How To Answer "What Motivates You?" (With Examples) (2024)

“What motivates you” is one of the most common questions you’ll hear at a job interview, so knowing how to answer it is essential. Your answer provides interviewers with insight into the “why” of your career, which is often lacking in resumes and most cover letters.

In this article, we’ll go over how to answer “What motivates you?”, provide a what motivates you to work sample answer, and go over what to avoid doing when answering questions relating to motivations.

Key Takeaways:

• When answering this interview question, be sure that you’re concise, upbeat, and relevant and relate it to the job that you’re interviewing for by emphasizing relevant skills and personality traits.

• Another way to answer this question is to share a headline about what motivates you, where you want to go next in your career and any support you need.

• Avoid long-winded answers, negativity, and tangible rewards because employers know that you’re there for a paycheck — they want to know what else inspires you.

• This common interview question is asked because the interviewer wants to know more about you as a person and a coworker and help determine if you’ll fit in.

How to answer “what motivates you?”

To answer “What motivates you?” you need to first read the job description and look for any soft skills that describe your ideal candidate and then reflect on your past accomplishments. This will allow you to come up with an answer. Below is a more detailed list of how to answer questions relating to what motivates you to do a good job:

1. Read the job description. Before the interview and before you start preparing an answer, re-read the job description. Look for the soft skills that describe an ideal employee, as well as the main responsibilities of the job.

   Authenticity is encouraged, but a strong answer will show that you paid attention to the job description. For example, if you see that the job doesn’t involve much collaboration or interpersonal communication, you probably shouldn’t say how you’re motivated by personal interaction and teamwork.

   See Also

   The 3 Important Qualities of Customer Service | Brittany HodakMotivation Letter Writing Guide + Examples for 202412 Top Reasons to Get a Customer Support Job, Straight from a RepThe Five Features of Five Star Customer Service

2. Reflect on your past accomplishments. To start putting together an answer, look back on your most significant professional achievements. Don’t just focus on moments when you were praised by a boss or given a reward like a bonus or a plaque.

   Instead, reflect on moments when you felt proud of your work or experienced a sense of meaning and purpose in your professional life. Of course, these events may have been complemented by external praise or rewards; just don’t make those your criteria for what you consider an accomplishment, especially for a question like this.

3. Look back on your history in the field. A very brief history of your interest and entry into the field can provide great insight into your motivations.

   For example, having an impactful teacher who made a big difference in your life could have gotten you into education, or an experience of providing emergency support to a stranger in need sparked a desire to become an EMT.

4. Prepare a story. Stories help the hiring manager contextualize the rest of your answer. If you simply say you’re motivated by solving problems and helping people, it’s a pretty flat statement.

   Bringing up a story about how you stayed late during the holiday rush because you were so motivated to make sure each customer was satisfied makes for a much more memorable answer.

5. Mention your motivation to apply for the job. Finally, it’s wise to bring your answer back around to the job you’re applying for as you wrap your answer up. Tie in those details from the job description that we mentioned in step one.

   That way, you can make sure that your motivating factors line up perfectly with the ideal candidate outlined in the job posting. Of course, don’t go so far with this that you give an inauthentic answer.

What motivates you sample answers

Below are some what motivates you sample answer for different situations to help you be ready for this common interview question:

1. Past results and new challenges example answer

   I’m motivated by my past achievements. I strive for constant improvement, which is why I make it a goal to acquire at least one new certification each year. Taking on a new challenge and coming out the other side with more knowledge and resilience is my chief motivation. It’s led to some great results. Just last year, after picking up a certification in Google Analytics, I was immediately able to make small optimizations to our site that made a significant difference.

   Part of what excited me about this role is that it interacts with a wide palette of clients and departments. I enjoy a job where I’m kept on my toes and constantly incentivized to get out of my comfort zone and learn more.

2. Deadlines example answer

   A fast-paced, deadline-centric work environment has always been my best motivator. In my last position as an editor, I had to handle over 40 articles a week for my company’s blog while managing a team of writers. I have a knack and love for planning and organization, so developing and maintaining a spreadsheet to keep my tasks and delegated tasks was a real treat for me.

   I was always able to hit and exceed my success metrics thanks to my keen sense of deadlines and my motivation to reach milestones on assignments. That experience has set me up to thrive working for a publication like yours.

3. Solving problems example answer

   I’ve always been motivated by meeting new people and solving problems. Customer service is a natural fit for my inclinations and motivations. From my first retail job in high school, I knew that helping people get what they need out of an experience was satisfying for me.

   Helping people as a customer success manager as part of a web development team proved a bit trickier than helping people pick the right sneakers, but with greater challenges, I felt even more motivated. Accomplishing 98% positive customer feedback over 2020 was a major achievement for me, as it brought my company over $200,000 in return and subscription-based customers.

   ABC Corp.’s commitment to top-notch customer service is well-known, and I’d be thrilled to work in this environment and continue developing my customer service skills.

4. What is your motivation for applying for this job example answer

   I was motivated to apply for this position because I want to work for a company that is dedicated to making a positive impact in the marketing industry. I have always been passionate about marketing and being part of a team that is actively contributing to its growth and advancement is something that excites me.

