An interview is more than just a formality—it's a critical point in the recruitment process when you must demonstrate why you are the best candidate for the position. In addition to your qualifications, your interview responses help recruiters determine whether you are a good match for the company’s culture.
To determine whether you are a strong culture add, the interviewer may ask questions like, ‘who inspires you?’ “Employers ask this question to get an insider’s view about your values, motivations, and character,” says Aithyni Rucker Robinson, CEO and principal career strategist at The Career Design Lab. According to Robinson, employers also ask this question to learn four key things: “One, will you fit in here? Two, leadership qualities you aspire toward. Three, what are your personal drivers of success? And four, what is your work ethic and how can they see an example provided that is tangible and aligns with culture?”
In addition to understanding why employers ask who inspires you, you should understand how to tie your answer back to the job you’re applying for, and common pitfalls to avoid so that you can offer a quality response that resonates with the interviewer.
How to answer ‘who inspires you’ in an interview
Robinson—who has a background in human resources, employment law, and career services—says you should “do an evaluation” before answering ‘who inspires you?’
The first thing to examine in your evaluation is the company culture. “Think about what you understand about the team culture from prior interviews or conversations,” Robinson says. Consider what their mission is, the specific communities or populations they serve, and how people—including customers, partners, and employees—experience the company. All of these things make up the company culture and the more you understand them, the more you can strengthen your interview response.
The second thing to examine in your evaluation is the company’s problem and how you can fix it. “Jobs are posted to fix a pain point. Pick one of the pain points and highlight why the figure you chose aligns with it.” For example, if the company is undergoing a merger, it may be experiencing problems around team morale and employee turnover. As a result, the employer may need someone who has experience in change management, employee relations, and collaboration. In your response, you would address how your skills can remedy these problems.
Once you have a strong grasp of the company’s culture and how you can fix one of its biggest problems, integrate a few “do’s” and “don’ts” to formulate a winning interview response.
Do’s and don’ts of responding to the question ‘who inspires you’
Do’s
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Choose just one person. Even if multiple people inspire you, the interviewer only wants to hear about one. Choosing just one person you shows that you can quickly narrow your options to make a solid choice, which speaks to your reasoning and decision-making skills
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Be honest. You could say that the CEO of the company you're interviewing for inspires you, but that probably isn’t the most honest (nor compelling) answer. Select someone who authentically inspires you. “They can be a mentor, a public figure, a family member, or even someone in your industry. Focus on the traits or accomplishments of that person who inspires you, especially those that align with the skills needed for the job,” says Robinson.
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Keep it brief. Respond in about 60 seconds or less to answer the question sufficiently without rambling.
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Be prepared to answer follow-up questions. “Interviewers might dig deeper into why you chose that person or ask how you’ve applied their influence in past roles,” advises Robinson. “Be ready to provide concrete examples of how their inspiration has guided your actions, decisions, or achievements at work.”
Don’t
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Give a controversial answer. You have a right to cite a political candidate, dictator, or some other potentially controversial figure, but that may not help you ace the interview. Reference someone who genuinely inspires you but is not known for making trouble in the public eye.
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Provide a generic answer. Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama have long been considered inspirational figures but a lot of people would probably cite them. Instead, consider lesser-known public figures, positive members of your family, or someone who’s supported your career, like a mentor or supervisor.
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Say “I don’t know” or “no one.” You can take some time to respond, ask for clarification, or even ask to come back to the question, but not answering the question at all is a red flag to employers.
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Forget to tie it back to the job. “Go beyond just admiration—explain how the person’s qualities can help solve specific challenges the employer faces. For instance, if the company struggles with innovation, you could talk about how your inspiration’s creativity motivates you to bring fresh ideas to the table.”
Example responses to the question ‘who inspires you’
When describing who inspires you, consider what you want the employer to learn about you. For example, if you’re struggling to convey that you’re really good at working with different types of people, use this interview response to send that message. You might mention that the person who inspires you has a warm approach to relating to people or goes out of their way to make people feel included, which has helped you develop your own unique people skills that could be an asset to the company.
Here are a few more examples of effective responses to ‘who inspires you?’, including this first one from Robinson.
Example #1:
“I’m inspired by Issa Rae because of her ability to create content that authentically represents Black experiences while breaking barriers in the industry. In the role of a brand strategist at your company, I plan to bring that same level of authenticity and creativity to our campaigns. Given your focus on expanding into more diverse markets, I believe my approach can help address the challenge of resonating with a broader audience while staying true to the brand’s values.”
Example #2:
“While there are several people who have inspired me, the supervisor I had at my very first job in cybersecurity has inspired me the most. I have always admired how she could explain some of the complex systems and processes we worked with in a relatable way, even for those who didn't have a technical background. It helped her connect with people and guide them in doing their jobs better, which helped the team as a whole. She’s now my mentor and has helped me tremendously when it comes to translating complicated topics, communicating more effectively, and making room for everyone to contribute to improving security processes, all of which would be immediately beneficial to your team.”
Example #3:
"One person who inspires me is Wilma Rudolph. As a child, she was often sick and struggled with disability. But as an adult, she became an Olympic champion and broke records in track and field. She once said that ‘can't’ wasn’t in her vocabulary and that she believed in herself more than anything. Her confidence and self-motivation have inspired me to be more resilient, overcome obstacles, and inspire my coworkers to do the same. Given that your company has been through so much change over the past year, I would be the perfect person to inspire the product development team to use these changes to introduce new ideas at meetings, streamline our processes, and try new things in their work, even if that means taking the road less traveled. That’s what Wilma Rudolph would do.”
