I'm trading a third of my life for money, but it can't be about the money?

If it's about money for you, you might be one of Those People.

You know... the people who negotiate their salary.

People who aren't team players, in other words.

We can't have any of those hanging around here. Lowers the tone.

If your working for a third of your life, wouldn't you optimize to enjoy what your doing? Life to some is far more enjoyable if they are working in an interesting domain or doing something they feel is worthwhile, rather than being absolutely miserable, making fat stacks, then trying to buy that feeling of contentment with material things

You're not wrong, but those of us lucky enough to make that choice are rare. My point, however, is the question posed to the potential employer, looking at me with judgement that I might seek to optimize the time I'm spending away from my family by making absolutely as much money as I can.

> I'm trading a third of my life for money, but it can't be about the money?

There's a lot of things you or I could be doing for money; why this career path in particular?

> There's a lot of things you or I could be doing for money; why this career path in particular?

It pays... more money?

> There's a lot of things you or I could be doing for money

Not for the amount this gig offers that aligns with my skills.

Easy answer - I go into how I was computer geek from the 6th grade programming in assembly on 8 but computers and how much I’ve enjoyed seeing the progression of technology, being a part of it, and evolving as technology has evolved.

That answer does a few things and addresses some elephants in the room.

- why am I in my mid 40s and wanting a job as “just a developer”

- yes I am “old” but I’ve always kept up with $latesr_cool_kid tech.

- No,I’m not going to try to take your job as a manager.

- I’m okay with the amount you are paying which is slightly above market.

I prefer it to working in a warehouse, operating a microfilm machine, routing faxes, end user support, security consulting, and the other jobs I have had before this one.

No it has to be about changing the world and how much you adore this amazing company that gives you the privilege of wasting 1/3 of your life on them. In fact you should be paying them.

"I've got a real passion for frozen yogurt."

Suppose you left a company because your coworkers were very difficult to work with. Poor communication, weird social dynamics, that kind of thing.

Explaining that without coming across as a "troublemaker" can be pretty difficult. You just sound like you're ragging on the company / people rather than explaining the issues well. And do you really want to get in a deep conversation about cultural issues at your previous company?

I’ve answered that very honestly.

“the software development manager was originally hired to bring new thinking into a company in $small_town so he spearheaded opening an office in $bigger_city. After awhile, the old guard pushed him and my manager out and that left us without a voice in the satellite office and our input was ignored. I want to be somewhere which allows me to be impactful”.

I should also add on, that it helped in that situation that I had two levels of management that respected me and who I used as references.

It would have been a lot harder to explain if I actively didn’t get along with my managers.

Then just be honest and say it. "I left this organization because I felt uncomfortable there. If you want more detail I can provide it."

And yes, as the hiring manager, I may want to understand the cultural issues at your last company. Why?

Because I want to understand (a) what you value, (b) how you deal with conflict, (c) will you be able to help me improve our culture here and (d) what cultural issues you may or may not bring with you.

If I'm going to help you be successful here, I do want to understand your background. I may not need all that information before hiring, but I will get to it eventually because it's pertinent to helping you and the team succeed.

The point is that it's a negative thing to talk about, and frankly sometimes you can't just turn it into a positive story of what you value and how you deal with conflict.

Sometimes a person sees bad shit and just runs, and that's a valid approach. Psychoanalyzing every decision they make is the trap of interviewing.

Agreed, and to move up one level of meta, the interviewer should be thinking about this kind of analysis when they construct their interview process/system.

“How can I moderate this conversation so the questions themselves are not obstructing the candidate’s answers?”