Most people don’t realize that their hobbies and free time activities reveal a lot about them. Interviewers can connect the dots, however, and understand the impact this or that hobby will have on your work. Sooner or later in the selection process, you will talk about your leisure time activities. In this post I will analyze what hobbies to pick and how to connect them with the job you try to get, as well as some common mistakes people make while talking about their hobbies (be it in the interviews, in a speed date with someone, or in any other setting).
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The Basics
- Most common interview questions belonging to this area: What are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?
- Less common questions belonging to the area: What are the things you do not enjoy doing. If you won a lottery, what would you do with your life? What books are you currently reading? What do you like to do with your friends, and why?
- Out of 10 random jobs, in how many cases will this area be tested during the hiring process: 7/10. Everything relates to everything. Healthy lifestyle outside of work, and hobbies you enjoy doing, are necessary for good life-work balance, and good life-work balance is necessary for good performance in any job. Hiring managers are aware of it, and they will ask about your leisure time activities more often than not. And while it isn’t a difficult question, underestimating it would be a mistake.
- Difficulty: 2/5. An easy question. At least for most. Because what if you have no hobbies, or no free time? How to deal with the questions about your free time in this case? And what if your hobbies don’t sound like something you’d like to talk about in the interview (think drinking, partying, video games, etc)? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you how to deal with all these cases, and we’ll have sample answers for them as well.
- Main goals of the hiring managers with questions belonging to this area: Breaking the ice, learning more about you as a person, trying to understand how your life outside of work will impact you in the job.
- Your main goals with answers to questions belonging to this area: Mentioning healthy hobbies and habits, connecting with the interviewers on a personal level (for example having a mutual interest in something), convincing them that you have also life outside of work and hence are more stress and burnout resistant than people who live only for work.
7 sample answers
Sample answer no. 1: A sportive job candidate:
I enjoy endurance sports a lot, especially cycling and running. The feelings after a good physical effort, for example when you reach a peak of a mountain, are just indescribable. It also helps me to compensate for the long hours I spend sitting in front of a computer screen. What’s more, it’s a good prevention from the diseases of civilization as they call them. This is what I like to do for fun, and I do it regularly, almost every day after work.
- Quick thing to notice about this answer: Physical activities, be it outside or in the gym, are always good to mention when you talk about your hobbies. Nobody wants to hire an employee who will spend half of the time on sick leave. Being active and doing something for your health is a plus for any employer.
Sample answer no.2: A family man:
My favorite activity is playing with my children. Relationships are very important to me, and I try to find a good life-work balance. It’s a lot of fun playing with the children, and it also helps me to turn off, to forget all my duties and work for a while, and stay in a present moment, just having fun, laughing, sharing the moment with the people I love. Playing with children is a form of mental hygiene for me, if you know what I mean.
- Quick thing to notice about this answer: Good relationships outside of work and healthy life-work balance are a plus for every employer. Because people who are happy in their family life always find it easier to be happy in their job as well. Notice also how the applicant uses the opportunity to explain how his hobbies actually help them to deliver their best at work (“…it also helps me to turn off, to forget all my duties and work for a while… form of a mental hygiene…”)
Sample answer no. 3: A busy mother talking about lack of free time:
To be honest, I rarely have time for my hobbies. Taking care of my mother and children at the same time, I simply rest whenever there is a free hour. Once my shift ends in the job another one starts at home, and it almost feels like I am always working. That’s exactly the reason why I want to work in a place like this, a casual restaurant. I know that you work hard here, but at the same time you can have a chat with the guests, you do not have to stick to a particular dress code or be super-serious in what you do or say. Watching the staff here, I can sense that they have fun working together. It attracts me a lot to this place, because with my life outside of work I probably won’t sustain working in a stressful place.
- Quick thing to notice about this answer: It is OK having ho hobbies, or no time for hobbies, as long as you explain why. However, this candidate sounds rather desperate, and complains too much in her answer. It would be much better for her chances to avoid talking about her family situation altogether.
Sample answer no. 4: An avid book reader:
I love reading books–all sorts of them. And since I can find humor in even the most serious pieces of writing, and enjoy getting immersed in the story I am reading, I find the activity really relaxing and fun. What’s more, I read mostly in French and Spanish, since I try to improve my language skills, and in this way I connect the useful with the pleasant. Learning never stops for me, so why not learn while having fun?
- Quick thing to notice about this answer: Notice how the applicant showcases their positive attitude to learning new things, and also their language skills, while talking about their hobbies. Even such a trivial interview question is an opportunity to tell the interviewers something interesting about you, and gain their attention in the process.
Sample answer no. 5: An applicant with a variety of hobbies:
I like to do a lot of things. Going to movies or to a theater, having a glass of wine with a group of friends, playing sports, listening to some good music, and many other things. To be honest, I like to have some variation in my life. And also if I do one activity only, for a long period of time, it loses a bit from its attraction. For example if I went for a run each day, I would hate the activity after a month. But when I run two or three times a week, I am looking forward to it, and enjoy it a lot every time. Speaking generally, I try to have an active lifestyle. I’m not that type of a person who’d sit home after work, wasting their time swiping pictures on Instagram or on Tinder.
