If we are going to an interview, we might get so many apprehensions. You might have referred to so many websites, so many career coaches, YouTube videos, etc. This is completely normal; getting nervous and researching about the company or even questions is a part of learning, practicing, and improving for interviews.
I can easily understand your phase because we all have been to that place. Whenever we get to know that our resume has been shortlisted and we have been called for interviews, it’s always a mixed feeling. We feel happy to get shortlisted and equally nervous about giving an interview.
We don’t know what the interviewer is precisely going to ask us. We always get confused if we should start reading the book to gain the subject knowledge or go for the preparation of behavioral questions. You know what, it happens with everyone. It’s a part of our life where we learn and get better from our mistakes.
We get asked questions by the interviewer, and we will have to answer them no matter what. You only get to land your dream job smartly if you answer the question. When you go for an interview, apart from the bookish and technical stuff, you will also get some general questions. One such question is, “Who Inspires You?” This is one of the most commonly asked questions in an interview.
In this article, I will give you in-depth detail on how to smartly and correctly cross this question. This paper will provide you with all the details about why this question is asked, how you should answer, etc.
Why Do They Ask Such Questions?
Most of us, including me, have had this doubt, “why do interviewers ask questions apart from the subject area? What is the purpose of them?” Well, there is so much for you to understand here. No interview gets completed, just with subject questions. And why is that?
Well, you are going to work in a place. And that place is where you are going to spend most of your time, where you create friends, and most importantly, work, which needs the spirit of teamwork. In that case, the working environment should be healthy and comfortable for each member to give their best. You should be able to develop and maintain healthy relationships with people. And not just a bookish knowledge will help you to survive in this kind of environment.
You need so many experiences and soft skills to survive and thrive in a place that will be full of competition, backbiting, and much more. And a recruiter should know if you are good enough to handle them. The interviewer should know the basic knowledge other than the subject area. The recruiter should understand your level of knowledge about yourself and the environment. Otherwise, this is going to be tough. And that is the reason why interviewers often ask you unwanted, weird, uncomfortable, unethical questions that are usually apart from the technical or subject area.
Why Do They Ask ” Who Inspires You?”
This is a ubiquitous question that is constantly being questioned in every interview. But not everyone has the correct answer to it. There are several reasons behind the raising of this question by an interviewer. This shows the interviewer how you get motivated and inspired. What is that force which is pulling you to work? And this can also be an excellent way for the interviewer to find out how you communicate with people.
One should leave all his toxicity behind in a job environment and start work with a fresh mind. And the inspiration of one person is a significant pull for that person to work on them. Not everyone has motivation. Some people are running in life and don’t have any fixed purpose in life.
When you have an inspiration for you, it also shows the interviewer that you have a sense of working here; you have a goal, an important reason why you want to work. This can also shed some light on your values, what you consider more valuable and how you take your dreams so seriously, how you work for your goals while helping others, etc.
They don’t want to know about your technical knowledge. They also want to know about you, your individual quality of life, and your interests because you will work with them.
How You Should Answer Who Inspires You?
To be honest, whatever general question they ask, don’t get nervous. You must try to fake your confidence and take a deep breath. Your answer should not be bookish, out of what you have learned in your book. So whatever they ask, make sure you are giving your honest answer. Honesty wins here.
Make sure you are honest and provide the best solution your interviewer gets. Always be sure you are keeping your answer neat and crisp. Yes, when you keep your answer short, that would be great. Instead of speaking anything, which doesn’t even make sense, it is excellent if you give your answer very short and sweetly. You might have so many answers flooding your head to this question, but keeping your answer short and sweet shows your interviewer you are very well prepared for the questions and you know the art of communication.
There might be many people who inspire you. There are parents, friends, mentors, teachers, sportspersons, media persons, etc., But you can’t become everyone. You just have to choose one person who inspires you the most and whom you respect the most. Respect is the key here.
Choose any one person who genuinely inspires and tell the interviewer about them, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. Make sure you highlight their values, principles, and qualities that you want you to have, and tell them that following them will lead you to professional growth. Also, analyze how their behaviors and values affect you and guide you to become more experienced.
Here Are Few Example for Who Inspires You
I know, I know, I have already given so much information, but I want to provide you with some real examples to practice the questions for yourself. So yeah, let’s get into these.
Family Person
My mother is simply my inspiration. She motivates me, inspires me, and simply does all the good things for me. She helps all the people in our family without turning her face, and I feel it is difficult for someone to give so much attention and love to everyone equally. She doesn’t compromise with anything. From the food we eat to every little thing, she is so mindful and helps us in the family grow without any barriers. My mother, from my childhood, looked after me. She is supporting me in every way possible. Life for her was not easy; it was filled with hurdles and everything beyond imagination, but she still managed to outgrow herself as a beautiful flower amidst the muddy, ugly soil. She is my ultimate powerhouse of support, and no one can beat her energy.
