What motivates you

Motivation is a powerful tool. It drives you to complete tasks and encourages you to keep going when times get tough. Whether it’s physical, mental, or emotional, selfish or altruistic, motivation matters, particularly on the job. The issue is that motivation is often highly personal. That’s why answering “What motivates you?” during a job interview can be so tricky. If you’re trying to figure out how to answer the “What motivates you,” interview question, here’s what you need to know… Why Do Hiring Managers Ask “What Motivates You?” So, why do hiring managers like to ask this question? Is it because they want to see job seekers stumble? No, that isn’t the case. There are actually several important things an interviewer can learn about the interviewee based on their answer, including just what sort of person they really are and how that matches up with what the company is looking for in a new hire. Hiring managers want to know what you like doing and why you like doing it. They also want to know what you’re good at. They’re looking for answers that show them examples of characteristics you possess that will help them decide if you’re going to be a great employee: • • Are you a team player or a lone wolf? • Do your • Do they align with the company overall? • Are you applying for a position that you’ll want to excel at, or are you just there for a paycheck? To sum it up even more, they’re trying to figure out exactly how you view and approach success and what drives you. In ...

Motivation is generally described as the force that drives us to pursue a goal (the desired outcome). Motivation is a starting point for all choices (e.g., careers, spouses, hobbies). In general, we are motivated to maximize pleasure and minimize pain (Touré-Tillery & Fishbach, 2017). However, people are driven by more than just carrot/stick motivators in pursuing their goals (Sharot 2017). • External incentives. If you want people to do something, emphasizing rewards (e.g., money) is powerful. But the external rewards encourage a focus on short-term results at the expense of long-term ones. • Avoiding losses. We like to win, but we hate to lose. We feel the pain of loss more deeply than we feel the pleasure of gain. For example, consumers are more responsive to a price increase than to decrease. Loss aversion produces inertia or status quo • Hitting “rock bottom.” The concept of “hitting bottom” suggests that people must “hit rock bottom” before they may change. In the • • Maintaining a positive • Self-validation. People are also motivated to verify or confirm their existing self-views. That is why we prefer to associate with those who see us the way we see ourselves and avoid those who do not. For example, being with a partner who confirms your self-view as a spouse makes you feel better about yourself. • Curiosity. Aristotle maintained that “all men by nature desire to know.” We are hardwired with the desire to learn and explore the world. Curiosity is viewed as arising...

How to Answer the “What Motivates You?” Interview Question November 17, 2022 | By Corissa Peterson | Reviewed by When you get asked “What motivates you” in an interview, you need to give your interviewer an answer that demonstrates how you’re a great match for the role. We’ll show you how with our guide and examples below. When you’re getting ready for an interview, you need to prepare yourself for a wide range of While there’s not really a wrong way to answer this question, there is a way to answer that makes your interviewer think, “This candidate is a great match for the role!” We’re going to help you figure out what that answer is. Why do employers ask the interview question “What motivates you?” Employers have different versions of this popular interview question. Here are some variations to watch for: • What drives you? • What energizes you to perform your best? • What motivates you to come to work every day? • What motivates you to succeed? • What inspires you to do your best? Ultimately, employers who ask these questions are all looking for the same thing. It should go without saying that when employers ask, “What motivates you”, they really mean “What motivates you other than a paycheck?” We all know that compensation is a huge driving factor behind any job search, but including that in your answer will do more harm than good. This is especially true if you’re currently employed and this question is a follow-up to “ Similarly, employers who ask this question aren’...

