Employers love to ask, “What are you passionate about?” in interviews, and they’re testing you for a few key things.
They ask this to learn about you as a person and make sure you have passions and interests in general.
They want to hire someone who’s excited about their work and life, and will show up energized to the workplace!
With over ten years of experience in talent acquisition and recruitment, I’ve learned exactly what makes candidates stand out when answering interview questions like these. Now, I’m passing these tips on to you, so you can confidently navigate your next interview.
Highlights
- Reflect on a genuine interest; pick something you truly care about and provide specific details.
- Shape your explanation to underscore how your skills and experiences make you a suitable candidate for Connect your interests to the company’s mission, values, or the responsibilities of the position.
- Focus on transferable skills that demonstrate your drive and align with the company’s needs, even if your true passion isn’t directly related.
- Practice your response beforehand and record yourself to refine it.
Why Do Employers Ask, “What Are You Passionate About?”
From years in my field, I can attest that employers ask “What are you passionate about?” for a few reasons that go beyond just your technical qualifications for the job.
Here’s what they’re hoping to learn:
1. Cultural Fit
Employers want to gauge how well your passions align with the company culture. They seek individuals who share similar values and interests, as they are more likely to thrive within the organization.
For instance, a company that values innovation might look for someone passionate about attending tech conferences or learning new coding languages. This passion shows an alignment with the company’s drive to push boundaries.
2. Motivation and Engagement
Passion is a strong indicator of motivation and engagement. Employers want to hire candidates who are genuinely enthusiastic about their work, as they are more likely to go above and beyond to achieve success and make valuable contributions to the company.
3. Long-Term Commitment
The level of dedication you display toward your passion speaks volumes to employers. Are you someone who casually enjoys something or are you deeply invested, constantly seeking to learn and improve?
Individuals who are passionate about their work are more likely to stay motivated and dedicated, reducing turnover and increasing employee retention rates.
EXPERT ADVICE
Dr. Kyle Elliott, MPA, CHES
Tech & Interview Career Coach
caffeinatedkyle.com
What’s the best way to express my passions during an interview to make a memorable impression?
Recruiters and hiring managers are often juggling dozens of interviews and business meetings per week, so it can be difficult to craft answers that stand out in their memories, but it’s possible.
The key is to relay a personal story or anecdote as to why you’re drawn to the company. If you personally use the product or service, don’t be afraid to share a story of how it’s improved your life. At the same time, you don’t need to go into a monologue. Less is often more when storytelling.
How Do You Know What You Are Passionate About?
If you’re thinking “What am I passionate about”, or if you’re still not sure which one thing to mention in your interview answer, then this section is for you.
The best way to decide which passion to name is to look at the job/industry and work backward by thinking about what excites you and interests you in that job. Ask yourself, “What are the main characteristics of this job that appeal to me?”
This could be: Working with technology, solving interesting technical challenges, helping people, making a difference in people’s lives, helping people live healthier lives, etc.
Then think about why that excites you, or how that fits into your personal interests. By approaching the question like this, you’ll always have an answer that relates to the job you’re interviewing for.
Of course, if you have a different passion that you want to mention, that’s fine, too. I’m not suggesting you lie or be fake in the interview.
However, I am suggesting that if you go to an interview for a Nursing job, and you say that your passion is playing online video games, they’re going to wonder about how hard you’re going to work.
PRO TIP
Determine the skills and values that fuel your enthusiasm, like assisting others, being innovative, or enhancing efficiency. Relate these to your career goals. For instance, ‘My passion for innovation drives me to seek opportunities with cutting-edge tech companies.’
How to Answer “What Are You Passionate About” in Job Interviews
The question “What are you most passionate about?” in job interviews is a great opportunity to showcase your dedication and transferable skills.
1. Reflect on a Genuine Interest
When we conducted interviews, we would always notice when candidates could clearly articulate a single passion. So my best advice is to name one area of interest. Don’t say you’re passionate about “everything” or give a generic answer. Talk about something you truly care about and provide specific details.
