Connect motivation to DE outcomes: trustworthy data enabling decisions.
Strong motivators (pick 2–3)
- Turning messy sources into clean tables people trust
- Debugging hard data puzzles
- Building systems that run reliably without babysitting
- Learning new tools with a clear business problem
- Helping analysts/PMs move faster
Example outline
> I'm motivated when a dashboard that used to be "maybe wrong" becomes trustworthy because of tests and clear grain. I like the mix of coding, modeling, and stakeholder clarity. Shipping a pipeline that just works every morning is satisfying.
Avoid
Only money, only prestige, or "I like AI hype" with no DE connection.
Interview tip: Mirror something real about *their* product if you can.