“WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?” HOW TO ANSWER THIS DREADED QUESTION?
This article was updated on 25/June/2020
MBA graduates and students have to go through numerous interviews throughout their course of study. To get admission to the premier institute of their choice, they often have to face an interview round with their potential professors. While they graduate or immediately after graduating, they are offered jobs by various companies and for these jobs, they have to go through interviews.
While various questions about almost everything are asked during these interviews, one of the most difficult questions asked by hiring managers is “What motivates you?” This question can make even the most confident candidates nervous. Here, we will discuss how MBA students can best tackle this question and answer it to the best of their abilities.
Understand the question
“What motivates you?” is a two-tier question. It is asked by hiring managers who want to assess the interviewee based on what sort of person he is and whether he is a good fit for the position and the company overall. They want to know what does the interviewee do, and why does he do that, and does he like doing that, whether he works better in teams or is a lone wolf, whether his goals align with the job and whether he wants to excel in the field he has applied for.
To answer these questions and to present a coherent answer before the interviewer, the interviewee must have asked himself these questions long before the interviewer does. He must know what motivates him to do the tasks he does and why he has applied for that particular position. He must know whether his motivation is physical, mental, selfish, or altruistic and whether he is driven by personality, skills, expectations, gender, or anything else in a vast array of options. The interviewee must focus on both, what motivates him in life and what motivates him at work. He needs to find out what he enjoys doing the most and why he enjoys that specific activity so much.
While answering what motivates him at work the interviewee must introspect, find out what drives him, and focus on that. It could be a love for the sense of accomplishment after finishing a big project on time and under budget, or it could be a love for the praise that comes his way after finishing a particularly difficult project, or the feeling he got after leading a team successfully. The interviewee must focus on what made the best days the best and work them into his answer to what motivates him in life. The answer should include success stories and highlights and should align the interviewee’s focus and motivation with the position he has applied for. This will not only enlighten the hiring manager about the interviewee’s skills and abilities but will also present an example of how the interviewee will act in future situations.
Points to remember
There are several points that an MBA student should keep in mind while answering this critical question:
- Being well prepared to answer this question beforehand. The interviewee must be ready with a well-thought-out answer that has examples from his life or work experience, relating to the position he is applying for.
- The interviewee must be self-aware and truly understand what motivates him. His answer should reflect this as a fast, generic answer will not place well with the hiring manager.
- Being enthusiastic about motivation is always a plus point. The more enthusiastic the interviewee is about what drives him, the more enthusiastic the hiring manager will be.
- Interviewees must be self-motivated. Hiring managers will look at whether he is strong enough to complete tasks on his own even if the job position requires him to work for a team. It can be a point of concern if the hiring manager feels that the interviewee will be incapable of completing tasks when left unsupervised.
- Lastly, the interviewee needs to be very honest with his answer.
What not to do
There are some things that you should avoid while answering this question. Let’s discuss that:
- Putting forward an answer which makes the paycheck its focus. This will not sit well with the hiring manager. They already possess this knowledge, they are seeking to know what else motivates the interviewee. Even while answering the question by saying that power and position is motivation, the interviewee must phase it in a specific, better way.
- Being too generic with the answer will also put off the hiring manager. The interviewee must not give an answer that does not contain specific examples from his life relating to the position and why he is the perfect candidate for the job.
- The interviewee must not be dishonest with his answer. He must truly answer the question of what motivates him or else it could severely backfire.
There is not any single correct answer to “what motivates you?” Every answer can be as unique as the person himself. The interviewee must craft an answer using the tips provided above. Introspect is a big advantage and a must in knowing the answer to this question. Therefore, it is very important to create a pleasing response as it will bring the interviewee one step closer to becoming an employee.