James Payne | Partner, Central Government Practice
In my role as a Partner in our Central Government Practice, I work closely with leaders across departments, agencies and their most strategic suppliers. Across nearly two decades in search, I’ve been fortunate to learn from individuals who have shaped institutions and driven real change. The leaders who left the deepest impression on me were those anchored by one thing above all: a clear and compelling sense of purpose.
How motivation and purpose can help you stand out as a candidate
I am often asked by candidates “how can I stand out in a competitive market?”.
There are many great application tips and interview strategies, however, almost every recruitment conversation, whether it takes place in the public sector, the private sector or anywhere in between, comes back to two things: motivation and competence.
Volumes have been written about both and by many more educated and insightful folk than this humble recruiter, however, they are perennial challenges and all of us will meet them in the world of work. Simply put, motivation is the “why” and competence covers “what and how”. Let’s leave competence on the bench and put motivation in the spotlight for now.
Why motivation and purpose matter
Recruitment is a high-risk activity and organisations are looking to ensure that they make the right hire first time and minimise their risk. Your sense of purpose and your underlying drivers are important indicators of whether your values are aligned with the organisation. This implies cultural fit, leadership style and impact and in challenging, high-intensity settings it can offer an insight into your level of resilience and engagement.
Types of motivation
To be reductive, there are two types of motivations; firstly, those that are about you, your career progression, development, timing and circumstance. These can often contain ‘push factors’, the things driving you away from your current organisation or work situation. It is important to be ready to discuss these as clearly and openly as you can, even where there may be more challenging contexts surrounding your reasons for seeking a move. From time to time, I will meet senior candidates who struggle to address an issue in their recent past or who are reticent to offer context. My honest response is that you can either offer me your narrative or leave me to speculate and inevitably create my own!
Secondly, there are motivations that concentrate on the organisation that you are applying to join. Its core purpose, mission, aims and objectives as well as the factors that make both role and its potential for impact attractive are often referred to as pull factors.
In an interview. most hiring panels will dedicate three to five minutes to asking the “why this, why now?” question directly and, depending on the format of the application you may or may not have the opportunity to express this in writing.
Competence is more easily evidenced. Your track record, your skills and the outcomes you’ve delivered will speak for themselves. Motivation and purpose however, can be subtler, more human and far more revealing. Employers look to interpret your story, your decisions and your sense of direction and both qualities play a central part in this. Understanding and articulating your drivers honestly, can be transformative.
Motivations come and go
I once had a sports teacher who told us “motivation is not your friend”. He went on to explain that motivations come and go and that ultimately it is consistency that drives performance; it is often the fight with the alarm clock that shapes our reality! Anyone who has battled through a tough training session or persevered with a long project knows that the initial spark of enthusiasm rarely carries you through to the finish. Yet, while commitment and consistency sustain you long after the initial excitement has passed, the spark still matters.
Motivation is often the first signal, faint though it may sometimes be, of why a role, a mission or a context matters to you. When you begin an application or walk into an interview, you are in many ways being asked to reconnect with that spark and bring it to life for the interviewer.
Another way to think of it is motivation and purpose is the underlying drive that gives coherence to your choices. “I want to make a difference” or “make a real impact” is the starting point for many of us, but further deepening this felt sense and adding depth and clarity to your intention will help you articulate it to your interviewer.
Practice makes perfect
At GS we interview several thousand Executive, Non-Executive and Chair candidates each year and those who are most compelling convey a clear sense of the world they want to help create through their own unique contribution, skills and experience.
A simple but useful exercise is to sit with a pen and paper and complete your answer to the following statements:
“ I create a world where ..(insert your description of the world you want to create in the affirmative, present tense) by.. (describe how)”
The more authentic your statement of purpose is, the easier it will be to communicate naturally as it will most likely align naturally with and reflect the “what” and the “how” aspects of your work.
A final reflection on values
Underpinning all of this are your values. Values shape how you interpret the world, how you judge right and wrong, what you prioritise, what matters and ultimately how you choose to live. They determine whether you experience alignment or dissonance in a role or organisation.
Many candidates focus on describing their skills but rarely articulate the deeper beliefs that guide their choices. Yet these are often the most revealing. They determine how you lead, how you resolve conflict, how you make decisions and how you navigate challenges and function under pressure. When you understand your values well enough to speak about them candidly, you help employers understand not just what you can do, but who you are and how you will show up.
Beyond a test of competence, the recruitment journey, at its best, is an extended exploration of these themes. It is an opportunity to reflect on purpose, service, authenticity and values, and to articulate them in a way that is grounded, human and honest.
For experienced candidates, this is not about reinvention. It is about recognition, of what has shaped you, what drives you now and what you are ready to commit to next. When you can speak from that place with clarity and calm conviction, you don’t need to try to stand out. You simply will.