How to Answer the “What Motivates You?” Interview Question

What motivates you?” is among the most common interview questions that hiring managers or recruiters ask job candidates. The question aims to help potential employers understand job seekers’ career goals and motivating factors in taking a job. The question also provides insight into whether those motivators will lead to their best work and a sense of accomplishment for employees and employers alike. Asking a job candidate what they’re passionate about can be as crucial to the hiring process as a well-constructed cover letter or detailed work experience on a resume.

For job seekers, answering questions about self-motivation can be tricky. One of the most common mistakes that many candidates make is giving an answer that they think the interviewer wants instead of an honest response that reflects real motivators in their lives. While there is no “perfect answer” to the question, a thoughtful response can help bridge the gap to the next interview and even result in a job offer.

Here are a few ways to answer questions about your motivations, depending on the type of job:

• Meeting deadlines: If your job search has connected you with a deadline-driven company, you can discuss your satisfaction in completing projects on time. Your time-management skills and how they’ve generated success for you at a previous job are also excellent motivators to discuss.
• Customer satisfaction: For interviews concerning a sales position, discuss the importance of the customer experience to you. Meeting customers’ needs is a great motivator; if you were part of a team, mention how you collaborated with team members to make customer satisfaction your primary goal.
• Positive work environment: For managerial positions, you can discuss the importance of team-building and maintaining a positive work environment by completing your work promptly and collaborating with team members to reach major goals. Sharing goals with fellow workers can impress upon an interviewer that you will also share in a company’s success.

Here are some tips for answering motivation questions in a job interview:

1. 1. Preparation is key. “What motivates you?” is an open-ended question that you can answer with specific examples or a vague response. Aim to offer the most thoughtful, honest answer possible to score the job. Consider a few examples from your past roles or personal motivations, and craft a response around them before the interview. Preparing some talking points ahead of time will save you from responding with a vague, unimpressive answer like, “I don’t know.”
2. 2. Connect with the company. Career experts suggest researching the role and the company’s culture before the interview to see what inspires your desire to fill the position. Review the job description and focus on the elements that speak to your personal career goals or passions, and discuss these areas with your interviewer. Self-reflection will help you recall the positive aspects of your current or previous positions. If the job offers training, explain that you want to learn new skills; mention that teamwork is a strong motivator for jobs that involve collaboration.
3. 3. Tell the truth. When an interviewer asks you to tell them about yourself, it isn’t a request for you to share what you think they want to know about you. Be self-aware: if your answers sound embellished to you, hiring managers will most likely feel the same way.

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