In this article, part of our long-running series on how to prepare for popular interview questions, we explore the question “What motivates you at work?” and how to answer it.
Interviewers aren’t just looking to see if you know the industry and understand what the role requires of you. They are also interested to find out what kind of employee you’ll be. How will you show up every day prepared to give your best, and what drives you to be a good fit for their company?
This interview question assesses your culture fit
It is always important to be honest in your interview answers, but here we recommend you are also strategic in what you reveal about yourself. Think of that critical question behind the question: “Are you a good fit for our company?”
Saying that you “just like to do a good job” won’t help your interviewers assess anything about you. There are essentially three parts to this question, and you’ll ideally need to cover all of them:
- What genuinely excites you about work?
- What tasks of the job best fit your interests?
- What do you know about the company culture?
The good news is that you can always prepare these responses ahead of time. The latter is the easiest to find; a quick Google search will help you. Read on to find your answers to the first two questions.
How to determine what excites you about work
We have found the most popular motivating factors for candidates are 1) taking on more responsibility, and 2) achieving goals. These are great factors, but unless you drill into why they motivate you, you’re doing little to differentiate yourself from your peers.
Break down these factors into their parts to answer the question “what motivates you at work?”. Yes, taking on more responsibility means you have more prestige and authority in the company. But it also means that you are keen to continue learning and growing, and companies love to hire people who actively seek continuous learning.
Achieving goals might mean that you like the feeling of making a real impact on the company. Here, we recommend specifying what types of goals especially excite you when you meet them. Perhaps you are interested in helping firms reduce their carbon footprint, or you like to find new ways to help the community. Showing a willingness to pitch in will often make a persuasive case for hiring you; recruitment consultants like to put forward team players.
Even if you love to achieve goals and take on responsibility because you’re driven by recognition, it’s worth mentioning that recognition is a type of feedback. Perhaps getting affirmative feedback is where you thrive and when you feel you most improve.
How to fit your answer to the role
A sales job will need a very different character to an accounting role, so consider how what drives you also fits the tasks at hand. If you are interviewing for a sales position, recruiters will want to find people who get a kick out of meeting targets. In this instance, you will want to highlight how much you enjoy the challenge of setting and reaching your goals.
If you’re interviewing for a role as Chief of Staff, however, consider how important it is to work with others and help them achieve their goals. Helping other people should hopefully be your number one motivating force in this role.
How to present yourself
It is so important to practice, practice, practice for your interviews! And yet, if you sound rehearsed, the interviewer might not take your responses seriously.
We understand that interviews are nerve-wracking, and candidates might feel the need to over-prepare. To help you manage your nerves when answering this question: When you answer, hold in your mind the one moment that motivated you at work. Describe that moment to them, and you’ll be much more likely to convince them that you’re the right candidate for the role.
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If you need more help, we have articles to help you find out your leadership style, what you’re looking for in a new position, how to answer interview questions, and why you want to work for a firm.