Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have fun? Or are you one of those who is a workaholic that matches with the famous saying” All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Is it fun to answer such a question? Should you be concerned and not share too many of your fun activities or what should you say? How should you answer them? It could be a blunder if you were not expecting this question: How do you answer what you do for fun in a serious interview room?
But this is a fun question to answer if you know how to tackle it. It is all about taking the best opportunity of the question and narrating it with a purpose in mind. Because most of the time, this is a question they ask you to know the whole dynamics of your core beliefs and values or whether your personality will culturally fit in their company. This is a question to embrace and dissect to make the most interesting answer, an answer that reflects you as a person that fits the task for which you are being interviewed.
Tips to understand the real motive behind that question
- When you are asked this particular question, it is not an excuse for you to have a fun time with the interviewer. Take this opportunity to link the job role and its task for which you applied and fit the things you do for fun with it.
- Another thing to note is that such a question is asked to know your personality style. Through your answer, your interviewer can judge a candidate about their core nature and what they are like as a person, a colleague, or a friend. Sometimes your personality may also clash with the company culture. For instance, a person who is kind of casual and loves too much freedom may not fit in an organization that has rigid rules and regulations to follow or vice versa. So a candidate’s choice of leisure can reflect if he/she fits in their company culture. The wise thing to do is study their company culture and don’t apply if you think you cannot adjust there.
- This question is so asked to see your coping mechanisms. For instance, they want to know how you handle stress. And what measure do you take to make yourself a whole person? A toxic worker or a lazy worker who does not have any fun time as he/she is too lazy to pursue a hobby tells a lot about that person and how they will be as an employee. These kinds of candidates are far below average ones who will just do the bare minimum to get by in the office. If the company is looking for some proactive person then most likely they will give a pass to such candidates.
- Having a hobby is good for both your personal and work life. Studies have proven that those who have hobbies and fun leisure activities have more relationship-building skills, high adaptability and more determination that makes them an achiever and an optimistic person than the rest of the people who don’t have any kind of hobby or interest.
- A company looks to work with people who have the heart to serve others and those who go an extra mile without are the most sought-after ones as these are like finding gems. So when they ask this question, tell them of the volunteering work you love to do and share a thing or two about some campaign you took part in. But on a side note, don’t share any controversial political rally you attended or some religious meetings. This is a personal thing and you don’t want them to judge you before you even enter the company. There are a lot of other things to tell them about besides these things.
- Sometimes the motive behind asking this question is because the boss wants to know what type of a person you are so that he can get a slight idea of what he is getting into. Sometimes it is a friendly question to see if you both have anything in common.
- The way you answer this question also determines how you judge the environment and how wisely you handle the question. Meaning that sometimes a filter is needed for your answer. To do that, you need to make a sound judgment.
- Different people view this question differently. That is because some have nothing to share because of their boring routine and some love this question as they have a lot to say. For those who don’t have much to say, find a hobby or anything that interests you and pursue it so that when the question is asked, you will at least have a true story to share. And for those whose life is enriched by many activities, it would be helpful to put a filter on your story. Each type of person must work out such questions accordingly.
How to strategize this question before you answer?
- Research yourself. What do you like and notice what you are naturally drawn to? This is the way to recognize your hobby. If you already have a few hobbies, list one or two hobbies that you are regularly participating in.
- Make sure to stay with one hobby that shows links with your job-related tasks or personality. But you must be passionate about that hobby. You cannot fake such stuff so don’t even try.
- If you don’t have any hobbies, stick to your values. If you are a family person and love to take care of old age people or love to spend time with your animals. You can mention those. That will show your values and the things you cherish.
- Make sure to share why you do what you do. Share the motivation behind pursuing those goals or hobbies. This will make the answer more interesting and meaningful to the hearer.
A little bit of research can help a long way to overcome this question like a pro and make your way into the company without much difficulty. So, here are some example answers to the question: what do you like to do for fun?
