Interview Question Series: How to Answer Motivation-Based Questions

Most people who apply for jobs dread or feel nervous about their job interview questions because of all the tricky questions employers tend to throw at you during the interviewing process. But there’s absolutely no need to worry; once you’ve read this guide to answering those difficult ‘motivation-based’ questions for your next interview, you’ll walk away feeling confident after impressing your interviewer.

Recruiters love to determine what exactly your motivation for the job is. This can give them great insights into your work ethic, commitment and whether you’re just looking for a short stint, or dedicated to a long career.

You may even be asking yourself: what exactly is motivation? Well, the definition often means ‘a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way” In the context of work, it’s often used to represent psychological characteristics that drive you to accomplish your goals and prospects; and understanding this is the key to answering motivation questions in interview scenarios.

When sitting in an interview, the most important thing to think about is what exactly drives you to accomplish your goals and targets. It may be the following:

• A desire for a high salary
• A need for success
• To be recognised for your skills and experience
• Job satisfaction
• To be able to contribute and make a difference
• To be better at what you do in your field of work

These particular ideas are key motivators for the majority of individuals. So, in saying this, you may be sitting in your interview and you get asked the question: “what motivates you?” which is often a popular interview question that most people get stuck on answering. It doesn’t seem like a difficult question, but you may find yourself thinking about how to approach it. Well, with the following approaches, you’ll be able to answer this question with confidence:

If you want to make a good impression during your interview and ensure you’re at the top of the list in the recruiter’s mind, this is the best way to answer motivation- based questions.

It’s important to note when answering this that your answers should also be fit for the job you’re applying for and your answers for motivation should centre around the job description and the work-environment. For example, if you’re applying for a job for accounting and you say that you are motivated by other people or interpersonal communications (working with people) then you may not be considered for the job.

However, if you say that you are motivated by challenge and a keen eye for detail with a can-do attitude, then this would be more suited to accounting. In order to impress the hiring manager it’s important to note these requirements during the interview process in relation to self-motivation.

An article by Total-jobs mentioned that “what motivates you?” was listed as one of the top interview questions, alongside others such as “what can you bring to the company”, and with questions such as this one, motivation becomes an essential aspect of answering these questions surround your ability to highlight their key motivators and the positives it will bring to your potential new job, showing that you’ll make an excellent team member and setting you apart from other job candidates.

And so, when answering this question, it’s best to think about what you can bring to the specific job you’re applying for to have the best outcome, and to also make your employer have more confidence in your ability to take on the job. Your answers should always suggest that you’re a well-fitting candidate for this particular work style and required job responsibilities that reflects the wider interests of the hiring managers during the interviewing process.