What to say when the hiring manager asks, 'What motivates you?'

Flickr/Strelka Institute for Media

There's a good chance you'll have to answer this in you next job interview. According to Glassdoor, it's one of the most common interview questions hiring managers ask.

"This one can easily catch you off guard," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job." "It's so broad that the way in which you respond speaks volumes about you on so many levels - including your personality, ambitions, skills, enthusiasm, expectations, and how you generally think, just to name just a few."

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Knowing in advance what drives you and how to articulate it will not only enhance your performance in the next interview, but it will also force you to better refine your search and discern whether a job truly aligns with your passions and goals.

"If you don't have a plan, you might inadvertently offer a vague answer - making you appear unmotivated or disinterested, or you'll simply look like a deer in the headlights," she says.

Consider these tips when developing your response: