How to Answer: “What are you looking for in your next role?”
A complete guide to answering this common interview question — including what interviewers are really looking for, practical tips, and a worked example answer.
What interviewers are really asking
Be honest and specific — this question tells interviewers whether you'll be engaged or frustrated in their role. Describe your genuine requirements, then show how this role meets them. Avoid being so specific you rule yourself out, or so vague you sound uncommitted.
Tips
- Be genuinely honest — mismatches are expensive for everyone.
- Describe specifics: type of work, team size, autonomy level, etc.
- Connect your requirements to what this role offers.
- Show you've thought about what makes you happy at work.
- Avoid the trap of only listing positives — show real self-knowledge.
Example answer
Sample response
“Three things mainly: work that's ambiguous enough to require genuine problem-solving rather than execution of a predefined path; a team I can learn from; and enough ownership that the quality of my decisions actually matters to the outcome. I've been in roles where I was executing someone else's detailed plan, and while I did it well, I wasn't doing my best work. From what I understand about this role, I'd have all three. That's why it's my first choice.”
Adapt this to your own experience — never use any example answer verbatim.
Use the STAR method
Structure your answer as: Situation (brief context), Task (your specific responsibility), Action (what you personally did), Result (the quantified outcome). Most strong interview answers follow this pattern.
Full STAR method guide