Mentor
There are so many people who inspire me regarding teachers. But my economics mom is an absolute powerhouse of everything. She is so so inspiring to me. Amidst all the difficulties inside her family, she never fails to come to school and teach us. She finds happiness when she teaches us something new every day. Even though she has so much pain behind her eyes, her eyes always glow with unsung happiness that she sees from us. I guess no one can be as strong as that woman amidst all the issues she faced. She is a struggling woman fighting for her passion with her husband, struggling children. She is such an amazing role model for me.
Historical/Political Figure
When it comes to historical figures, there are so many people I take as inspiration. I believe each of them has unique characteristics, and they are just so awesome. If I want to pick one, I will pick Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who has been a great scientist. He is truly a missile man of India, because of the work that he has done for the development of vehicle technology and ballistic missile. According to me, he was the best president of India and the best teacher that the students would ever have; though he is not among us today, his stories will always be there to inspire us and motivate us to do better in life.
Businessman
I love Elon Musk. I love him, and I just want to follow him blindly. He is not a man; he is a person who has a robotic body and a computer mind. His ideas and his innovations are great stuff. I didn’t have any dream of going to Mars, but after seeing him, I also wanted to go to Mars and explore it. He is a man with dreams that are not limited to anything. He is such an inspiration to all of us who dare to dream and make paths to accomplish them.
Dancer
Michel Jackson. He is a man who loved himself more than anything, and this is why he had done so many surgeries. Simply, he just wanted to look however he wanted. And not everyone can do that. I love that about Michel Jackson. He inspires me when it comes to self-love and confidence. Whenever I look at him, other than his talent, his face, I get amazed by how he loved himself throughout his life.
Author
I’m an avid reader. And, as a reader, I know I can’t be biased. But I love J.K. Rowling a lot. Although she suffered a lot, she faced rejection; she fought everything and created a magical world for us and let us live in that world in the form of Harry Potter. I love her for her creativity.
Artist
I love Picasso. He is an innovator. He simply innovates many things. He contributed to inventing Cubism and college. He is a person who changed the world of sculpture with his innovative techniques. No one can match him. And I want to be a better innovator like him who can change the world for good.
Freedom Fighter
When it comes to freedom fighters, I love many people. But Gandhiji is someone who is always in my heart. He is simply amazing. No one can imagine freedom without Gandhi. His patience, non-violence, etc., are something that we must understand and incorporate into ourselves. No one can beat his philosophy. Gandhi is still living with us in various kinds of love and caring. I love Gandhi for his patience and non-violence attitude.
What Mistakes Should Be Avoided While Answering Such a Question?
And now that you have understood how to answer that question, there are some mistakes we often make that ultimately become a mess in our interview. I am listing a few of them:
- Don’t ever go without proper research about the company, as well as the behavioral question that can be put in an interview. See how and what answers the career coaches suggest and do it accordingly.
- When the interviewer asks you any question about yourself, don’t ponder or think much. You already have an answer; just get that out. If you feel more, that will become very awkward and will highlight your underconfident and nervousness. If you want to be natural in your interview, especially when they ask you about yourself, be very clear and precise while answering. This will show the interviewer that you don’t know much about yourself.
- Don’t copy and paste whatever you read on the internet. You can see how they have answered these questions, but pouring everything at once can create a terrible image. Yes, most people mug up the answer and run it like rain, so always avoid this.
- Now, these are questions that are being asked commonly everywhere. Since you know that, don’t go before prepping yourself. You should practice the answers before going to the interview.
- Don’t be robotic. They are just humans and not wolves; What questions do they ask are never known to us? So, be patient, and confident, and trust your answers.
Pro Tip
Your job profile speaks a lot about you. In your job profile, you might have given some qualities that you have, and while answering this question, you should be able to correlate each other. For example, if your role model is confident and has an “I don’t care” attitude, and you write the same on your resume shows your recruiter that you are already well prepared and not so robotic.
Also, most of the silly mistakes many people make here is that when the interviewer asks, “who inspires you or who is your inspiration,” they suddenly, out of the blue, say that the interviewer is their inspiration. I mean, isn’t this so ridiculous because you have never met the interviewer before. In addition to this, if even he/she is famous, they will just figure out that you are saying this just to pass the interview. When you answer this, you will straight away get rejected.
Conclusion
To summarize, the question “Who inspires you” is a very commonly asked question. But most of us stumble answering this. We have curated our best to give you the correct answers. Follow the steps, and don’t be stressed out in your interview.
Make sure you follow all the tips we have provided here and follow them accordingly for the best result. It is just an interview, and they are just humans. No one is going to scold you and beat you. Confidence is the key, and it is the main essence of a successful job.