Do you know what drives you? Understanding motivations will help you get where you are going. Photo: ... [+] Shutterstock Early in my management career I learned to ask my employees, “What motivates you?” Sometimes I had to help my colleagues dig a bit to identify their motivations, but when I did, I was able to clearly identify incentives that were more likely to inspire great performance. It also increased my understanding of them as a person, which is always a good management practice. Along the way I realized that asking the question of myself was also helpful as a tool for self-awareness and aligning my own work and, interestingly, my life. By identifying my motivations I was able to figure out what really mattered to me and why, and started to build a more joyful life. The thing about questioning your motivation — or anyone else’s — is that you need to ask without judgment. Aligning yourself around what you think should motivate you is completely counterproductive. All motivations can be aligned in a positive way. In fact, you are more likely to make a big positive impact if you align around your true motives and tune them in a positive way. For example, if money motivates you and you make a lot of it, you can give a portion of it away to causes that important to you. If you’re looking to identify what motivates you, here are a few common motivations (and pitfalls). You can use these motivations to your advantage in aligning your career and your life. Money : Money i...

Answering the most important do’s and don’ts. Then, we’ll look at multiple sample answers so you can give the best response possible. First, Why Do Employers Ask This Interview Question? There are a few reasons that employers will ask what motivates you. For one, they want to get a sense of your personality and who you are. But more importantly, they want to see how you’ll react to obstacles at work, and whether you’ll stay determined and motivated. So when the interviewer asks you this question, they want to see that you will stay motivated and Here are some further guidelines and examples for answering questions about what motivates you. How to Answer “What Motivates You?”– Do’s and Don’ts Do’s: When employers ask interview questions about what motivates you to work, you need to show them that you’re not just coming to work for the paycheck. Your answer doesn’t have to be some heartfelt story about how your grandmother had an illness and you dedicated your life to finding a cure. But do some self-reflection and come up with a clear, good answer for what drives you at work each day aside from the money. Real-life examples: You can say you’re motivated by solving complex technical challenges (if you’re a software engineer, etc.) You can say you love collaborating and accomplishing big things as a part of a team. You can say you enjoy work that has a meaningful impact, such as creating products that improve people’s lives. You can also talk about personal interests that tie...

Asking you what motivates you is a very common job interview question and is asked to understand your intrinsic motivation. The hiring manager needs to know that you will be a good fit for the company culture and that you will be motivated to do your best work for the company and that you are committed for the long run. Here are 10 of the best answers that are sure to make a positive impression at your next interview. 5 Tips for Your Answer • The best way to have a great answer is to target your job search for a job you want in the first place. • Where possible, provide specific examples from a previous job. • Customize your answer based on the job description to show you are the best fit. • Talk about your long-term goals and how this is a great job for working towards them. • Say that you get a sense of accomplishment when you have done a good job for the company. 5 Mistakes to Avoid • Do not be too personal, for example, “I am motivated by having fun.” • Do not say that you are motivated by money. • Do not provide short-term goals that, once fulfilled, will cause you to leave. • Do not say “I don’t know” or be too general, e.g., “I like doing a good job.” • Do not lie. Always give an honest answer. If you lie to get a new job, you will be dissatisfied and leave quickly. 10 Best Example Answers to “What motivates you?” Example #1: Motivated by Hard Work and Providing for My Family My three sources of primary motivation are meeting deadlines, learning new things, and prov...

When you’re applying for a job, you’ll hear a lot of interview questions—and some are trickier than others. One that’s common, but might catch you off guard, is, "What motivates you?" The interviewer is looking for insight into why and how you are motivated to achieve workplace goals and succeed at the job. • Practice your response beforehand, since if you write out some ideas of what motivates you, it will make it easier to answer the question during the interview. • Focus your response on the motivators that are the closest match to the employer’s job requirements. • Show how you're qualified—after all, the interview is an opportunity to sell your qualifications to the hiring manager. What the Interviewer Wants To Know In asking this question, interviewers hope to figure out what makes you tick and what drives you to succeed. They also want to determine whether your motivators will be a fit for the job's duties and the For the hiring manager, it's important to learn whether your motivators align with the job's responsibilities. If you're motivated by a challenging workplace, for example, you may not be the best fit for a routine data entry job. Honest answers can help reveal what circumstances help you feel excited and enthused. (Another common variant of this interview question is, " There's a big difference between the candidate who's motivated by building teams and establishing strong relationships with co-workers, and the candidate whose best day is working independe...