How to Answer the "Motivation" Question

John Krautzel
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Chances are you run across many open-ended questions during a job interview. Glassdoor.com says one of the questions asked the most often tries to determine what drives you to do your best every single day. "What motivates you?" gives you an opportunity to talk about your personality, abilities, skills, enthusiasm and ambitions coming into a new job.

Because this query is so important, you should prepare for your response ahead of the job interview. Have a plan as you develop your answer to the motivation question. Saying the right thing can align your passions with the employer to prove that you're the perfect fit. Here's how to formulate your answer to "What motivates you?"

Reflect on Your Life

Sit down at your desk, and write down an answer. Spend some time pondering why your professional life and your career are so rewarding on a daily basis. Do you take pride in certain projects? If so, why?

Jot down your answers so you can evaluate what inspires you to get out of bed every day and show up at the office for eight hours. Do you enjoy working with your team? Are you in it for the money? Do you love customer interactions? All of these things can lead to creating your story that you tell during a job interview.

Avoid Generic Answers

Don't just give an overriding feeling or theme to your answer and leave it at that. Make the answer personal. If you say, "I really enjoy interacting with people every day," you need to expand on that premise. Explain why and how you enjoy these interactions. Leave nothing to chance, and tell detailed, personal stories within a one-minute response.

As an example, relate how you watched your father interact with his co-workers and how he inspired you to become a better person. Your motivation stems from wanting to emulate your dad and make him proud of your work ethic. That's the kind of story HR wants to hear in a job interview.

Be Honest

Present your genuine personality throughout the job interview. Your honesty should impress the interviewers regardless of any shortcomings they perceive.

Stay Positive

Your positive attitude from start to finish shows your motivation just as much as your answer to the question. Show your enthusiasm when you talk about what motivates your professional life.

Remain Concise

You could talk for hours about what drives you to succeed. Unfortunately, you only have 90 seconds, tops, to explain yourself. Put your best asset forward, and talk about the number one important factor that motivates you to come to work every day. Tie in your most important accomplishments, experiences and abilities to form a brief statement. You obviously enjoy the things at which you excel, so start with those items.

Concrete Examples

Mention concrete examples of things that motivate you at the workplace. Coaching others to make them succeed, meeting project goals, providing excellent customer service and increasing the company's revenue are all great things to mention. Fill in the details of how you do these things to create a viable story.

The job interview is your place to shine. Showing and explaining your motivation goes a long way to alleviating any worries the hiring manager may have about whether you are a perfect fit.


Photo courtesy of iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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  • JESUS GARZA
    JESUS GARZA

    Thank you for all these advice(s) because they are so valuable to be analyzed and useful to shine along the job interview meeting. Correct and nice thoughts, thank you again Mr. Krautzel. "Oldman EP, TX" "chuymiguel4@yahoo.com"

  • Reynaldo Betancourt
    Reynaldo Betancourt

    Thi is very good i like

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