What Drives You Interview Question

Most Common Interview Questions

How to get hired by nailing the 20 most common interview questions employers ask. From obvious questions such as why do you want to work for us? to weird and wacky ones like if you were an animal what would you be?, youll have a head start with the best answers. Read our tips from top interview experts and be more prepared for your interview than anyone else. Here are our top 20 interview questions and answers.

How To Understand If Candidates Have Given A Great Drive For Results

Youve now got a list of behaviour-based interview questions to use in your recruitment process or take inspiration for your own interview questions. Still, now you need to analyse your candidate’s answers.

Candidates who answer your drive for results interview questions successfully will do all or some of the following:

• Give hard facts on tangible results such as increased revenue by X%. This is because their results-driven attitude can identify a goal and communicate that in an easy and simplified way with a big impact.

• Theyll be self-critical to demonstrate learning points and talk about how these will be improved in future scenarios.

• Theyll talk about examples relating directly to themselves and results related to their personal performance not someone elses.

• Theyll be able to use a range of examples, not just within a corporate setting but with their personal life too. Results-driven people usually apply this skill across all facets of their life, not just with their careers. Theyll tend to have great success in many of these areas including hobbies, fitness, social group, religious groups etc.
• Theyll successfully be able to share how and why they are motivated and relate this back to the role in question.

• Theyll be able to discuss their success at working within a team, how they pushed and inspired others to work harder. From their answer youll easily determine if they are able to collaborate well with others.

You Dont Need To Get Personal In Your Answer Though Its Perfectly Fine To Say Something Like:

Ive always liked math and computers. I dont have a personal reason, its just what Im excited about doing. I cant imagine doing something else with my career.

So dont feel pressure to lie or make up some personal reason when you answer what motivates you?

As a recruiter, Ive spoken with a lot of GREAT job candidates who were simply motivated by one of the following:

• Technical challenges
• The mission of the company
• Personal interests

Heres one more sample answer for how to respond to this interview question without using any personal reasons:

Ive always found that I do my best work in a creative environment where Im able to think openly, and Ive found that working in graphic design allows me to use my creativity, which keeps me motivated and energized. At this point, I cant imagine working in another field, and I dont find it very difficult to come to work motivated each day, since this is what I want to be doing.

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Example #: Motivated By Extending Comfort Zones

One of my biggest work-related motivators is pushing my comfort zone. The reason for this is that I know that if I am not learning something new, or trying a new idea, then I am staying still, and in fast-paced work environments staying still is the same as going backward. Trying new things does mean finding the occasional wrong answer, but mistakes are an opportunity to gain a better understanding, and I find this to be a great motivator. In the end, being part of a successful project is a deeply rewarding experience that gives me a lot of pride and satisfaction.

Key Takeaways:One of the good things about this answer is that it is not a normal answer. It shows that you welcome being outside of your comfort zone and recognize the need to constantly learn and develop your skills to stay ahead of the game.

Sample Answer : General Sales Manager

Im motivated by building and coaching a successful team to ensure we meet and exceed targets.

For example, I worked closely with one of my junior sales team in my previous role to ensure he developed the sales and negotiation skills he needed to succeed. Hed been struggling but, as a result of the work we did together, for the past quarter hes exceeded his targets by 30%.

This has not only boosted his and the entire teams overall performance, commission and morale, it has also given me a real sense of pride to have been part of his professional development and success.

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How Do You View A Responsible Driver

Here, the employer wants to test your traits as a driver

Tip #1: Explain the qualities of a good driver

Tip #2: Be confident while explaining

Sample Answer

A responsible driver ensures the client is satisfied with his services. The driver shouldnt drink while driving, conquer all the traffic rules, and have all the knowledge about driving and customer care. When the driver is involved in a road accident, he should take complete responsibility, find ways to solve the issues related to the accident, and not run away. Moreover, the driver should have good time management.

Example #: Motivated By Goals And Targets

As a high-performing, professional salesperson, I am deeply motivated by ambitious targets. I take company goals, team targets, and personal KPIs very seriously. I also have a healthy level of competitiveness which drives me to always try to beat my own best performance and lead my team in productive results. In addition, I also have several personal goals that are very important to me. I recognize the best way for me to realize these personal goals is to be a top performer at work and deliver value for the company.

Key Takeaways:For any sales roles or highly results-driven roles, an answer similar to this is ideal. In many roles, competitiveness can be considered not ideal, but for sales roles, a healthy level of competition is generally positive.

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It Is Hard To Find Motivation Without Goals

People are lazy in general. Unless you know why you get up from bed in the morning, you wont get up from it. Or maybe you will, to urinate and eat something, and then you will return back and hide under your blanket.

It doesnt matter much what goals you refer to in your answer, but you should refer to some. It can be helping someone, earning money, providing for your family, getting a job, or even putting a dent in the Universe.

Check sample answers no. 1, 2, 3, 5, or 7 for different goals that can get you up in the morning, and try to find something that resonates with you, or at least describes your present situation and feelings.

* Special Tip: This isnt the only difficult question you will face while interviewing for a great job. You will face questions about prioritization, dealing with pressure, dealing with ambiguity, and other tricky scenarios that happen in the workplace. If you want to make sure that you stand out with your answers and outclass your competitors, have a look at our Interview Success Package. Up to 10 premium answers to 31 tricky scenario based questions will help you streamline your interview preparation, and eventually outclass your competitors and get the job. Thank you for checking it out!

What Do You Imagine A Typical Day With Our Company Is Like

Potential employers ask you this question to determine whether you researched the position. Before your interview, research the job position to discover the responsibilities associated with this role. Include previous roles and responsibilities to show your experience in the field.

Example:”My day would begin with loading my truck and discussing important deliveries with the management team. I would take this time to gather all the necessary equipment like my scanner. From here, I would plan my route to ensure I made deliveries as efficiently as possible. I would have to consider my 45-minute mandatory breaks. I would complete my deliveries by the end of the day by using my time-management skills. After completing my deliveries for the day, I’d ask upper management if they needed me for any other tasks. If not, I’d go home.”

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Research The Company Before Your Interview

It’s important to learn more about the company before beginning your interview. Look on the organization’s website and try to find information such as its mission statement, how long it has been in operation and the names of the leaders within the company. By reading the copy on their website, you may be able to understand more about what motivates the company. You can also review any social media accounts the company has to learn more about it.

Reread the job posting before the interview, too. This can also help you learn more about the company, as organizations typically provide a brief description of themselves in job descriptions. Rereading the job posting allows you to refresh your memory on the job duties of the position and the skills the employer requests. Knowing this information can give you an advantage in the interview, as you can mention these skills to show you’re right for the job.

Example:”I know this company values promoting from within, which is why I am excited about the opportunity to begin working here.”

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Tips For Answering What Motivates You

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The Best Way To Answer What Motivates You

When answering this question, be sure to be as specific as possible, provide real-life examples and tie your answer back to the job role. Here are a few examples of well-crafted responses:

As a marketer, I have always been motivated by creative projects, teamwork and being able to draw a connection between my efforts and the organisations bottom line. One of the things I loved about my last job was witnessing the results of our teams campaigns and watching as the leads we nurtured became customers. Having the opportunity to lead campaigns from ideation through launch was one of the reasons I was so excited to apply for this role.

The gratification of overcoming an obstacle is my greatest motivator. Math has never been my best subject but I opted to take calculus in college even though it was not required for my major because I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. The course was not easy and I spent many nights studying late but I passed with an A. The feeling of accomplishment that comes with exceeding challenging goals is what drew me to a career in sales.

I am motivated by the fact that when I leave work at the end of a shift, I know I have helped make a difference in the lives of my patients and their families. Seeing the smiles on their faces and watching them improve makes me look forward to work. That is why I became a nurse and why I am pursuing a position in paediatrics.

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Delivering A Smooth Response To Why Do You Want To Work Here

In an actual interview situation, you want to deliver your prepared answer in a polished but natural way. Consider using one of the following lead-ins as the inspiration for crafting your tailored response:

• I see this opportunity as a way to contribute to an exciting/forward-thinking/fast-moving company/industry, and I feel I can do so by/with my

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How To Approach The Graduate Interview Question What Motivates You

When preparing to answer this question, you should think about:

• What do you enjoy doing? Think about your course and your wider interests. What do they have in common?
• What have you enjoyed while working at your part-time jobs or internships? What did you look forward to? When you came home feeling that you’d had a good day, what kind of tasks or projects had you tackled?
• What sort of tasks are you best at? In what sort of environments do you work the best?

For example, are you well suited to working as part of a team? Do you work at your best when you have an imminent deadline or do you crumble?

Then think about the skills sought by the employer and the nature of the job you will be doing.

What Motivates You At Work How To Answer This Interview Question

Its impossible to predict every question youll be asked in a graduate job interview but there are some common interview questions which will almost certainly feature.

Graduate job interview questions range from the straightforward, such as Describe yourself in 3 words, to the more open-ended, like Tell me about yourself and Why should we hire you? Check out our complete guide to Interview Questions.

Despite being one of the most common interview questions, What motivates you at work? will often catch graduates off-guard so its important to make sure youre fully prepared to answer it.

To decide on the best way to answer this open-ended interview question, lets look first of all at why employers might choose to ask it.

Scroll straight to the bottom of the page to see a quick, summary video of how to answer!

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Example #: Motivated By Hard Work And Providing For My Family

My three sources of primary motivation are meeting deadlines, learning new things, and providing for my family. To expand on these, firstly, no matter the type of work, I get a great sense of job satisfaction when I have worked hard to complete tasks successfully. Second, I know from my past work experiences that when I work on creative projects where I can learn new skills, I feel energized and excited to be at work each day. Finally, I have a lot of goals in my personal life and things I want to do for my family, and I know that the best way for me to do this is to be successful at my job.

Key Takeaways: This is a good answer because it lists multiple sources of motivation, both work-related and personal, which ensures you will be committed to doing the job well consistently.

What Motivates You In Life

Another way to ask this question is, What are you passionate about? What is it that gets you out of bed every day with enthusiasm? Where does your mind go when youre allowed to daydream? What hobbies do you enjoy? How do you like to spend your time?

Now, dig deeper. What is it about these activities that you enjoy? Is it the satisfaction that comes from making something from nothing? Is it the sense of accomplishment after finishing an intricate project that drives you? Maybe its seeing how much others enjoy seeing what youve done?

Maybe its the feeling you get from helping others or leading them through something and teaching them new skills? Perhaps it was how you felt when you learned a new skill?

Whatever it is, focus on that. That helps create a foundation for a strong answer to this question and ones like it.

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Examples Of Good Interview Questions To Ask

• What would you expect me to achieve in the first several months?
• What is the departments biggest challenge at this time?
• In your opinion, what do you see as the greatest challenge to this organisations future growth?
• How would you describe the ideal employee?
• What type of training does the company provide?
• What are the current goals of the department?
• How soon are you looking for someone to start?
• Im really interested in this job. When can I expect to hear back from you?

How Would Your Co

The interviewer wants to find out if you have a good understanding of how you are perceived and how your behavior impacts on others.

Your self-insight and your relationship with your co-workers are both being evaluated with this interview question.

Your interview answer should demonstrate an objective view of your strengths and areas for improvement in terms of:

• your interpersonal skills

In your job interview answer describe the good points and perceptions but also discuss one or two areas that you are aware need attention.

• Emphasize what you have done to improve on these areas. This makes your answer both real and insightful.
• When you refer to the positive characteristics, support your answer with a quote or paraphrase from one or two of your colleagues.

For example:

“I know they consider me to be hard working. In fact, the other team members often thanked me for the extra hours I put in.”

Then move on to the areas for improvement.

“I know that I was initially considered intolerant if I felt they were not putting in the same amount of effort as I was. I realized it was better to encourage them to meet our deadlines by offering help where needed. This has worked much better for all of us.”

Use work-relevant competencies like:

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