What Startups Really Mean by “Why Should We Hire You?”
FWIW I run a startup and I think every single one of these questions is terrible.<p>We can gauge your ambition and your resilience just fine in your first few weeks (in which we&#x27;ve signed you on as a contractor-under-evaluation - if your situation allows). And yes, we&#x27;ve had to learn how to do this the hard way (having kept people on for longer than was good for anyone). But I think it&#x27;s nuts to think that you can test someone&#x27;s ambition asking &quot;where do you see yourself in 5 years?&quot;.<p>I&#x27;m pretty convinced that that place deep down where people&#x27;s natural drive comes from is, especially for engineers and other creative roles, very disconnected from conscious career planning. If you want to tap that natural drive, you need to create an environment where it can flourish. I don&#x27;t think that asking &quot;Why should we hire you?&quot; when you mean &quot;Do you understand what problem we&#x27;re solving?&quot; contributes to such an environment. You want to be open, clear, direct, and honest, not play guessing games.