When applying for an office, is "my partner lives here" a good reason?

It depends. If it is THE reason, no it is not a good reason. Of course you don't fail if you say this, but it is a missed opportunity. 

If it is one of the reasons, then it is a good reason but I would phrase it differently. See below:

• A great answer combines professional and personal aspects. So you should start with strong professional reasons why there is a mutual fit between you and that office, you can also mention personal reasons that reinforce your commitment to that location.
• I would prefer that you phrase it as “My partner and I decided to live here” as it implies a much stronger commitment to the location (i.e., your partner does not plan to move elsewhere in a short time frame).

The reason why it doesn't work as your single reason is that it implies that if your partner was living somewhere else you would not be applying there, and that if your partner decides to move, you will follow. I.e., your commitment to that office is only circumstancial. This may actually be the truth (and probably a wise decision), but not something you want to convey in a job interview.

If you think you need help with tailoring your answers to these types of questions, feel free to reach out, as this is one of my areas of expertise.

Yes and no. It's a valid reason but it really should not be the only reason. You need to talk about how the office itself appeals to you, how you like the city/region, how you're familiar with the area because of a,b,c. If the only reason you give is that your wife lives there, it's not going to give them a whole lot of confidence that you want to be there and you'll be a good fit!

It's kind of like responding to “why do you want to work for our company” with just “I need a job” or “I want to do consulting”.

Yes, it's one of the better reasons. 

Ideally if you don't have a long-term history with a particular location you are applying for, you should show some long-term commitment to be there. Most firms recruit with the aspiration of you becoming a Partner one day so they don't want people who would use the location only as a launching ramp for their careers. Good luck with the application process!

It depends on the office, or more importantly country. Some offices are competitive enough that they can prioritise local talent who have local experience and language skills. Others will be more open minded (e.g., not everyone working in Dubai speak Arabic, etc.).

Hey there,

If used in combination with other reasons related to why you want to work at Firm X, that is a perfectly reasonable answer.

Fingers crossed!

Cheers,

Florian

It should be one among many other credible reasons.

• Having that as the only reason - may not always be the best choice since it will indicate that the location has higher priority for you v/s the job.
• Primarily, try to associate other more normal reasons that are relevant for the company and the role.
• For location, try to see if you can find a company related reason as well. For example, if someone wants to work on public sector projects then Middle-east is a good location
• Then finally if there is space for another reason you can add that your partner is in the location so it makes it personally convenient for you.
• If you can get the first 3 bullets right then you probably don't need to go to the 4th bullet at all and absolve yourself of any doubts.