Some example answers to the question
- I love oceans and the ocean air has a way of recharging me so most of my leisure time is spent on the beach volunteering to help out beginners with their surfing. Nothing refreshes me more than the ocean combined with some good charity work.
- This answer makes you look generous, calm, helpful and a person who maintains gratitude towards life.
- I love to research different topics that are related to my field of expertise during my free time. I love to read and it makes me feel refreshed. There are also other things I do in my free time like tend to my garden. One of my favorite hobbies is making bonsai. I just love the aesthetics of it.
For instance, this kind of answer makes an interviewer notice the various facets of your personality and it does perfectly fit in an educational role. It displays patience, intelligence, and a disciplined lifestyle. A person who loves routine. A perfect candidate to work in an educational institution.
- I love to participate in community outreaches. It’s something that drove me to pursue human resource management. I love people and helping them achieve their goals and dreams keeps me motivated to do what I am doing.
- I love to experiment with different recipes and make my version of any dish. Most of my leisure time goes into such experiments. This answer fits perfectly if you are applying for the role of chef. It gives your interviewer an idea that you are passionate about your work and not just here for the fat salary. It also gives them an idea about your love for creativity and innovative nature with a dash of risk-taking attitude.
- I am not an outgoing person so during my off days, I love to take my dog for a walk in the park or spend my afternoon grooming my dog. The positivity that adds to my routine makes me a better person. I observe that I am becoming a more empathetic, observant, and caring person as a dog owner. I am loving this new me.
- Family time is what gets me going. So spending time with family is all I do during my off days. I don’t get to spend a lot of my time with children during work time so I make full use of this opportunity. I mostly plan barbecues or picnics or just spend time playing physical games( outdoors or indoor) depending on the weather with my family.
- I love to crochet and embroidery in my free time. It is both meditative and relaxing. It helps me to re-energize myself to handle high demanding tasks in my work.
- My go-to stress buster is running or taking a stroll by nature. One of my main hobbies is bird-watching and taking a nature walk gives me ample opportunity to do it. Anything that has to do with nature soothes and calms me. Another thing that interests me is keeping fitness goals of both body, mind, and spirit. I do meditation and aerobics to achieve that.
- I love to play word puzzles and board games in my free time. It just makes a boring day interesting and the benefits I get from exercising my brain are tremendous. It keeps me energetic and enhances my problem-solving skills which I need for my career so it is a win-win for me.
- I love to collect stones of different shapes and sizes and give inanimate objects characters. Doing that gives me so much pleasure.
How to get the best experience out of this interview question?
All these examples can be used according to the career you are interviewing for or the job roles. But it is not necessary to link your hobby to the job roles, if it happens organically, it’s fine, other than that it is okay to just show your productive and creative side that makes you an interesting person. Sometimes the hiring manager just wants to know what kind of a person you are but make no mistake, hobbies tell a lot more about a person than you can ever imagine. But don’t get all tensed up and try to look perfect by structuring your answer too much. You just have to be genuinely in love with your hobby or interest. You don’t have to be perfect in those but showing the love for it is enough.
Conclusion
Some companies may ask these questions so it is good to keep the answer ready for an interview. It is just a question to have a better perspective of you as a person so that the hiring manager can clear his/her assumption about you or maybe they just would like to know if you will be the man or woman that can lead others into a more positive experience.
Such interview questions are a great way to bond with the new company you are hoping to get into. And also it shows the interviewer about your values and things that drive you as a person, whether you are a self-motivator or someone who needs constant motivation from others. Hobbies can open up your world and give a sneak peek into it. So it is up to you which part of the world you want them to see. As a professional, it is best to stick with those hobbies that make you look like a well-rounded person or anything that you do for fun, which is not damaging or dangerous. There is no fixed way on how to answer because everyone is unique. The bottom line is to just stay in the optimistic lane and be purposeful in your answer without making it obvious.