2. Relate Your Passion to the Job
Ideally, your passion can connect to the job you’re applying for. Discuss how your interests align with the company’s mission, values, or the responsibilities of the position.
For example, let’s say you’re a nursing candidate. You can say you’re passionate about helping others. You’ve always been someone who’s looked after others and wanted to help people. Then you’d go on to explain how nursing seemed like the perfect career, given this passion of yours.
So, you’re explaining your passion while also explaining why you chose this career. In fact, preparing to answer an interview question like “What are you passionate about?” is going to also give you some great ideas you can share in response to many other commonly-asked interview questions like:
3. Highlight Transferable Skills
Reflect on the skills you’ve developed through your passion that are applicable to the job you’re interviewing for. This helps demonstrate how your passion relates to the position and showcases your ability to contribute.
For example, “I’m really passionate about building robots for robotics competitions. This has been a fantastic way to develop my problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. We often encounter unexpected challenges during construction, forcing us to think creatively and find quick solutions. The competitions also require a strong understanding of engineering principles, which I believe would be valuable in this software engineering role.”
Bill Burnett, Co-Director of Stanford d.school says:
“Tailor your answer to the interview. If you’re interviewing for a creative role, highlight your artistic passions. If it’s a data-driven role, discuss your love for problem-solving.”
“What Are You Passionate About?” Sample Answers
From years of evaluating candidate responses, I’ve seen firsthand how tailored answers make a lasting impression. Now that we’ve looked at steps and tips for how to answer “What are you passionate about?”, let’s look at some word-for-word sample answers tailored to different categories.
1. Health and Well-Being
“One thing that I’m passionate about is healthy living and healthy eating. I think it’s something my parents taught me from a young age. So that’s why I enjoy working in the fitness industry. It allows me to blend my personal interests and passions with my career. I feel like I’m spending my time working on helping people with something that’s important, and that motivates me to do great work.”
2. Family and Relationships
“I’m passionate about building strong relationships. Whether it’s with family, friends, or colleagues, I believe open communication and mutual respect are key. This translates well to working in a team environment, where fostering positive connections fosters collaboration and better results.”
3. Career and Professional Growth
“I’m constantly driven to learn and grow professionally, especially when it comes to new programming languages and frameworks. I actively seek out online courses, attend meet-ups, and participate in hackathons to develop my skill set. This aligns perfectly with your company’s focus on staying at the forefront of innovation in the tech industry. My dedication to continuous improvement would allow me to quickly learn new technologies and contribute to the development of cutting-edge software solutions.”
4. Education and Learning
“I have a lifelong passion for learning, especially when it comes to staying ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving marketing landscape. I actively seek out online courses on topics like marketing automation or the latest social media trends. Recently, I completed a certification in Data and Marketing Analytics to further develop my data analysis skills – crucial for understanding customer behavior and campaign effectiveness. This approach aligns perfectly with your company’s focus on data-driven marketing strategies.”
5. Community and Service
“Giving back to my community is a cause I deeply care about. I volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, where I manage construction projects to build affordable housing. I recently led a team of volunteers in framing a new house, ensuring efficient material allocation and clear communication between volunteers with varying skill sets. This experience has been incredibly rewarding and has helped me develop strong leadership and communication skills. I believe my dedication to collaboration, achieving results, and leading teams effectively would be a valuable asset to your project management team.”
6. Environmental Sustainability
“I’m passionate about protecting our environment. I actively participate in sustainable practices and advocate for eco-friendly solutions. This aligns well with your company’s commitment to environmental responsibility, and I’m eager to contribute to these initiatives.”
7. Arts and Culture
“I’m deeply passionate about graphic design, particularly the way visual storytelling can communicate complex ideas in an engaging way. In my recent project, I explored the concept of global warming by using minimalist visuals and bold typography. I conducted research on color psychology before finalizing the design. This process of translating complex ideas into clear visual narratives while considering audience perception was key. I believe my ability to think visually, tell stories through design, and tailor graphics for diverse audiences would be a valuable asset to your team.”
