> “Why do you want to work for our company?”
Your company has an opening that I believe I am qualified for that also pays more than my current position. I also need money to pay for bills, groceries, rent, and the overall cost of being alive.
> “Why are you leaving your current company?”
I found a job opening at your company that pays more than my current role.
> “What are you looking for in the next role?”
A big pay bump. Opportunities to become better at software engineering would be cool too.
> “What excites you about this role?”
Two things:
- This position at your company pays more than my current role.
- There may be more opportunities to grow as a software engineer. But mostly the first reason.
> “What are your salary expectations?”
Whatever the maximum of the salary range is for this position.
> “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
If the compensation for this position increases year to year and is in line with other top paying companies, I see myself staying at your company. It also helps if there are growth opportunities for me as a software engineer.
Otherwise, I see myself at a different company from yours that pays more.
On a more serious note…
Don’t get me wrong, growing as a software engineer is still important to me. I want to work with great people and build cool things. It just sucks that I have to lie during interviews because honesty would get me disqualified. Doing 4+ rounds of interviews is already exhausting enough.