How to Answer Interview Question: What Is Something You Are Really Passionate About?
Employers ask about your passion and interest to know more about a prospective candidate. They want to know more about the candidate as a person. The interviewer wants to know what motivates the candidate. You might be wondering how your passion is of importance to the hiring manager, but the company wants to recruit candidates that will come in and stay.
Companies invest a lot of money in recruitment processes, so they do not want to invest in a candidate that will leave a few months after the resumption. A candidate that is passionate about his work will be happy in his role and will show up to work energized. If a candidate lacks the drive to carry out a particular role, he will be reluctant to attain goals that have been given to him, because these goals are not aligned with his. He will not be willing to learn or grow because he has no interest in the subject matter. On the other hand, an employee who is passionate about his work will yearn for the knowledge, he sets personal goals and works to achieve them. When a hiring manager asks this question, he is not being absurd or nosy, he only wants to be sure your goals and interest align with the company’s goals and objectives. This also applies to the company’s culture, the manager wants to know if your personality blends with the company’s culture.
Employers are always looking for ways to make their team efficient, any addiction to the team should be one that will improve the workforce. They want to know your strengths, so they know how to help you develop them into something that will be of profit to the company. It is also possible the hiring manager sincerely wants to know you on a personal level. To know what you are like outside the office, or if you are just a workaholic who does not have other activities they engage in. The interviewer might just want to make you relax a bit, cause no matter how coordinated you are, an interview heat can make you a bit nervous. He knows this is your comfort zone, he expects a candidate to answer this question which a lot of enthusiasm, cause this is what excites him. This question can be a very easy way to eliminate a candidate. Companies go through the learn of giving questionnaires to determine a candidate’s personality. This is why it’s important to tread carefully when giving your response.
Tips to answering the interview question” what are you passionate about?”.
What are you passionate about?
If you are still wondering “ What are my passions”, then you are not far-fetched from an answer. Passions are areas or activities that excite or interest you when you do them. They must not necessarily be work-related. But as a candidate being interviewed, it is important you talk about a passion that somehow links to the job role. Every interview question you are asked is an indirect way of determining your ability to handle the role. Any candidate going for an interview is to do prior research and make a mental note of suitable answers for potential questions. The easiest way to identify a passion suitable for an interview question is to think about the job description or industry and think of what excites you about the role, then relate it to what you do naturally that makes you happy.
Why are you passionate about it?
This is the stage the candidate explains why he is passionate about the activity he already stated. Yes, you love this, but why?. If there is a particular event or experience that led to your love for the activity, this is the time to talk about it or if it’s just a natural occurrence. For instance, if you are passionate about Art, you can use this example below
I usually spend most of my free time drawing and painting. While growing up, I was not much of a talker. I was always hiding in my shell, living a secluded life. Art was the only way I could express my thoughts. When am drawing, the energy I have been building up and could not let out vocally seems to find its way out? Everything seems to make sense again when am through with a particular piece. When you pick up one of my artwork, you pick up an exhibition of lots of emotions and unspoken words. My artwork brings me peace and an unimaginable amount of joy. This is why this apprenticeship is important to me, an avenue to keep doing what I love the most while learning from the best in the field.
Give examples of when you have pursued this passion
Give practical examples of how you have advanced in your passion. If you are passionate about helping people, talk about several charity events you have organized or attended. Talk about charitable activities you have done in the past, like how you volunteer in old people’s homes to help them clean up or how you go to orphanage homes to play with the kids.
Relate it back to the job you’re being interviewed for
Remember that the big goal is to secure the job. So as you are going on and on about your passion, try as much as possible to tie it back to the job role. The interviewer wants to determine how your passion can help you excel in the job. The follow-up question after this question is usually how you think your passion will help you in the role you are applying for. In as much as you are trying to find a perfect answer that relates to the job role, do not lie. Interviewers are always quick to catch on to lies. You do not want to be in a position you can not defend a sentence you made previously.
Be enthusiastic while answering the question
Your passion is what you are excited about while doing it. So the interviewer expects to see a spark of enthusiasm. This is your comfort zone, so he expects you to be at peace while answering this. As you are speaking, try to put on a smiling face. You do t even need to try, cause once you are genuinely passionate about what you talking about, the joy flows from within. That look or expression is what the interviewer might just be looking out for.
Prepare for follow up questions
The thing about enthusiasm is that it can be infectious. Your interviewer might get genuinely interested in knowing more about your passion. It might even be that you share the same passion with your interviewer. Then the scene might shift from a question and answer battle to a discussion. If you have lied to get your way in, it might be hard to keep up with a conversation like that. For instance, you might have said that you love helping people and that you have gone to a certain charity event, to your greatest surprise your interviewer might have also attended that chatty event. He might start asking you a few other things regarding the charity event. Just imagine the shock you will be in if you never attended the charity event.
Be wary of pitfall
You might be genuinely talking about your passion and your interviewer might misunderstand you. It might be the case that your passion is what is not acceptable by your interviewer. The truth is that your interviewer is human, and sometimes personal feelings might cloud his judgment. It is true that we all have our freedom of choice, but you don’t want to be in a tug of war with your interviewer. This is why it is advisable to do your homework. Think about how others might view your passion. Is it generally acceptable? Is it something someone can misunderstand?
