“What motivates you?” is often treated as a soft question that only needs a pleasant answer. That is a mistake. Answered well, it tells the interviewer how you will behave in the job on an ordinary Tuesday, long after the excitement of starting has worn off. Answered badly, it is one of the quickest ways to sound interchangeable with every other candidate.
The position taken in this article is simple: the best answer names one or two real motivators, proves them with something you have done, and is honest about the kind of work that brings them out. The rest of the article explains why, and how.
The question is about the job you will actually do
TARGETjobs makes a useful distinction: the question asks what drives you in general, not why you want this particular job. Your reasons for applying belong to a different question. But the interviewer is not asking out of curiosity about your inner life either. TARGETjobs says recruiters want to understand what you enjoy and value, whether you would suit the role and how you would fit into the team.
Put those together and the real question becomes: will the everyday work of this role give you what you need to do it well? A motivator that the job cannot satisfy is a warning sign, however sincere it is. Bright Network gives the example of stressing a love of new challenges when applying for a role that is highly repetitive. The answer is honest, and it still counts against the candidate.
That is why the first piece of preparation is not about you at all. Read the job description and list what the work involves day to day: the proportion of routine to variety, solo to team work, visible results to slow ones. Your answer should fit that picture.
Generic motivators are not wrong, just unfinished
“I’m motivated by challenges.” “I like helping people.” “I want to learn and grow.” Interviewers hear these constantly, and candidates are often told to avoid them. The better view is that they are not wrong; they are incomplete. Most people really are motivated by some version of them. What is missing is the specific form the motivator takes for you, and the evidence.
Compare:
Unfinished: “I’m motivated by solving problems.”
Finished (illustrative): “I’m most motivated by problems where the cause isn’t obvious. In my last role, our monthly stock count kept showing losses that didn’t match any recorded damage. I spent two weeks tracing it and found that returns were being booked to the wrong location. That kind of detective work is what I look forward to, and from the advert, reconciliation and variance analysis are a large part of this job.”
The second answer uses the same motivator. The difference is that it is narrowed to a type of problem, shown in action, and linked to the work. TARGETjobs and Bright Network both recommend the same ingredients: evidence from your studies, work or activities, and a clear link to the role.
Psychology offers a better vocabulary than clichés
If you are struggling to name what drives you, it helps to borrow a framework rather than reach for a slogan. Self-determination theory, which its authors describe as a broad theory of human motivation, has been applied to work organisations in detail. A 2017 review by Edward Deci, Anja Olafsen and Richard Ryan in the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior summarises its central claim: all employees have three basic psychological needs, for competence, autonomy and relatedness, and meeting those needs supports autonomous motivation, high-quality performance and well-being.
You do not need to mention the theory in an interview. But the three needs are a practical way to examine your own experience:
| Need | What it can look like at work | Questions to ask yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Competence | Getting visibly better at something; mastering a hard task; seeing quality improve | When did you last lose track of time because you were improving at something? |
| Autonomy | Owning a piece of work; deciding how to approach it; being trusted with judgement | Which piece of work did you most enjoy owning from start to finish? |
| Relatedness | Working closely with a team; helping colleagues or clients; feeling part of something | Which team or client relationship do you remember most positively, and why? |
The same review distinguishes autonomous motivation, which includes doing something because you find it interesting or genuinely value it, from controlled motivation, which comes from external or internal pressure. That distinction is a good test for your answer. “I’m motivated by not letting my manager down” is controlled motivation; it may be true, but it tells the interviewer you need pressure. Bright Network’s advice to avoid negative reasons, such as fear of getting into trouble, makes the same point in plainer language.
Money is a legitimate motivator and a weak answer
Almost everyone works partly for money, and pretending otherwise rings false. Even so, leading with pay is a poor choice. Bright Network notes that it can suggest you would leave as soon as a better-paid offer appears. The honest middle ground is to recognise that pay matters to you, and to talk about the things that make you want to do the work well once pay is settled. Salary has its own place in the process, usually later and in a different conversation.
