Before recruiting a candidate, most employees want to know whether or not the candidate will be loyal and earnest to the company. They want to see if you are truly committed to the career.
This is the main reason why many employers ask this question like what is your mission statement. They want to know if you are interested in doing the job, or you just want the job for the sake of getting a job.
Many employers would hire candidates who are truly interested in the job and have the enthusiasm to learn and develop themselves each day. So it is always best to give the best what is your mission in life answer, in an interview.
Answering What is your Personal Mission Statement Question?
These kinds of questions fall under the category of assessment type of questions. Such types of questions help the interviewer to get a clear image of the candidate in a short time by knowing their plans, goals, aspirations, and motives.
This way, it makes it easier for them to decide whether or not the candidate is the perfect fit for the job and that there would be no regrets in hiring such a candidate in the future. Candidates should remain calm when tackling such interview questions.
These are the following ways which can help a candidate produce a satisfying answer and can help you to bag the job:
1. Analysis of mission statement:
- The first thing that any candidate should do while preparing for a company interview, is to try and learn as much as possible about the company. Trying thorough research about the company will do wonders and will provide you with an added advantage while attending the interview. You can add various points and facts that correlate with both you and the company. This will show the employer that you have done your homework properly about the company and that you are very much interested to know more about the company and the applied job. Try to find out the underlying factors that are responsible for the company motives and missions and also try to know about the various subsidiary organizations that the company has managed. These organizations may include charity organizations, schools, colleges, etc.
- If you are unable to find the specific mission statement about the company, then learn about the company and its motives through various methods. These include communication media like – forums, newspapers, internet, radio, media clippings and posts, videos, advertisements, etc. Getting to know the mission and motto of the company that you interest in, is an added advantage that will enable you to notices by the employer and if luck is in your favor this might even help you to grab the job offer.
- Also, basic knowledge about the company is necessary o as to avoid the long pauses when the interviewer asks you to tell something about the company and its aims. Knowing about the company makes you understand why the company exists and how is it functioning within the industry.
2. Check your professional and personal goals:
- As mentioned before, the main purpose of this question is for the interviewer to evaluate whether or not the candidate is a good choice for the job position. To persuade the recruiter or the employer into thinking that you are the best option for the job, you need to make sure that your professional and private goals and targets are in parallel to the company’s aims and targets. Try to give too much attention and focus towards your own goals and aims, this will be your mission statement. Focus on things that give you the inspiration and boost and decide what makes you forward. Also, try to know what all the successes and victories you have achieved and make a list of what all are your core values and benefits.
- You should try to sell all these benefits to the recruiter during the interview. The interviewer should feel that the company will advantage with your skills and will make profits by exploiting them efficiently. Aside from your professional goals, make sure you have enough attention towards your personal goals.
- Try to visualize where you want to see yourself in 1 year, and then try to visualize where you want to see yourself within 5 years and 10 years. Normally all these values should be aligned and well-coordinated with your core values and along with the aims and targets of the company.
- If you want to have a successful and forward professional life, try to achieve the professional freedom to allow your career growth and development as a working individual. For example; if you want to see yourself as the head of the sales department within 5 years, then you first have to evolve from the position of being an assistant salesman. This can be done after you have acquired proper knowledge and experience.
3. Combine the two sides:
- After you have recognized what your professional and personal goals are, try to learn about the goals of the corporation. Then the next action that you have to take is to combine these and incorporate them fully. For example, if you want to be known to work as a financial planner for the company and you aim to become a financial advisor for upcoming small businesses, then try to incorporate both aims together and try to be seen as a productive employee. Try to add these goals together and make a satisfying answer that would show a positive side of your personality to the interviewer.
- Being seen as a candidate having a good personality and being productive is a key factor that would help you in getting through the selection process or it might even help you in bagging the job. So to achieve all these, you must align your professional and personal goals along with the target and motto of the organization.
