When asked the interview question “What motivates you?”, it’s important to provide a thoughtful and honest answer that reflects your genuine motivations while also aligning with the job you’re applying for. Here are some tips and examples to help you craft your response:

Tips for Answering:

1. Self-Reflection: Consider what truly drives you in your professional life. It could be solving problems, helping others, achieving goals, learning new things, etc.
2. Align with Job Role: Tailor your answer to match the job you are applying for. Show how your motivation will help you succeed in that role.
3. Provide Examples: Use specific examples to illustrate your motivation. This makes your answer more concrete and believable.
4. Stay Positive: Focus on positive motivations rather than negative ones (e.g., avoid saying you are motivated by avoiding failure).

Example Answers:

1. Problem-Solving: “I am highly motivated by problem-solving. I enjoy analyzing a situation, finding the root cause, and coming up with effective solutions. In my previous role, I was often tasked with troubleshooting system errors, and I found great satisfaction in resolving issues that improved our overall workflow.”
2. Helping Others: “Helping others is a strong motivator for me. In my current role as a customer service representative, I find it rewarding to assist customers in finding solutions to their problems and ensuring they have a positive experience with our company. Knowing that I can make someone’s day a little better motivates me to perform at my best.”
3. Achieving Goals: “I am driven by setting and achieving goals. Whether it’s meeting a tight deadline, reaching sales targets, or completing a challenging project, I thrive on the sense of accomplishment that comes from achieving my objectives. For example, in my last job, I set a personal goal to increase my sales by 20% in a quarter, and I exceeded that by implementing a new sales strategy.”
4. Learning and Growth: “Continuous learning and personal growth motivate me. I believe that there’s always something new to learn and ways to improve. In my previous position, I took the initiative to enroll in professional development courses to enhance my skills in project management, which not only benefited my personal growth but also improved my team’s efficiency.”
5. Making an Impact: “Making a meaningful impact through my work is what drives me. I want to contribute to projects that have a positive effect on the company and its customers. In my last role, I led a team to develop a new software feature that significantly improved user satisfaction and retention rates, which was incredibly fulfilling.”