   This position also aligns with my skill set and allows me to leverage my strengths effectively. As I reviewed the job description, I was excited to see that the role requires a combination of attention to detail and communication skills. These are areas that I have excelled in and received recognition in the past.

   Overall I was motivated to apply for this position because I feel that my skills and dedication to the marketing field would make me an asset to your team.

   See Also

   7 Must-Have Qualities of a Stellar Customer Service Rep

5. what motivates you where you want to go next in your career example answer

   Continuous learning is one of my biggest motivators when it comes to my career journey. I am passionate about staying at the forefront of industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies. I believe that ongoing education and skill development are crucial for professional growth and for remaining adaptable in this field.

   I seek out new opportunities to attend workshops, conferences, and online courses to help stay updated on new trends. I also collaborate with some more experienced colleagues to expand my expertise and gain new perspectives.

Common mistakes to avoid when answering

You should avoid rambling, being negative, and focusing on yourself too much. Below is a more detailed list of common mistakes to avoid when answering “What motivates you?”

• Rambling. Your answer to this question should be clear and concise. Hit a few major points — don’t get caught up in a long autobiographical tale of how you got into the field.

• Being negative. For pretty much all the most common interview questions, you want to avoid negativity. Your motivations should be because you enjoy something, not because you’re trying to avoid something (like getting fired).

• Being too focused on yourself. It’s hard to not get laser-focused on yourself with interview questions like these, but it’s important you tie back your motivators to the job in question.

Tips for answering “what motivates you?”

Your answer should be relevant to the position you are applying for and you should have examples to back up your motivators. Below are some more tips to keep in mind when answering this interview question:

1. Keep your answer relevant. Interviewers choose questions for strategic reasons, and you need to answer with your motivation in a way relevant to the position.

   If it’s a non-profit, focus on feeling good about helping people. If it’s a sales position, talk about satisfaction from exceeding goals.

2. Be prepared with examples to back up your motivators. You can help recruiters see that you’re right for the job by coming prepared with real-life examples of how you’ve excelled in the areas the job requires. It’s not exactly a behavioral interview question, but you can still incorporate past examples using the STAR method of when your motivations helped you succeed.

3. Bring your personality into it. Mentioning hobbies is an excellent way to subtly describe yourself as an individual, but relate them to professional situations. For example, if you enjoy strategy games, you can bring up how you enjoy the sense of achievement you get when you solve a puzzle or figure out a replicable tactic.

4. Be specific. Being vague on a question like this probably won’t hurt you much, but it won’t help you either. Discuss specific elements of your job that you find motivating, bring in examples, and draw it all back to the job description when appropriate.

5. Think about how your answer reflects on you as a coworker. Interviewers want to know what you’ll be like as an employee and as a coworker.
   Hiring isn’t just about who has the best skills to do the job; it’s also about who will fit in best with the workplace. Interviewers think about the fact that they’re going to be around whoever they hire quite a bit.

6. Be aware of variants of this question. The interviewer may not ask verbatim “What motivates you?” but instead:

   • “What makes you, you?”

   • “What makes you tick?”

   • “What are you passionate about?”

   The tips and tricks in this article apply to these questions as well, and they serve a similar purpose to the interviewer.

“What motivates you?” interview question FAQ

1. What are the top three motivators at work?

   The top three motivators in the workplace are recognition, compensation and benefits, and company culture. Being recognized by managers for the work that you do can help you stay motivated to do your work and improve. Compensation is also a good motivator for employees, but having too much or too little pay could reduce someone’s productivity. Company culture is also a big motivator for employees. Having a sense of belonging helps promote teamwork and productivity.

2. What is the benefit of being motivated at work?

   A benefit of being motivated at work allows for there to be greater levels of creativity and innovation. When you are motivated as an employee, an obstacle won’t stop you from finding a solution. You are able to be more creative in your problem-solving techniques.

3. What is one way to be more motivated at work?

   To help you be more motivated at work, create small, achievable goals. If a big project or task is overwhelming you and stopping you from being motivated to do it, create small achievable goals. Creating smaller goals allows you to see the progress of a task. Do this by making a to-do list or breaking the project up into sections to make it easier to work.

4. What is an example answer to questions relating to motivation?

   An example answer to questions relating to motivation would be learning new things. Telling an interviewer that you love to learn new things and improve your skills shows that you are motivated and eager to do a job. Hiring managers want to hire someone to complete a job and it also shows that you want to be at the company for a long time.

5. How do you get more motivation?

   Setting goals that interest you and making those goals public or sharing them with others are ways to help you get more motivation. You can also break your goals into smaller, more manageable goals and plot your progress to show you the things that you have completed. Using a reward system is also a great way to keep you motivated to complete your goals.

Final thoughts

Answering the most common interview questions doesn’t have to be hard. Take a step back, do some self-reflection, and you’ll have a winning answer to “what motivates you” in no time. It’s not just about landing the job either.

Learning what motivates you can help you get a job offer, sure, but it’s also an important step in determining your career goals. Look at your strengths, the reasons for your past accomplishments, and areas where you get excited about work, and you’ll be on your way to a more fulfilling career.

References

1. Harvard Extension School – How to Ace an Interview