During a job interview, a hiring manager might ask you a series of questions about your passion for your chosen field. One of these questions may be, “Who is your role model?” Understanding how to answer this question can help you explain your professional values, beliefs and aspirations. In this article, we discuss why interviewers ask about your role model and provide some examples of how to answer this question effectively.
How To Answer The Job Interview Question, “Who’s Your Role Model?”
Example 2: A teacher
“My role model is my college English professor, Mrs. Jones. She inspired my passion for reading and writing with her creative lectures. Her enthusiasm as a teacher motivated me to pursue a career in secondary education. She encouraged me to cultivate my curiosity for the English language. Mrs. Jones also challenged me to develop my arguments and explain my thinking when analyzing novels. I appreciate her passion for her craft, and I hope to have the same energy when leading discussions with students about the subjects I hope to teach. She serves as a role model for the kind of teacher I want to be.”
Consider your inspirations
Take your time to consider who your role models might be. Think about the traits you hope to develop and the goals you want to achieve. You might create a list of several people with qualities that you admire. Some candidates may select famous people or family members as their roles models. You can respond to this question by providing brief descriptions of several of your inspirations. For example, you might explain how you admire your mothers patience and a celebritys work ethic.
Example answers for “Who is your role model?”
Here are some examples of effective answers that you can reference when responding to this question:
Example 5: An activist
“My role model is An Chen. I have always been inspired by her conservation work in saving monkey populations around the world. Her dedication to animals encouraged me to pursue a career as a wildlife rehabilitator. I quickly found a passion for helping injured and sick animals regain their strength. As a professional wildlife rehabilitator, I hope to embody Ans compassion and strength when caring for animals that need my help.”
How Do You Relate To Them?
Our role model is someone who we see a part of ourselves in. What do you two have in common? Are there certain beliefs or values of theirs you stand with? This is essential to make your answer genuine because this is personal to you. If you choose someone famous, many people can list qualities about that person. Though, only you can explain why those characteristics are important to you.
Example: Many of Michelle Obama’s projects give back to her community. This is something that I admire because I believe helping those around you is of utmost importance.
Example: Every period I spent with Mr. Rochner, I could count on him to stay on task and be very attentive to students. I appreciated this because I take pride in starting things with a good attitude and putting my best foot forward.
“Talk about a visionary in your field, or a former boss who taught you how to build great teams,” she says. “Prove that you have role models who are relevant to the job you want to land. And then, if you want, go ahead and mention your parents, too — and dont forget to tell them that you did.”
According to bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch, theres one question that interview candidates almost always get wrong: “Whos your role model?”
“That answer is endearing, and I get it,” she says. “Parents make enormous sacrifices for us and often are our best teachers in life. But as an interviewer, I want to hear about your career values and aspirations. I want to hear about your professional heroes.”
In the early days of her journalism career, Welch says she would always ace this question by talking about a Miami-Herald crime reporter she admired name Edna Buchanan. “Everyone in the business knew of Edna and her decades of investigative brilliance,” she says. “She was fierce, relentless and respected — she was everything I hoped to be.”
“Find your Edna Buchanan,” Welch advises job-seekers. Choose someone whose reputation will indicate that youre serious about becoming one of your industrys high achievers as well.
It’s ok to have more than one
Nobody’s perfect. There’s unlikely to be anyone out there who is 100% the person you want to become, and if you think they are, it’s likely they’re just very good at covering their tracks.
If you’re struggling to find one person who you can enthuse about, it’s going to look just as sincere to give a few examples of traits you like in different people. For example: “I aspire to have the same adventurous spirit and endeavour that my Great Uncle possessed into old age, but I also want to have the ability to go for a dog walk the day after losing the presidential election like Hilary Clinton. That self-knowledge, good sportsmanship and compartmentalisation inspired me.”
That ability to actually pick out the traits that matter to you and to communicate that to your interviewer will show a certain level of maturity. After all, the interviewer isn’t perfect either.
FAQ
Who is your role model Why answer?
