Я выбрала эту вакансию не потому, что она ближе к дому, а потому, что мне интересна сама должность.

Выбрала is the past tense form for a female speaker.

• я выбрал = I chose (said by a man)
• я выбрала = I chose (said by a woman)

In Russian past tense, the verb agrees with the speaker’s gender in the singular.

Because выбрать takes a direct object, and the direct object here is in the accusative case.

Dictionary forms:

• эта = this
• вакансия = vacancy / job opening

Accusative forms:

• эту
• вакансию

So:

• Я выбрала эту вакансию = I chose this vacancy/job opening

Both the adjective/pronoun and the noun change because they must match in case, gender, and number.

They are related, but not identical.

• вакансия = vacancy, job opening, the available position being advertised
• должность = position, role, post, the actual job itself

So the sentence is roughly saying:

• I chose this job opening not because it is closer to home, but because the position itself interests me.

Using both words is natural:

• first, the speaker refers to the opening they chose
• then they explain that what matters is the role itself

This is a very common Russian pattern meaning:

• not because ..., but because ...

So:

• не потому, что она ближе к дому, а потому, что мне интересна сама должность = not because it is closer to home, but because the position itself is interesting to me

This structure is fixed and very common in both speech and writing.

Because что introduces a subordinate clause.

Russian normally uses commas before что in structures like:

• Я знаю, что...
• Я думаю, что...
• не потому, что..., а потому, что...

So here the commas separate the main structure from the clauses:

• не потому, что она ближе к дому
• а потому, что мне интересна сама должность

Она refers to вакансия.

Since вакансия is a feminine noun, the pronoun used to refer to it is also feminine:

• вакансия → она

So:

• она ближе к дому = it is closer to home

Even though English uses it, Russian uses a gendered pronoun based on the noun’s grammatical gender.

Ближе is the comparative form of близкий / близко and means closer.

So:

• она ближе к дому = it is closer to home

This is exactly the idea of comparison:

• close → closer

Some related forms:

• близкий = close
• близко = close / near
• ближе = closer

Russian often uses the comparative in short predicate-style sentences like this.

The preposition к means to / toward, and it requires the dative case.

Dictionary form:

• дом = house / home

Dative form:

• дому

So:

• к дому = to home / to the house In natural English here: closer to home

Russian often expresses something is interesting to someone with this pattern:

• мне интересно
• мне интересна книга
• мне интересна сама должность

Literally:

• to me the position is interesting

So:

• мне интересна сама должность = the position itself interests me / is interesting to me

This is a very common and natural Russian structure.

By contrast:

• я интересуюсь ... means I am interested in ... / I take an interest in ... It is possible in other contexts, but here мне интересна... sounds more direct and natural.

Because the sentence does not mean I am interesting.

Compare:

• мне интересна должность = the position is interesting to me
• я интересна = I am interesting (said by a woman)

So мне is the dative case meaning to me, and интересна agrees with должность, not with я.

Интересна is the short-form adjective, feminine singular, agreeing with должность.

• должность is feminine
• therefore the short form is интересна

Compare:

• фильм интересен = the film is interesting
• книга интересна = the book is interesting
• место интересно = the place is interesting

Russian often uses short-form adjectives in predicate expressions like this:

• мне интересна сама должность

This is more natural here than using the full adjective.

Сама adds emphasis and means something like:

• itself
• the very
• the position itself

So:

• мне интересна сама должность = the position itself interests me

It suggests that the speaker is focusing on the job role itself, not external factors like location, salary, prestige, and so on.

Because должность is feminine, the emphatic word is сама:

• masculine: сам
• feminine: сама
• neuter: само
• plural: сами

Yes. Выбрала is perfective, and it suggests a completed choice:

• выбрать = to choose, to make a choice
• выбирать = to choose, to be choosing, to choose repeatedly/processually

Here the speaker means:

• I chose / I decided on this vacancy

That is a completed action, so выбрала is the natural choice.

If you said выбирала, it would sound more like:

• I was choosing
• I used to choose
• I was in the process of choosing

which does not fit as well here.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the original order is natural and clear.

Original:

• Я выбрала эту вакансию не потому, что она ближе к дому, а потому, что мне интересна сама должность.

This word order works well because:

1. it states the main action first
2. then gives the rejected reason
3. then gives the real reason

You could move some parts around for emphasis, but the original is the most straightforward.

Yes, depending on context.

Strictly:

• вакансия = vacancy / opening

But in natural English, learners will often understand it as:

• job
• position
• role

So a smooth translation might be:

• I chose this job not because it’s closer to home, but because the position itself interests me.

A more literal translation would keep the distinction:

• I chose this vacancy not because it is closer to home, but because the position itself interests me.

Both are useful, depending on whether you want natural English or a closer grammatical gloss.