‘Who inspires you?’ is a pretty common interview question. Employers may ask this to gain some insight into your motivations, values and career aspirations, and it’s worth considering how you would answer if you were asked it in an interview.
But I’m going to ask you to go a little deeper – don’t worry about the perfect interview response – ask yourself the question ‘who inspires me and what does that say about me?’.
Think of a person right now, they may be someone from your immediate network of family and friends, a colleague, a university professional or they may be more prominent – a celebrity, an entrepreneur, a leader, a historical figure.
Now that you have someone in mind, consider the following questions:
- What are the traits you admire that you attribute to this person?
- What has this person said or how have they behaved, that you find inspiring?
Next, I invite you to think a little more deeply about this person. This may involve undertaking some further research into their lives or, if you have access to them, asking them questions like:
- What experiences would they say led them to behaving in the way they do, or developing the traits they have?
- What are the core values that underlie the decisions and choices they make in their lives?
- How have these traits, values and decisions shaped their careers?
One person that comes to mind for me, is the activist, poet and memoirist Maya Angelou. I first came across her poetry when I was an undergrad – many, many years ago – and her confidence and bravery came through with every line. I’ve since read her memoirs and learned that she didn’t just say those words, she lived them through a fascinating and truly courageous life. The practicality of how she inspires me comes through in my everyday decision making. For example I, like Maya Angelou, have strong convictions in social justice and equity, and will refer to her teachings when acting on my beliefs, both professionally and personally.
Now that you’ve given your inspiring person some more thought, think about what admiring them demonstrates about you. This could be by identifying:
- shared or common values
- skills, traits and experiences you’d like to develop
- how you can follow their path (one small step you can take each day).
This reflection can be a powerful tool in helping you identify key things about yourself in your career planning. It can help you determine what matters to you and the attributes, skills and experiences you want to cultivate. It can also help you in how you define success for yourself, whether that be in your career or life more broadly.
When it comes to holistic career planning, thinking about the people we admire and are inspired by can teach us more about ourselves. I’m sure we can all agree that a little extra insight is always a good thing.
For more activities on developing self-awareness for career planning, complete the Explore Your Options challenge online or use the Discover Your Archetype tool on UniHub.
This article was written by Career Development Consultant, Rindala Hadzic.
