How to Answer: What does success look like to you at the end of the day?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Entry-Level Manager job interview.
2. What does success look like to you at the end of the day?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
The interviewer wants to see what motivates you as a leader. You'll want the way you answer this question to reflect those instances where you felt a sense of accomplishment and personal and professional growth, or where you exhibited big-picture thinking and were instrumental in the success of the group and the advancement of goals. This can pertain to you as an individual or to leading the charge of the team. This approach will suggest you aren't the type of leader who equates to success with everything going according to plan or where everything feels easy. You want to equate success to accomplishment. As Margaret Thatcher once said, "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it."
Written by Kevin Downey on February 27th, 2024
Experienced Example
"What feels like success to me at the end of the day is when I feel like I have truly exemplified what it means to be a leader. It's when I help make the team shine, and everyone feels like they climbed the mountain and are thrilled with their accomplishments, which is accented by the fact that everyone else on the team feels that way as well. And then, being able to tell them they were each responsible for our success, and to mean it, that feels like success. And it is absolutely true. If, as a leader, I am able to manage the effort, to coordinate everyone's strengths, and to get them to get us there as a group, I've helped them realize their full potential. That's a great feeling."
Written by Kevin Downey on February 27th, 2024