you are about the possibility of being hired for the job.

Apart from these basic things you have to remember while answering this ice-breaker question, you can use these rules too. They are sure to help you.

Tips For Answering “How Did You Hear About This Position?”

It is wise always to tell the truth in the interview. You do not want to get into serious trouble after being hired, and they found out about your lie. In any case, tell them the truth when you are asked about how you found out about this job position. So, tell them the below answers, whichever applies to you.

Tell them truthfully that you were looking for a job suitable for your skillset and you found it on a career website, job board while searching for jobs on LinkedIn, etc.
A friend, colleague, or family member suggested this company and the job opening they have that fits your skillset.
A colleague or friend who is an ex-employee of the company informed you about it after they heard about the job opening and suggested to apply.
You read about this job in a press release, article, or news source.
You were contacted by a recruiter who put you in touch with the company.
You were browsing through the company's website for some other reason and stumbled upon the job opening news on their website's career portal.
You like to be a part of the company, and it was your dream company, so you were following their career page every day to see if they have a job opening.
You came across the job opening advertisement on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social media websites.

All the above are some excellent reasons to tell the interviewers about how you found out about the job opening. This can even help you lead the conversation to explain why you are applying for this position. Although they are different questions, they qualify because they are closely related topics.

So, by giving these answers, you can neatly, easily, and effectively answer the burning question. But you have to definitely avoid few things that may give away a wrong notion to the interviewers.

Some Mistakes You Should Avoid

Don't get overexcited about the question and end up making a mistake. Take a look at these mistakes you must avoid while answering the question - How did you hear about this job?

You may have heard about the position from an employee of the company but never give out great details about the relationship you have with this employee.
One-word answers are never good. It shows you have low confidence and knowledge. So, avoid giving a vague one-word answer.
Sometimes, you may not remember the job board you found the job from. In that case, don't just make something up and dwell a long time on the fact. Don't tell a lie that could get you caught. So the best way to answer “How did you hear about this position?” is to either tell the truth or give one of the reasons we have mentioned above.
Also, don't just blurt out that you don't know or you do t remember. This will tell the interviewers that you are disorganized in your job search or you may seem scattered. This wrong impression will make it difficult to get hired.
In case you heard the job openings through an employee who wasn't very happy about the company, you must completely avoid mentioning their name.
Don't do anything that will make you sound like you are applying for any and every job that you find on your way and you are desperate for a job and are ready to do any job that is assigned to you.

In addition to the above things, remember always to keep your answers precise. Don't just go blabbering about the source. If the interviewers want to know more about the source, they will ask you. Think before you speak is the mantra.

Always remember that this question is a simple one. No one will trick you with it, nor will they try to trip you up or catch you with a mistake. Don't think it is a trap laid by the interviewer for you. It's just an ice-breaker question. Most often, the interviewer needs something to start the interview with, so they may ask this question. Or they may want to know how you prefer searching for a job.

Example Answers for “How Did You Hear About This Position?”

Now you know how to answer the most common question asked in the interview. It may seem not easy, but it truly is just a simple question. We have some sample answers that might help you put all the points given above and form your own effective answer. These samples are sure to give you some best ideas that you can adapt to your own answers.

Example answer for active job seekers:

Sample answer: “I actively job searching right now and found your job posting on LinkedIn while searching for Senior Engineer positions. I reviewed the job description on LinkedIn before applying, and it seemed like a great potential fit, so I wanted to apply and learn more about the opportunity to see if it’s a good match.”

Example answer for passive job seekers:

Sample answer: “I wasn’t actively looking for a job change, but a colleague mentioned that she saw you were hiring on your website and said she had heard good things about your work environment. I went to your website and did some reading on the Careers page and liked what I saw, so I decided I should apply and learn more about the opportunity.”

Take a closer look at both the answers given above. You may notice that none of the answers have this statement - “I know I’m the perfect candidate; you should hire me.” Because it is not necessary, it is not good to say that in the first round of interviews, or it is not wise to answer with the statement for such a simple and casual question. This will be more suitable for a question like “Why should we hire you for this position?”

Most of the best and impressive job seekers use one of the above examples' approaches. There is no way you will talk too much or too little when you follow the above-laid rules. This will show the interviewers that you are careful in your job search and that you are looking for the right job and not just any job that comes along the way. It also shows that your top priority in the interview is to learn more and make a fruitful conversation to find out if this job is a perfect fit for you and if you are a perfect fit for the company. It will show the interviewers that you are not desperately trying to convince everyone you talk to that you will be the perfect candidate for the job. But, you are just trying to learn more and see if it’s a match.

follow what we say, and you will get hired without any further questioning. Hiring managers would want to finish with the interview fast and love the apt answers you give. You are definitely going to stand out and shine!