What Motivates You To Do A Good Job? (Interview question with answers)

what motivates you to do a job

What motivates you to do a good job? This question that hiring managers frequently ask candidates during interviews can throw off even the most experienced candidates.

Knowing that this might be asked during your next interview, it’s crucial to make sure you’re properly prepared with a solid response.


Why do employers ask what motivates you at work?

This question is more complex than it first appears, and your solution provides additional context for the subject. During a job interview, prospective employers can determine whether you are a suitable fit for their business and whether you truly fit with the corporate culture by finding out what drives you.

Interviewers learned more about how the position they were filling would fit the candidate’s objectives by inquiring about the applicant’s motivations. They would know whether your motivational factors and long-term objectives coincide with their own, those of the company, and how they envision the position developing.

Additionally, the interviewer learns important information about how you would behave in the workplace. After all, the goal of these interviews is to identify the greatest applicant for the firm.

How to Respond to “What motivates you to do a good job?”

First, it’s critical to realize that when an interviewer asks, “What motivates you? they are posing the widest, most general questions they can. Please do not take that to mean, “What motivates you at work?”, or something similar that is more detailed.

Be Sincere

Do not pretend to be excited about working for the sake of working. Consider the things that truly inspire you at work. You must be sincere in the interview if you want to help yourself now and in the future. Skilled interviewers can tell how honest you are by seeing your nonverbal cues and listening to your tone and content.

If you claim to enjoy working in a team but your prior employer’s reference says you avoid it, you won’t get very far. Make sure your motive truly fits with the desired position. If not, it might be time to go elsewhere so that you have a better chance of finding work that you enjoy.

Select a specific purpose

Remember to connect your motivators to the position you are interviewing for. A terse response could give the impression that you are dodging the question and are at a loss for words. Anything could be the desire to do well or the joy of achievement.

These nonetheless convey that you are the source of your motivation.

Express your motivation

There are many ways to accomplish this, but it should be clear that you will succeed without an employer’s constant supervision. There are various ways you can express your motivation, but it should be obvious that you will complete the work without usually needing direction from a boss.

When speaking, indicate that you are deeply invested in the discussion and enthusiastic about the topic. This will demonstrate your drive to excel.


Example response to ‘’ What motivates you to do a good job?’’

“I have a strong sense of self-motivation in all I do, both inside and outside of the workplace. Accomplishment motivates me since I strongly desire to perform well at work for the benefit of organizations and for my personal triumphs. I constantly seek methods to learn new things in my current employment capacity. In this work, I can see myself expanding my industry knowledge and upskilling, which I believe to be incredibly valuable.’’

“Working with other people inspires me. I have a lot of experience training others and guiding them through the details of my profession. I enjoy giving everything I do my all and doing it well. You could say that my main motivation is performance. Even when working alone, I discover that I can stay motivated even in the absence of higher engagement.’’

“What motivates me to do my best work is a success. Knowing that my diligence and dedication will enable me to achieve more job success is what drives me. Seeing the firm grow and experience personal success and prosperity provides motivation. I’ve discovered that creativity and interest go hand in hand, and one of the things that motivate me is to acquire new talents so that I can advance and succeed.’’

“When I get the chance to learn something new, it inspires me. I can handle change effectively because of my desire to learn new things and because I see it as a chance to expand my skill set and enhance my contribution to my role.’’

Variations of the interview question ‘what motivates you at work?’

  • What motivates you?
  • What motivates you to do a good job?
  • What drives you to do a good job?
  • What motivates you in life?
  • How can we best help you get your job done?
  • What motivates you to succeed in life?
  • What motivates you to succeed at work?
  • What is most important to you in your career?
  • Are you money motivated?
  • What drives you to work?
  • What motivates you to go to work every day?
  • What demotivates you at work?

Wrapping Up | Job interview question about motivation

You may now outperform expectations at your next job interview by knowing how to respond to one of the most often requested interview questions but you will be able to create a memorable and favorable impact and get one step closer to securing that offer.

Despite being one of the most common interview questions, ‘What motivates you at work?’ will often catch job seekers off-guard; so it’s important to ensure you’re fully prepared to answer it.

To decide on the best way to answer this open-ended interview question, let’s look at why employers might choose to ask it. Best of luck!


Title: motivational job interview question “what motivates you to do a good job”

Category: Interview

Author: Becky is a contributor for theJub. She’s a writing and talent acquisition specialist who loves to apply her skills through creative writing and editing.

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