8. Technology and Innovation
“I’m fascinated by the ever-evolving world of data science and machine learning, particularly their application in understanding customer behavior. I actively follow advancements by attending industry conferences like the ‘Customer Insights Summit’ and subscribing to blogs that focus on customer analytics best practices. Your company’s focus on using cutting-edge data analysis techniques to optimize customer experiences aligns perfectly with my passion and skill set. I’m eager to contribute to developing innovative solutions that leverage customer data to drive business growth.”
9. Personal Finance and Investing
“I’m passionate about personal finance and investing. This passion extends to a strong interest in understanding the broader financial markets, particularly the equity market. I follow financial news outlets like Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, and I participate in online investment simulations focused on stock selection, utilizing fundamental analysis techniques. This meticulous attention to detail and data analysis, coupled with my ongoing pursuit of financial knowledge through these activities, translates well to a role like financial analyst, particularly in equity research.”
10. Personal Growth and Self-Improvement
“One area that I’m passionate about is self-development and self-improvement in my personal life. I’m always looking to challenge myself and learn new things. That’s one reason I enjoy working in customer service; I’ve learned great communication skills, listening skills, and problem-solving skills that help me in my day-to-day work but also in my personal life in terms of confidence and communication.”
Overall, hiring managers just want to know that you’re interested in their position and that you’re energetic and positive in general. They also are hoping to get to know a bit about you as a person. So the sample answers above will accomplish all of these things and help you get more job offers when you discuss your passion in a job interview.
Finally, it is possible to name something totally unrelated to the job.
So if you like this approach, then this next example is for you:
11. Your Passion Is Unrelated to the Job
“I’m really passionate about hiking and being outdoors. That’s usually how I spend my weekends and my time when I’m not in the office. I feel like I have more energy when I return to the office on Mondays if I’ve spent some time outdoors on the weekend.”
If you really don’t feel like answering with a work-related passion, then you can give an answer like the example we covered. This is still a good answer that will tell the interviewer about who you are as a person. This could also spark a great back-and-forth conversation. For example, they might say, “Wow, that’s great. What’s your favorite hike that you’ve been on?”
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Answering “What Is Your Passion?” in a Job Interview
I’ve covered how to answer “What are you most passionate about?” and provided helpful examples, now let’s cover a few common rookie mistakes that I’ve seen interviewees make over the years as a recruiter.
- Not Practicing or Preparing in Advance
Many interviewees walk into the room with generic answers or none at all, and this question trips up a lot of them. Make sure to practice this question a couple of times before the job interview. You’ll perform better if you spend a bit of time recording yourself on your smartphone and playing it back to hear how you sound. Then adjust until you feel everything’s good and ready for your job interview.
- Forgetting to Connect the Passion Back to the Job
Passion is great, but interviewers want to know how it benefits the company. As we’ve mentioned, make sure to connect your passions to your skills and the role/company’s mission or values.
Failing to do so can make it seem like you’re not genuinely interested in the position or that you haven’t done your research.
- Lying or Exaggerating
It’s easy for hiring managers to see through a fake answer. They’ve likely heard it all before, and inauthenticity can raise red flags about your fit for the company culture.
Even if your true passion isn’t directly related to the role, focus on transferable skills or interests that demonstrate your drive and align with the company’s values.
Final Advice
Whether you choose a work-related passion or a personal passion, it’s best to name one single thing that you’re passionate about, and then explain why. Don’t pick anything that will sound like a distraction that will take away from your ability to work (for example, I don’t recommend saying, “I’m very passionate about playing video games.”) And make sure to give a truthful answer.
Hiring managers ask this interview question because they want to get to know you and learn a bit about you, and they’re pretty good at sensing when you’re giving a “canned” answer that you read online but isn’t true.
All of these tips are covered in more detail in the article above, so if you skipped down to the conclusion, I’d recommend scrolling back up and reading step-by-step on how to handle this job interview question. If you follow these tips, you’ll have a great response when you hear an interview question like, “What are you passionate about?”.
