Motivating Skills Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. What Do You Mean By Motivation? What Exactly Does A Person Require To Motivate An Individual?

Answer :

Motivation can be defined as a concept used to describe the factors within an individual which arouse, maintain and channel behaviour towards a goal.

Question 2. Tell Me About A Time When You Willingly Volunteered For A Task. Also, Why Were You So Interested In This Specific Task?

Answer :

Applicant should express that they take the initiative when it comes to additional work and they are always interested in increasing their knowledge and contacts. Applicant should have plenty of energy to do more.

Question 3. Describe A Project You Were Involved In That Really Excited You? How Long Did That Feeling Last?

Answer :

The candidate should reveal a dedication and passion towards their work.

Question 4. Tell Me About A Hurdle Which Got In The Way Of Achieving An Ambitious Goal. How Did You Go About Overcoming It?

Answer :

Job seeker should show that they are a hard worker and that they try to achieve ambitious goals; they should not surrender easily.

Question 5. Who Proposed Theory X And Y Of Motivation?

Answer :

Theory X and Y of motivation was proposed by Douglas McGregor.

The major difference between these theories are: 

• Theory X takes a negative view of the employees while the Theory Y takes a positive view. 
• Theory X believes that employees are lazy and do not like work while Theory Y believes that employees enjoy work. 
• Theory X believes that money is the only motivation for work while Theory Y believes that the satisfaction that employees achieve after doing a work well is a bigger motivation. 
• Theory X believes in doing the business in an authoritarian way while Theory Y tries to remove the barriers employees find in the way of their work.

Question 6. Explain Maslow's Theory Of Hierarchy Of Needs. Do You Think It Applies In Real Life?

Answer :

• Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs believes that each individual has some needs arranged in hierarchical order. Only when a lower need is satisfied, does the higher need come into picture. 
• Thus the incentives offered to the workers at each level have to be different. 

These needs are classified as grouped as below: 

• Level 1 – Basic needs – Food, clothes, shelter
• Level 2 – Safety needs – Security and protection
• Level 3 – Social needs
• Level 4 – Esteem needs
• Level 5 – Self actualization

Question 7. Explain Taylor's Theory Of Motivation?

Answer :

Frederick Taylor put forward a theory about workers motivation.

Its main features are: 

• Workers do not enjoy work. 
• They need constant supervision
• They are motivated mainly by the “salary”

Question 8. What Are The Main Points Of Mayo's Theory Of Motivation?

Answer :

Mayo’s theory believes that money is not the only motivation for workers.

They are highly motivated by factors like: 

• Communication between them and managers
• More involvement of manager in their work life
• Working in teams

Question 9. How Is Mayo's Theory Different From Taylor's Theory Of Motivation?

Answer :

• Taylor’s theory focuses on the negative aspect of a worker’s behaviour while Mayo’s theory focuses on positive aspects. 
• Taylor’s theory treats money as the biggest motivation while Mayo’s theory lays more emphasis on non-monetary factors.

Question 10. Tell Me About A Goal You Achieved Which At Some Points Seems Hopeless? Why Did You Keep Going On?

Answer :

If candidate has done this, it shows great energy and commitment. Candidate should also show that they can work hard, but are not obsessive about their work.

Question 11. Tell Me About A Time When You And Your Whole Team Were Demoralized For Some Reason. What Do You Do To Raise Spirits?

Answer :

Job seeker should express him/herself as a team player. They should be self-motivated and group motivated. They should not give up easily and have the ability to empathize with other colleagues.

Question 12. Describe A Work Related Goal That You Have Set For Yourself?

Answer :

Applicant should appear to self-motivate by setting ambitious goals and targets.

Question 13. What Kind Of Work Culture Do You Think Increases The Motivation Level Of An Employee?

Answer :

Following are some of the characteristics of the culture that increases motivation level of an employee: 

1. Suggestions and feedback from the employees are heard
2. Employees are well informed about the things affecting them
3. Communication among the team members and with the superiors is open in nature
4. Employees are trusted and treated with respect
5. Employees work and deliver as a team
6. Employees see a path to grow and are regular trained for development

Question 14. Which Non-monetary Factors Do You Think Help In Building Up The Motivation Level Of Employees?

Answer :

Following are some of the effective ways to motivate employees: 

1. Respectful treatment
2. Recognising the individual and performance 
3. Training
4. Regular performance and behavioural feedback
5. Clear communication from the management
6. Involvement in activities that desire responsibility
7. Challenges
8.  Clearly defined goals and plan of action

Question 15. Explain Employee Motivation?

Answer :

Motivation can be defined as the enthusiasm of an employee which causes him to take actions at work.