3 Best Interview Answers. What Motivates You To Do a Good Job?

By Jane Gakaria,
When it comes to interviews, one must try as much as possible to be prepared for the questions the employer is going to ask. That said one of the most common and trickiest question that often gets asked is ‘what motivates you?’ So what is the best way to answer this question? I spoke to Joyce Ndungu, the HR Manager at Africa Reit on how to handle the issue.

To begin with, we must first understand what the question is actually asking you. “As an employer, I’m not asking for what motivated you to apply for the job. I want to know what it is that gets you up in the morning. What drives you and moves you to want to see another day.” She also adds that the answers don’t necessarily need to be about your career but doesn’t mind if you do touch on them.

So what exactly is the importance of the ‘what motivates you’ question? “Well it has 4 main purposes. One, as an employer it helps me get to know and understand what makes you tick. Two, it lets me know what you as a person value and enjoy doing. Three whether you’d be the perfect fit for the position and four, how you would fit in to the team. ”

And what is the best approach for answering this question? “Preparation and Honesty”, Ms. Ndungu states. Prepare thoroughly for all your interview questions. “An employee who’s caught off guard by this question tells me they are confused and are unsure about themselves and their career.”

As a potential employee, try to remind yourself of your wider interests and what you enjoyed at your previous job /internship. What tasks you excelled in and in what environments (busy, loud, deadline drive etc) you worked best in.

Secondly, honesty. Honesty comes into play when employees give the ‘right answers’ but don’t mean a word of it. “There’s no point in impressing me with fancy answers. Should you be lucky enough to land the job but don’t live up to the expectations that you gave, I wouldn’t hesitate to reprimand or even fire you.”

Lastly, what are some good answers to ‘what motivates you?’ “It’s all about the finer details. You should be able to back up whatever you say with examples from your school work, extra-curricular activities or work experience.” Then take these experiences and relate them to the skills required for the job you’re going for.

A few good examples are; ‘I like working with interesting people with fresh ideas, learning new things is a great motivator for me’ or something along the lines of ‘It really excites me to work with clients on a one on one basis, and see positive results.’

In conclusion, always make sure you prepare for your interviews, more so for wider and easily misinterpreted questions such as ‘what motivates you’, be honest, give proper examples and watch as your dream job lands in your hands.

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