During the interview, the employer will likely start with a series of questions to learn more about your personality. Although these questions seem lower risk than technical questions about the job such as “What is your passion?”, they help employers get to know you.
What is your passion?
Finding effective answers to such questions can show employers that you are an exciting candidate and help you stand out from the rest. Learn how to successfully answer, "What is your passion?" With examples.
Some other formulas
There are many other forms of the question “What is your passion?”, including:
- What are you passionate about?
- What is the thing you are most excited about?
- Why did you apply for this job?
- Why do you want this job?
- What motivates you?
Why does the interviewer ask you this question?
If the interviewer asks you “What is your passion?” chances are the reason is simple: They want to get to know you better, hiring managers often want to know what excites you even if it isn't job related, and also to get a glimpse of what you look like It's your life outside of work.
They ask for this to learn more about you as a person and to make sure that you have passions and interests. They want to hire someone who is passionate about their work and life, and who will show up in the workplace!
And they want to make sure that this is the kind of job you want to do too! They don't want to hire someone who will leave or change their mind the first year.
How to prepare for the answer
Here are a few ways you can answer, depending on what you are passionate about and how it relates to the job you want.
Ask yourself, “What are the main features of this job that appeal to me?” To answer this question, you can follow a general outline when preparing for your interview:
- First, identify something you are really passionate about.
- Second, explain why you are passionate about it.
- Third, give examples of how you pursue this passion.
- Fourth, link it to the job.
Examples of answering the question
Response templates can help you understand how to carefully answer the “What is your passion?” question. Consider these sample answers to help inspire you to prepare your own answer:
Passionate about software, computers and technology. This has fascinated me since I was young, and this is one of the reasons why I am pursuing a career in software engineering, web design, or any number of related fields.
The only thing I'm passionate about is healthy living and healthy eating. I think it's something my parents taught me from a young age. That's why I enjoy working in the fitness field. It allows me to combine my personal interests and passions with my professional life. I feel like I'm spending my time working on helping people with something important, and that motivates me to do a great job.
My biggest passion is learning about software and technology. I was fascinated with computers from a young age, so I decided to study computer science in college and have continued in that direction since graduating. It was a great choice for me! As a front-end software developer, I can define how the Internet progresses and how websites evolve, which is exciting for me.
One of the areas I am passionate about is self-development and self-improvement in my personal life. I am always looking to challenge myself and learn new things. This is one of the reasons I enjoy working in customer service; I learned great communication skills, listening skills, problem solving skills which help me in my day to day work and also in my personal life in terms of trust, communication etc.
I am really excited about walking and hiking in the outdoors. I usually take my weekends and my time when I'm not in the office. I feel like I have more energy when I get back to the office on Monday if I've spent some time outdoors on the weekend.