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Writer's picturePolly Chan

Finding Your Best Fit Job: Identifying Motivational Fit


Think back on your career journey - what do you think got you to where you are today?

In my 20 years of recruiting experience, both in-house and external, I noticed a rather interesting pattern; the more skilled and in-demand the talent is, the more their career move is tied to the matching of their motivation with the prospective employer’s needs and requirements.


Let’s backtrack a bit, what does motivation actually mean?

Motivation is defined as an individual’s reason(s) for wanting to do something. The word motivation derived from the word 'motive' which means needs, desires, wants or drives within the individuals.

Think back again, were there roles you naturally performed and thrived in more than others? Did your motivation fulfillment play a part?


Motivation is an interesting factor - there have been countless studies proving the positive correlation between motivation and performance. But just like any other factor, there is a part that changes more frequently and a part that is more constant.


The more evolving part is usually tied to your life and career stage.

  1. High-quality early career seekers: The best early-career candidates are ones that are like sponges - they tend to be more motivated by learning opportunities, potential career growth, and broadness of exposure - they are aware that these aspects will enable them to increase their skills and knowledge the fastest.

  2. Exponential career growers: Once the foundation is solid, talents (who are now more experienced) will realize that their skills are pretty top on their rank. Top candidates at this stage are like maglev trains, they are aware of their quality and are motivated to most efficiently and effectively grow their career. Hence, they tend to focus more on the scope of responsibilities, company culture, and growth opportunities.

  3. Subject matter experts: Talents at this stage are the ones that are most motivated by impact and satisfaction. They are fully aware of their weight and leverage in their respective industry and function. At this point, it’s a matter of taking their career from good to great.

On the other hand, there is a more constant part of your motivation tied to your personality. Let me share some examples:

  • Self-motivated talents - they tend to value career opportunities that require them to take on big(ger) responsibilities.

  • People-oriented talents - they tend to value having a (more) collaborative and caring company culture.

You might be clear on your career stage and the associated motivators tied to that, but what about your personality? Do you know what your more constant, rooted, deep motivators are?


Want to learn more on your Best Fit Job? Contact us at www.gtptalent.com for an assessment.


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