A job candidate who was asked why he wanted to work at a company told the interviewer he needs the money, and the blunt reply has gone viral after a Reddit user shared the story.

The user wrote about a month of job hunting. By his account, he had sat through interviews at seven to eight companies and felt mentally stressed and worn out by the process.

The breaking point came when another interviewer asked the same familiar question. Nearly every candidate arrives with a prepared, flattering answer about admiring the company’s mission or growth. He decided he had nothing left to hide.

When the interviewer asked, ‘Why do you want to work at our company?’, he took a deep breath and answered plainly. The job pays well, he said, and he needs money right now. He added that he believes he fits the role and can handle the work efficiently.

’To be honest, this job pays a good salary, and I need money very badly right now.’

He admitted he was worried the answer would cost him the job. He had expected the room to go cold.

It didn’t. The manager nodded in apparent satisfaction and responded with praise. ‘We really liked your honesty,’ the interviewer said, adding that many people try to put together some kind of made-up story.

Public reaction split quickly. Some commenters argued that questions like this are pointless and that money is what matters to most people in the end. They said employers should stop asking questions that invite rehearsed answers.

Others took a different view. They said few people in the corporate world would have the nerve to speak so directly, and they praised him for telling the truth without hiding behind polished language.

What the story does and does not tell us. The post does not say whether the candidate got the job. The interviewer’s praise was real, according to the account, but a good reception in the room does not guarantee an offer. The Reddit user’s story is one person’s account, shared on social media, and it has not been independently verified beyond the post itself.

Still, the exchange has struck a nerve. It raises a question many job seekers quietly ask themselves: why do companies keep asking for a love story about the brand when the paycheck is usually the first reason anyone shows up? The candidate’s answer was not clever or polished. It was simple, and that may be exactly why people keep sharing it.

For now, the young man has become one of the more talked-about job seekers online. He said what many candidates think but rarely say out loud in an interview room, and the response suggests that a little candor may be more memorable than the rehearsed lines most people bring with them.