Whether you are applying for a new job or a promotion, one question you cannot escape is, “What are you passionate about?” At first, the question doesn’t seem complicated, but it can get a little intricate and embarrassing when answering it, especially to someone you don’t know.
If you are asked this question during your interview, don’t panic. Whether you have a possible answer to this question or not, here are some tips on how you can answer this very tricky question:
Ask Yourself; ‘What Skill, Idea, Hobby or Activity do I Like’?
Prior to answering this interview question, look for the passions you are confident with. Think of your hobbies, pastimes, skills or even ideas that drive your curiosity and pick the best one that you are always happy to talk about with others.
Explain Your Passions
After picking your favourite and comfortable passion, explain why it inspires you to keep going. You can say that the passion you love is related to specific situations that you were able to do with your experience. For example, if you enjoy playing with LEGO, you can connect it to your unbreakable focus on tasks and creativity.
Expound as to Why You are Pursuing this Passion
You can also give more depth to your answer by explaining how you got into this passion. It will show the hiring manager that you are committed and are not afraid to pursue it. You can also say what goals drove you to this passion and how it has changed how you see your motivator. If your desire is cooking, for example, you can say your goal was to discover new meals that even the pickiest of eaters could love.
Apply it to the Job at Hand
You can conclude your answer by relating your chosen passion to the position you are applying for. Let’s say you are passionate about LEGOs, and you are being interviewed for a graphic designer role; you can connect your passion by saying that you are very flexible and go beyond traditional designs to achieve a client’s vision.
Explain How Your Passion can Help you Maintain a Work-Life Balance
If your passion doesn’t relate to the position at hand, you can still mention it. Employers want an employee who can manage their work and personal life well, and having a passion is one way of achieving it. Of course, you should be very clear that even if your passion doesn’t apply to the job, you will do it outside of work and not let it distract you from your tasks.
Be Honest if You are Still not Sure What You are Passionate About
If you are still undecided as to what your passions are, be honest about it. It’s possible that you have many passions, and they all have an equal value to you, or none excites you that much. When you answer this question, look at the things you are doing at the moment and try connecting them to the position. For example, if you are currently doing volunteer work besides sports and other leisure activities, mention it and say how it helps you with your work ethic.
Conclusion
When asked this interview question, don’t be afraid to answer it because your employers want to have a better idea about what you are as a person. They will also see what drives you and look at how they can help you stay motivated. By providing a well-thought and clear answer, you will be able to show your employers that you are the candidate they are looking for.
Still looking for that dream job? Here is how you can score one:
Top Job Sites to Hunt Down Your Dream Job
Different Types of Cover Letters To Help You Get A Job
4 Steps to Use Your Network to Land You Your First Job
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MiddleMe 
Great advice Kally. Passion meaning to suffer for. That’s how I would frame it in an interview. What I am willing to go above and beyond for. What purpose am I really willing to struggle for. I would talk about those things in my life as they relate to that job. 🙏
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Thank you so much!
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Interesting!
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Thank you so much! Have an awesome weekend!
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sometimes , the missions can not be realized or accomplished in one day or overnight or in pressing the computer button .It takes time ,consistency , insights and persistence …
Develop your own skills because mentors to not usually give insights , skills and encouragement for charity or for free with all my love and respect though …( Some do but not all people give for charitable purposes …)
Rome was not built in one day …Build your own life and plant your seeds to grow …
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Those who have built Google empire have worked for years and for more than 10 thousand hours to get this empire expanding and evolving …
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One thing to add is that the less we cock the food especially vegetables and the more we eat raw vegetables and fruits, the healthier .
If you can make salads , it would be better and healthier .
Some Chinese food is very healthy and very delicious because it is fresh ,rich and diverse well-done and not cocked touch or half-baked …It is better than fast food even if it takes more preparation and time but it is healthier , tastier and even more delicious sometimes …
Love and light from Lebanon to the world…
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I really enjoyed this post Kally. I have actually had to answer a type of question like this in several interviews and frankly, it was the most easiest to answer. I’m actually very comfortable answering anything they throw my way from years and years of being interviewed for various jobs in pursuit of my “dream job”. When I talked about my passion, they could see my enthusiastic expressions and how alive I became. It’s always one that I really look forward to getting to answer.
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Thank you so much for letting me know you enjoy reading my post, Mark. Have an awesome weekend!
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I like the way you’ve explained how to apply your passion to the job and how not to i.e. by mentioning it anyway, which will show how you can manage both your job and your personal life.
Having been the interviewee and the interviewer many times, I always thought this was an easy question to answer but you’d be surprised at how many people stutter and mumble their way through this one. It was like pulling teeth with some 😉
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This is something I had to learn the hard over the years. I never used to know that even a question about your passion in an interview has to relate to the job you’re applying for. It makes sense, I was just very naive and inexperienced. If only this post existed sooner and I came across it then haha. Great post!
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Thank you so much, Dalen. Have a wonderful day.
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Thanks for these tips! I find the idea of relating a passion to the ability to maintain work-life balance especially intriguing. I’d never thought about it that way!
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