- The best way to answer such a question is to explain what your professional goals are and explain how well they fit with the target of the company. Then slowly and naturally introduce your personal goals and explain to them how it functions as a foundation and support for both your professional goals and also the corporate goals of the company. It is okay to give a few examples and instances that you consider are the most important goals in your life. Whenever you state your personal goals, make sure that you are stating how it will benefit the company in many ways.
- In the end, you are going to be working in the company and you will be seen as a representative of the company. So naturally, all your personal goals should point towards the development and growth of the company. The secret key is to make sure that both sides are aligned and well incorporated with each other.
- Also, try to make the response as short as possible and avoid rambling and deviating from the main topic of the question. Enthusiasm is necessary, but do not get too excited, since that will make you lose focus of the target. This will result in the deviation of your output from the expected output of the company. Hence, a sudden drop in the efficiency of your output and also a poor performance. All these will frown upon by the employer.
4. What if both the sides do not match with the target of the company:
- If you are doing a bit of soul searching and you have reached a realization that both your professional goals and personal will not reach anywhere if you work for the company, then it’s high time that you revaluate your job preference. Don’t try to work for the job just for the sake of getting money and paying your bills. Getting a good job that meets your needs and specifications is very much important and is necessary to achieve a well stable and fruitful life.
- If working for your dream company is not going to help you develop and achieve your dreams, then it is time to search for a new job. Most of the time, a candidate feels like the current job that they are applying for will not provide the necessary resources and capital to support their personal goals. This will eventually make the candidate feel uninterested towards the job and also the candidate is less likely to give their all while working for the job.
- This can affect the candidate’s confidence and performance level if proper job satisfaction not achieves properly. This can produce pressure, and stress to yearn and strive harder, in the end, these will all go to vain. Try to find a job that satisfies you both professionally and personally. A good job always gives a positive impact on your mind and also provides a confidence boost, thus effectively increasing your performance level in the long run.
5. Make it inspirational:
- When you are stating the goals and aspirations that you have, along with the target of the company, try to state instances that are both inspirational and enlightening. This kind of inspirational situation necessary to inspire the candidates to move forward and achieve what they are aiming for. Moreover, having a good story in hand provides proof that you are a very productive person. Also, try to bring the practical and fundamental aspects that you can achieve through your goals and the company goals. For example; the as safe bet is to always mention how you can achieve both social and environmental goals by incorporating your passion along with your professional goals. Try to be less clichéd and more original when you are stating your opinions and beliefs about how you can fair in the organization while it satisfies your aspirations. Try to show what all contributions can you bring to the general public and the environment.
6. Get straight to the point:
- As mentioned before, try not to ramble too much about your hopes and aspirations. Instead, go straight to the point and state the fact as it is. Try to make sure that you are impressing the interviewer in a positive method. Also, make sure that you are content in what you are doing and you are happy with the job that you are applying to.
- Most employers prefer an employee who interests in doing his job, rather than an employee who is doing work just for the sake of the job. Also, when stating what your missions are, try to have a selective choice of words and instances that shows that you are very much serious about the job and that you are a person who very commits to any tasks given to you.
- Also, stating lengthy mission statements can be boring for both the interviewer and the candidate, since there is so much to cover and understand. If you do state a long and lengthy personal mission, there will only quite a handful of people who listen and understand what you trying to explain. This can be boredom for the interview and would also deviate the interview from its intended direction. Try to explain personal missions in such a way that it is simple, concise and quick to understand and digest.
Preparing for such double sided questions is a lot of hard work and research. Since this is your mission statement question is not so much specific, it is really hard for a candidate to say a correct and specific answer.
The next best thing that the candidate could narrate is a satisfying answer. So, try to answer your mission statement in a well-fitting manner, so that you can be depicted as a good contender for the job or as a good candidate to get the job.
Most leaders try to find the perfect personal mission statement that can go well with the motto of the company.
