How to Answer the “What Keeps You Motivated” Interview Question

Many candidates are thrown by the question, “what motivates you?” ” because it is comprehensive and easy to misunderstand, and it can catch you off guard if you haven’t thought about it ahead of time. The best answers to interview questions about your motivation are honest, but they should also be relevant to the job you’re applying for by implying that you’d be a good fit.

Why do they ask, “What keeps you motivated.”

Potential employers inquire about your motivations in life. And when you respond to this, they constantly monitor your response and try to relate it to your job application.

The potential employer asks this question to determine whether you are enthusiastic and prepared for your work daily and how you would complete your work within deadlines, overcome various challenges, and contribute new creative ideas to their companies.

They’re interested in your personality and who you are as a person.

But, more importantly, they want to see your tenacity, perseverance, and so on.

How you plan to deal with obstacles and setbacks (a problematic project, being asked to do something that isn’t exactly on your job description, having to work late, fill in for another team member, etc.)

And how you’ll deal with it if the job is more challenging to learn and start than you anticipated.  They don’t want to hire someone who will leave and waste their time.

How to Respond to the Question

When answering questions about what motivates you, keep the following guidelines in mind.

You must demonstrate that you are not just coming to work for the money because it will cast doubt on how you will respond when things get tough. It doesn’t have to be some touching story about how your grandmother was afflicted, and you dedicated your life to finding a cure, etc.

You can say that solving complex technical challenges motivates you (if you’re a software engineer, for example).

You can say that you appreciate cooperating and achieving great things as part of a team and that this is what motivates you to do your best every day (only say this if the job involves teamwork).

You can say you like meaningful work… making products that improve people’s lives. However, only state this if the company you’re interviewing with has products that change people’s lives. Don’t say this if they’re selling payroll software.

Everything you say in the interview should be customized to the company. You must consider the job they are offering and ensure that your responses are relevant to it, or they will not hire you. You can also discuss personal interests that are relevant to the job.

Maybe you’re a massive fan of playing the guitar but never made it as a professional. So you’re looking for work as a music producer. Alternatively, you could work as a guitar designer. Or a guitar instructor, for example.

Another example: perhaps you were an athlete in high school and college, which is your passion. This is an excellent explanation for why you’re interviewing for any athletic job and what motivates you every day.

It could be for a job as a personal trainer, coach, physical therapist, scout, or other sports-related position.

What not to say when asked this question

Don’t just bring up the subject of money. Everyone comes to work to earn a living. The interviewer is aware. If you are asked in an interview, “what motivates you?” they would prefer to hear something other than money.

If you appear overly concerned with money in your interviews, this is most likely why you are unable to find work.

The only exception is commission-based work, such as sales. If you get paid every ten working days, you’ll need something else to keep you motivated the other nine. That is what they are concerned with.

Also, don’t feel obligated to fabricate an impressive story. Inform the truth. It could be a straightforward answer. With this interview question, being dishonest is not a good idea.

Sample Answers for “What Motivates You”

Sample Answer 1

I enjoy pushing myself and moving forward on a personal level. That’s what drew me to Sales. It’s honestly tricky because it forced me to learn new skills that I would never have tried on my own, such as cold calling someone or striking up a conversation with a bunch of strangers. It’s changed my level of confidence and my entire career, not just my career, and this keeps me motivated and gets me through difficult days or days when things don’t go my way.

Remember, never bring up the subject of money in your response! If you’re not sure why to go back and reread the article. It is one of the most important points brought up.

Remember that one of your main goals is to demonstrate that you will work hard and “stick with it” rather than quitting if things get tough. That is why the question “What motivates you?” is so common in interviews.

If you look at the example answer above, you’ll notice that the end of the solution is focused on demonstrating to them that I’ll stick with the work even when things get tough. It would help if you strived to do so as well.

Sample answer 2

After seeing multiple family members suffer from addiction, I knew I wanted to work in addiction research and treatment after graduating with a degree in Psychology. The potential impact of this research is enormous, which keeps me motivated. Also, the field is constantly evolving and providing new challenges to keep me growing professionally. I enjoy my work and intend to do so for the rest of my career.” You don’t have to get too personal in your response, though. It’s perfectly acceptable to say something like, “I’ve always enjoyed math and computers.” I don’t have a personal reason; it’s just something I’m interested in doing.

Few tips for answering this question

Here are some pointers to help you understand the motivation.

The following are some pointers to help you answer the question, “What motivates you at work?”

• Always tell the truth about what motivates you at work to be given the opportunity in your career job.
• It would help if you never said during an interview that you don’t know what motivates you; this may negatively impact the interviewer.
• You should answer this question with enthusiasm and power; your voice should be very active, and you should be self-confident.
• If you have applied for a position as a team leader, you should always be prepared to answer questions from the recruiter about what motivates you to be a leader.
• So your response should be robust, with a confident tone, and you should try to tell them that a good leader always motivates by the quality of their work and meeting deadlines.
• Before going to an interview, you should always prepare yourself and understand what motivates you.
• You can ask yourself questions to get you thinking about examples from the present or the past. And from there, you can easily find an answer to this question.
• In your response, you should always use solid words and demonstrate to the employer that you have very creative ideas and that you will help in their organization if they hire you.

In conclusion

These suggestions will help you during the interview when the recruiter or hiring manager inquires about your motivation.

All of the descriptive information will be useful to you during the interview.

Even if you have completed all of the interview process steps, if you cannot accurately answer what motivates you to succeed in life, the employer will be concerned about your applied job profile.

There are some tips in this article that will help you know what to say, what to avoid, and what essential things to remember during the interview. It will assist you in finding a simple way to express your motivation.