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German Phrase

Warum willst du diesen Job?

/ˈvaːʁʊm ˈvɪlst duː ˈdiːzən ˈdʒɔp/
Meaning"Why do you want this job?"
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Meaning

Literally ‘Why do you want this job?’. It is the standard way to ask a candidate for the motivation behind applying for a specific position, especially in a job interview.

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When to use

Use it in formal or informal job interviews, career‑counselling sessions, or any conversation where you want to know someone’s reason for choosing a particular role.

✦Grammar Breakdown

WarumwillstdudiesenJob?

1

Warum (interrogative adverb)

Used at the beginning of a question to ask for a reason; it does not change form.

2

willst (2nd person singular of wollen)

‘wollen’ means ‘to want’. In present tense with ‘du’, the ending is –st: willst.

3

du (personal pronoun)

The informal singular ‘you’; placed after the verb in yes‑no questions.

4

diesen (accusative masculine demonstrative)

‘dies‑’ means ‘this/these’. In the accusative masculine singular it becomes ‘diesen’, matching ‘Job’.

5

Job (masculine noun, loanword)

A masculine noun borrowed from English; in the accusative it stays ‘Job’.

🗨In Conversation

A

Warum willst du diesen Job?

Why do you want this job?

Ich finde die Aufgaben spannend und das Unternehmen hat einen guten Ruf.

I find the tasks exciting and the company has a good reputation.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Warum willst du zu diesen Job?

    ‘zu’ is not used before a direct object in this construction.

  • Warum willst du der Job?

    The demonstrative must match the accusative case; ‘der’ is nominative.

  • Warum willst du diesen Job zu?

    Placing ‘zu’ after the noun creates an ungrammatical infinitive construction.

↔Alternatives

  • Warum möchtest du diesen Job?

    Why would you like this job?

  • Was reizt dich an diesem Job?

    What attracts you to this job?

  • Warum interessierst du dich für diese Stelle?

    Why are you interested in this position?

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Cultural Tip

German interview culture values directness and concrete arguments. Rather than vague answers, give specific reasons (e.g., the company’s projects, growth opportunities). If you want to sound a bit more polite, replace ‘willst’ with ‘möchtest’, which softens the request without losing clarity.