How to answer "What does success look like to you?" in a job interview

You finally get the call to have an interview for your dream job!

So many emotions are swirling around. What do you do now?

Prepare for the interview!

You already know that the hiring manager will ask questions to ensure you are the best fit for the position. One question you may encounter in the interview may revolve around how you define success.

Photo by Tom Rogerson on Unsplash

"What does success look like to you?"

Here are some questions to consider to help you respond to the question:

• Do your background and experience play a part in your definition of success at the company you want to work at?

• Do you know what motivates you?

Another way to prepare is to understand why the hiring manager is asking you such questions.

Hiring managers want to understand:

• What motivates this candidate? What is their work ethic like?

• Is this candidate a good planner? Does this candidate plan at all?

• Does this candidate have realistic measures?

Consider using the STAR Method when creating an answer:

• S = Consider a Situation you were in

• T = the Task you had to complete due to the situation

• A = the Action you took

• R = the Results or outcomes of the action

Imagine you're interviewing for a customer success role. You could say:

"Sucess, to me, means communicating effectively to my coworkers while helping the customer in a timely fashion. For instance, at my previous job, we had to implement our software for a new client organization.

I had to speak with the client to get an explanation about the problems the client's organization was facing with previous software and their current needs and wants.

I communicated this information to my team so that we could design the software to solve the issues the clients faced and incorporate what was needed and want they wanted.

The software we created increased the client's revenue by 10% within the first 6 months."

As you answer this question, consider how you'll be an asset to the company and what you can bring to their team.

Do:

• Use past successes as an example

• Show the interviewer how you've achieved success

• Tailor your response to include the skills listed in the job description for the position

Don't:

• Talk about surface-level motivators (i.e., money)

• Sell yourself short — for example, for a customer success role, you only mention how well you work with customers but don't highlight your managerial/implementation experience

Mary is interviewing for a job as a server. The interviewer asks: What does success look like to you as a server?

Are you ready to answer the question "What does success look like to you?"

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash