The Only 10 Interview Questions About Motivation You’ll Ever Need

If you want to hire an all-star employee, then motivation is one of the top qualities to look for.

Fortunately, if you know the right questions to ask, you can spot which interviewees have strong self-motivational skills.

I worked in HR for over two decades, so in this article, I’ll share my secrets with you; I’ll give you 10 winning interview questions about motivation so that you can hire your dream candidate and ultimately build your dream company culture.

How Does Motivation Work?

Before getting into the questions, it’ll help to understand motivation a little better.

Motivation is essentially a person’s desire to take action and their ability to act on that desire. For example, let’s say there’s a work project to be done. If someone doesn’t want to work on it, then they aren’t motivated. Similarly, if they want to work on the project but can’t get themselves to, they are also not motivated. 

But if an employee has high motivation, they can tap into bounds of energy to dedicate to that project.

We all operate from a mix of motivations.

Some of us are extremely motivated by praise and recognition, others by tight deadlines, and others by the satisfaction of solving a hard problem.

A person’s specific sources of motivation don’t matter all that much. What’s more important is that they are aware of what their motivational levers are and know which ones to pull to give themselves energy to work.

With that said, here are some common types of motivational “fuel” for you to look out for in your candidates.

6 common sources of motivation

1. External rewards. Money, promotions, or perks can be powerful incentives. Many people work harder when there’s a carrot dangling on the other side of a task.
   

2. Social accountability. People often follow through when others are watching. Whether it’s a deadline they’ve announced or a coworking buddy, the fear of disappointing others can be a powerful motivator.
   

3. Personal growth. Some people are endlessly fueled by curiosity and a desire to learn. They seek work that helps them develop skills, gain knowledge, and expand their identity.
   

4. Creative ownership. Most of us have more energy and inspiration to work when we’re trusted to work how we want, when we want, and with whom we want.
   

5. Purpose. People are extremely motivated when the work feels meaningful. If someone can see that their effort is tied to something bigger—the success of their team, helping other people, or a personal mission—they’ll gladly go the extra mile.
   

6. Solving a tough problem. Some people view work as a series of puzzles and can get almost addicted to figuring out the next difficult challenge.

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So as you’re asking questions, read the subtext of each response to discern what drives each person and if they’ve yet learned how to create systems and mindsets to keep themselves motivated.

The 10 Best Interview Questions About Motivation

1. What’s a recent goal you set for yourself—and how did you go after it?

This question reveals what they value—what they deem worthy enough to set a goal toward. It’ll also reveal how they keep focused. 

You’ll get a sense of how much self-initiative they take and how they do with planning and follow-through.

Listen for: Initiative, planning skills, and follow-through.

2. Tell me about a project you initiated without being asked. What drove you to take it on?

This will clearly signal how much of a self-starter this candidate is. 

If they go above and beyond their job description, it’s a good sign that points to a strong sense of motivation and ownership.

Listen for: Are they proactive? If so, what gives them that energy?

3. Tell me about when you encountered significant obstacles in pursuit of a goal. What kept you going?

This question will reveal an important aspect of motivation: resilience.

It’s one thing to set a new goal and enjoy pursuing it for a few days. But big professional goals require sustained motivation. So it’s helpful to know that a candidate is able to stay motivated on a project and avoid the distractions of shiny new objects.

Listen for: Ability to stick with long-term projects, grit, and resilience.   

4. What is the last thing you taught yourself? What motivated you to learn it?

This will dig right into the relationship with learning and how much they are motivated by growth.

In general, it’s great to work with employees who love to learn and enjoy getting better at their jobs.

Listen for: An intrinsic enjoyment of learning and growth.

Also, if you’d like job interview questions specifically on how to test if a candidate has a growth mindset, check out this article.

5. What kind of work gets you into a state of flow?

When an employee is in a flow state, they’ll lose track of time and work effortlessly and joyfully. In fact, studies suggest people are 500% more productive when in a flow state. 

Ideally, your employees would be in a flow state most of the time! 

So if you can find an employee who clearly understands how to create flow states for themself, then you’ll have a focused, energized worker on your hands.

If the candidate doesn’t know what a “flow state” is, you could also ask “What type of work gets you 'in the zone'" or “What type of work makes you lose track of time?”

Listen for: Self-awareness of creating flow states.

6. How do you stay focused when no one’s checking that you’re working?

No matter how much someone feels accountable to their boss and team, at the end of the day, we all need to figure out how to hold ourselves accountable to staying focused and getting our work done, especially in this era of remote work.

This question will reveal if this candidate has learned how to avoid distractions and motivate themself when nobody is looking.

Listen for: Self-accountability and systems that create focus.

7. How do you stay motivated when you don’t see immediate results from your efforts? 

Motivation is much easier to find when things are going well and progress is rolling. But that’s not always how things go.

This question is an important one. It’ll show you this candidate’s resilience and ability to dig deep and make it through tough patches. It’ll also show you their long-term perspective, and ability to avoid getting sucked into the short-term ups and downs of an extended project.

Listen for: Long-term thinking and emotional resilience.

8. How do you approach tasks that don’t excite you?

Ideally, work would be filled exclusively with tasks that are inspiring, creative, and meaningful. But as we all know, there are tough parts to every job.

It's one thing to stay motivated for inspiring work (which is important); it's another to have the discipline or systems to push through the parts of the job that feel dull.

Listen for: Systems, habits, or reframes that help them follow through.

9. Imagine working on something that nobody else would see or reward you for—how would you stay driven?

This question is more relevant in roles where intrinsic motivation is vital, like in mission-driven organizations, nonprofits, public sector positions, or creative industries. It can also be valuable when hiring for leadership roles, early-stage startups, or any position that requires self-direction, long-term thinking, or initiative without guaranteed recognition or immediate payoff.

That said, for any company, this question can reveal what makes the candidate tick. Money and recognition are two huge motivators, but what does someone do if those aren’t in the picture? In some ways, our ability to complete a private project, fueled purely by intrinsic motivation, is a great test of resourcefulness.

There’s no “right” answer here, but how someone responds will show how well they can create intrinsic meaning in their work.

Listen for: Intrinsic drive or personal meaning.

10. Can you give an example of a time when you were especially proud of your work? What motivated you during that time?

Often, we are most proud of the projects and ambitious goals that were most difficult. Projects where we had to pour time and energy to overcome significant obstacles.  

Hearing an interviewee speak about their sense of accomplishment will cue you into their deepest wells of motivation—that which can encourage them to keep going when the road feels long and difficult. 

Listen for: core values beneath the achievement.

How to Build a Motivated Company Culture

Building an incredible company starts with finding the right people. These key questions will help you do just that.

But just getting the right people isn’t enough on its own.

If you want to build an incredible company, you also need to build an incredible culture for employees to plug into. 

In the most effective cultures, employees readily embrace constructive feedback, take initiative, and constantly seek personal development. 

These types of cultures, what I call “coaching cultures,” can make a company feel on fire with inspiration and motivation. 

And there are strategies to transform your culture. It tends to start with either training your leadership and managers in coaching skills or bringing in-house coaches into your org to transform the culture from the inside out.

If you want to learn more about creating a coaching culture in your company, check out this link with the International Association of Career Coaches.