It's not a good interview question because it treats something ambiguous and subjective as if it has an obvious answer. Go is a general purpose programming language applicable to a wide variety of programming domains.

So is Java.

Why choose one over the other? I could make an attempt at answering that, but a 2 minute elevator pitch won't do it justice at all.

The best you are going to get is the recounted, received wisdom. Is that wisdom accurate? Are we just selecting whatever flavor of the month opinion hacker news is espousing?

Much more I want a developer who can be productive in an existing codebase, regardless of the language. Someone who plays well with others, is willing to learn, to contribute, to compromise for the sake of the team, etc.