Money Isn't the Answer
Money may be the real reason you work but that's not the answer to give when it comes up in an interview.
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In my newsletter post about showing enthusiasm in interviews I wrote about reminding yourself of why you do what you do professionally. Why did you choose software developer over botanist, product manager over zookeeper, or marketing over art curation? In a recent client call when I asked them why they chose their field they said “money” and joked that that was probably a bad answer. It is (and we drilled down further), but since then I've been thinking about why that's the case.
The thing is, money *is* the most obvious reason we work. We've got bills, dependents, and expensive hobbies so we do what we must. So while it may be a true answer, that doesn't make money any less of a bad answer. It's lazy and shallow. It requires no deeper thought, no introspection, and offers nothing to the person asking. You're trying to convince someone to work alongside you 8 hours a day, 5 days a week; it's only fair that they want to know something about you. You should want to know about them too. "Money" falls flat in creating that sort of conversational bond.
So what's the question really about? The question is asking about your motivations, what deep down makes you tick. There are definitely themes to the expected answer, but otherwise it's an open question without a "right" answer so there’s not much need to be nervous. It's asking about what you find intrinsically rewarding, while money is an extrinsic reward. Intrinsic rewards are the positive feelings you get from simply doing something. Extrinsic rewards are the feelings you get from something external that motivated you to do that thing in the first place. As an adult you might feel a sense of accomplishment because you finished mowing your lawn (intrinsic), but as a kid you feel good because of the allowance you received because of that act (extrinsic). Obviously those two things aren't mutually exclusive (a professional landscaper could get both rewards from that same lawn mowing).
Part of the hiring process is figuring out if someone can thrive in your work environment. It's expensive to replace someone, so you want someone that's going to be fulfilled by the role you're offering them and the context around it. You want to keep them engaged as an employee so they stick around. If they're solely motivated by money, everything is transactional and they may bounce as soon as someone offers more. That's a risk to stability that many would like to avoid. So by giving them an answer that’s more revealing about yourself, you’re assuring them that there’s something beyond money that motivates you. Whether that’s actually true or not isn’t the point here.
Before your next interview, try to understand why you do what you do, why you enjoy it beyond the paycheck. Is it the puzzle solving, the act of creation, the idea of helping people, or something else entirely? Have that answer in mind as you talk about yourself. You may never mention it directly, but sharing or alluding to that aspect of who you are can go far in connecting you with the interviewer, getting you closer to the job/career you're after.
If you'd like to work on understanding your own motivations, set up a coaching session and we can discuss that or whatever else is pressing.