There are exceptions. TARGETjobs notes that for a sales role, an answer about hitting targets and earning financial rewards would not be out of place. If commission is built into the role, saying that hitting targets motivates you is not mercenary; it is a sign you understand the job.
Recognition, teamwork and social motivators need care
“I’m motivated by recognition” is honest for many people, but on its own it can sound as though you need constant praise. A more useful framing is that you are motivated by seeing the effect of your work, which might include feedback from clients or managers. Similarly, Bright Network suggests that if teamwork drives you, you frame it around collaboration, not friendships or socialising after work.
The underlying principle is the same each time: describe the motivator in terms of the work, not in terms of what you get from other people.
One or two motivators beat a list
Candidates who are unsure often name four or five motivators in the hope that one will land. The effect is the opposite: a list sounds rehearsed and leaves no time for evidence. Bright Network recommends naming one or two motivators and supporting them with a brief example. One motivator with a strong story is usually better than two with weak ones.
Three illustrative answers
Customer service adviser
“I’m motivated by closing things off properly. I like the moment a customer who rang in frustrated ends the call knowing exactly what will happen next. In my current job I started keeping my own list of follow-ups, and my manager asked me to share it with the team because it cut down repeat calls. This role is mostly inbound support, so I’d get that satisfaction every day.”
Software developer
“I’m motivated by owning something end to end. At my last company I took over a small internal reporting tool nobody wanted, rewrote the slowest parts and wrote the documentation. Seeing people use it without asking me for help was more satisfying than any new project. Your team works in small product squads, which is the kind of ownership I’m looking for.”
Career changer moving from retail into teaching
“What drives me is watching someone go from not understanding to understanding. In retail, the part of the job I enjoyed most was training new staff, and I volunteered to run the induction for our store. Teaching is the job where that moment happens every day, which is why I’ve retrained.”
Each answer names one motivator, gives one piece of evidence and ends with a link to the role. None uses the words “passion” or “challenge”.
When the question comes in a different form
Interviewers vary the wording. The University of Oxford Careers Service’s list of example interview questions includes “What motivates you to put in your greatest effort?” among its strengths-based questions. You may also hear “What gets you out of bed in the morning?” and “What kind of work do you find most rewarding?” Treat them all as the same question. If asked “What demotivates you?”, be honest but brief, choose something the role does not involve, and say what you do about it.
A related question, “What are you passionate about?”, is wider: it often invites interests outside work. Motivation is narrower and closer to the job, and your answer should stay there.
Preparation in practice
The University of Edinburgh’s careers blog suggests starting by working out which motivators matter most to you, and asks readers to consider what the employer is trying to find out with the question. In practice that means three short tasks:
- List three moments at work or study when you were most engaged, and what they had in common.
- Match that common thread against the everyday tasks of the role.
- Write one sentence of evidence and one sentence linking it to the job, then practise saying it aloud.
Your CV can support the answer: if your motivator is ownership, the achievements you list should show things you owned. The resume examples show how to phrase those achievements, and the ATS resume score checker can show whether your CV reflects the keywords in the advert you are preparing for.
Frequently asked questions
Is it acceptable to say I am motivated by money?
You can acknowledge that pay matters, but it is a weak main answer because it can suggest you will leave for a better offer. The exception is roles where earnings are tied to targets, such as some sales jobs, where talking about targets and rewards fits the work.
How is this different from “Why do you want this job?”
“Why do you want this job?” is about this employer and role. “What motivates you?” is about what drives you in general, though a good answer should still show that the job will give you that.
What if what motivates me is not part of this job?
Choose a different, genuine motivator that the role does satisfy. If you cannot find one, it is worth asking yourself whether the role suits you before the interview, not after you accept.
How long should the answer be?
About a minute. One or two motivators, one example and a sentence linking them to the role is enough; the interviewer can ask for more.
Sources
- Answering tricky interview questions about what motivates you, TARGETjobs
- How to answer the interview question “What motivates you?”, Bright Network
- Self-determination theory in work organizations: State of a science (Deci, Olafsen and Ryan, 2017, Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 19 to 43), Australian Catholic University Research Bank
- What motivates you?, University of Edinburgh Careers Service
- Example interview questions, University of Oxford Careers Service