- Quick thing to notice about this answer: Talking about their free time activities, this applicant actually reveals a lot about themselves–their dislike of routine and repetition, their desire to try new things and experiment, being active. Such an answer sounds great, but may easily backfire, for example when you apply for a job that is pretty routine and repetitive. Skilled hiring managers always observe these little nuances and so should you.
Sample answer no. 6: A man who loves traveling:
Traveling is my greatest hobby. I try to go somewhere every other weekend. In our era of cheap flights, it’s really easy to discover new places without spending a fortune. But for me it’s not about checking the top 10 things to do in this or that place by TripAdvisor. I enjoy wandering the streets, meeting locals, absorbing the atmosphere of the city, trying local cuisine, and so on. This is something I really enjoy, and it also helps me to gain some perspective of life, to understand how lucky I am to have all the possibilities to work and to travel, and to enjoy life. It gives you a sense of satisfaction and gratitude.
- Quick thing to notice about this answer: This answer sounds great, but is it really? Imagine travelings somewhere each weekend–flight, hotels, coming back home late from the airports… If you present such a lifestyle in the interviews, hiring managers may easily get an impression that you must be always tired at work, or that from Monday on you look forward to next weekend and next trip, being absent in your mind. In an ideal case, the applicant should elaborate on their answer, ensuring the interviewers that their busy weekends have no impact on their working days.
Sample answer no. 7: A gamer in their thirties:
It may sound silly to you but I enjoy playing video games. I know I look to old for that, but for me it’s the best form of mental relax. You close the door, put on headphones, and for a time you live in a different reality, just enjoying the game. Of course it’s important to have some limits. I never spend more than two hours a day playing. And I understand that though life is a game, a game is not my life. Having said that, I also believe that my new colleagues will introduce me to some other leisure time activities, and that our relationship won’t be confined to the workplace.
- Quick thing to notice about this answer: Hiring managers like honest applicants. Playing video games in your free time doesn’t have to be a showstopper, as long as you explain that you have some limits (“I never spend more than two hours a day playing”), and that it actually doesn’t drain your energy.
Advanced information
Mistakes people make while answering questions about their hobbies and free time activities in the interviews
- Underestimating the imagination of the hiring managers, when it comes to the impact hobbies may have on the performance at work. Playing video games, long trips over the weekends, spending all free time with your family, running ultra marathons. Each hobby has some impact on you, physically and mentally. Hiring managers try to connect the dots (that’s their job after all), and they may easily make a mistake, and come to a conclusion that this or that hobby will actually impact you negatively at work. Hence it is important to elaborate on your answer. Many times a simple confirmation that your hobbies actually give you energy, and have positive impact on your work, will do the trick. In some cases, you may have to elaborate more on your words. For example saying that work is your no. 1 priority, and you plan your trips and socializing activities accordingly. It is a mistake thinking that hiring managers will always make the right conclusion about the way your hobbies impact you. You have to help them to come up with the right conclusion.
- Saying that you have no hobbies. Having no time for hobbies at the moment, and having no hobbies, are two very different things. Interviewers understand that everyone is busy nowadays, and they do not expect you to have countless hobbies and free time activities. At the same time, however, they realize the positive impact having a hobby has on a person, from both the perspective of mental and physical health. It is a mistake saying you have no hobbies, even when you explain that you’re too busy for having a hobby. Try to come up with something, even when you devote yourself to the activity just once or twice a month. It is still much better than nothing…
- Talking about rather destructive hobbies. This mistake isn’t as common as the previous two, but I have experienced interviewees making it. Saying that you love to party, dance all night, or play video games for hours on end will almost certainly cut short your chances in any interviews… Sure, many people devote themselves to such hobbies. If it is also your case, however, make sure to not talk about it in the interviews.
Few points from the perspective of the hiring managers/interviewers
- Just like everyone else, hiring managers like people who have something in common with them. Hiring managers and interviewers are no different to other employees. They also have their life outside of work, hobbies, free time activities. And while we try to stay unbiased, and simply choose the best candidate for the job, we cannot help certain things. What I try to say here is that when I like mountains (hiking, biking, cross country skiing), I will naturally feel good with a job candidate who shares the same hobbies. And this an opportunity for you: try to find out something about your interviewer. In the era of social networks it isn’t particularly difficult. Maybe you have a mutual hobby, something connecting the two of you. If that’s the case, make sure to mention it in your answer.
7 keywords to remember when answering questions belonging to this area
- Healthy lifestyle, mutual hobbies create bonds between people, having no hobbies is not the same like having no time for hobbies, avoid talking about destructive habits such as drinking or partying, ensure them there’s no negative impact on your working life, be honest but do not reveal everything, life-work balance.
So that’s it! You’ve just covered area no. 7 out of 25 areas that cover 99% of questions you may ever get in the interviews. Just 18 areas left! Check the next one: Achievements, or go back to homepage for the full list of 25 areas and pick one you want to learn about and practice right now.
