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One reason is probably to legitimately make small talk and to get to know you.
But the other reason is probably to see if you want to do your job.
If you were interviewing for a job an electrical engineer, and you liked tech and to write code in your spare time, then I would assume that at least half of the time at work might be enjoyable to you. Meanwhile, another person interviewing for the same job who loves sports and travel, well he might hate every second of his job. You don't really want that as an employer.
I actually think it's one of the more useful 'behavioral' questions, because most people won't be thinking about it and will tend to answer it truthfully.
I ask the question to see if the interviewee has some semblance of life balance. People with no interests other than their work tend to have emotional baggage we don't need in the workplace.
If the question is not just a simple ice breaker, I think this is an accurate answer. A former coworker was asked the question and gave a response that the interviewers liked. The employer wanted someone who knew how to unwind and leave work at work.
I wouldn't take it personal. Most likely the interviewer was just making small talk or idle chit-chat, if you will. Maybe he (or she) is just naturally friendly or its a way to put you and him (or her) more at ease with one another. I doubt he (or she) had any hidden agenda by asking you what you do for fun.
I had two interviews that asked what I do for fun. It strikes me as such a bizarre question. Are they trying to look for weaknesses, like if someone says they like to dance and go out they interpret that as the person is undependable and has a drinking problem?
I answered traveling, and it turns out I just visited the manager's favorite place in the US. I got the job. Coincidence?
It depends on who is asking this question. If it's one of those useless people in HR, then say something very simple that they can understand and relate to. Say gardening and you like to grow your own vegetables even though it's hard work. That's something someone in HR can handle. Don't say you like to design hardware for robot wars, because they won't be able to understand what this is. Or you are writing what you think is the next killer app for the iPhone, cause they can't wrap their heads around that either.
If it's the hiring manager...I never ran across a hiring manager that would ask me such an unimportant question.
The important thing is to have some very safe answer for the HR types. Don't say anything anyone might think is strange. But what if you start working there and they ask about how your fake garden is doing, tell them you decided to give it up for now and will be buying your veggies at the local stands.
The lesson here is, treat it like any other part of your interview. Have a memorized response to it.
However, if you are in their office such as the hiring manager and you see something like a poster that interests you that's non-work related, you can talk about your interest in that.
They want to get you talking to see how well you communicate. They don't care what youre saying, they just want to see if you talk like youre educated, if youre awkward, and if you have any stuttering issues etc. This is really important in offices where you will be working with other people and, heaven forbid interacting with the public.
If the question is not just a simple ice breaker, I think this is an accurate answer. A former coworker was asked the question and gave a response that the interviewers liked. The employer wanted someone who knew how to unwind and leave work at work.
Exactly this in my experience. I'm a software developer and my first few interviews I answered that in my spare time I liked writing code, this seemed to raise a red flag. One interviewer who was a bit more approachable actually told me that that answer worried him because he was afraid I was just BSing him with the answer I thought he wanted, or that if I was being honest that I'd get burnt out. Programming for 8 hours a day and then going home and programming, I'd either burn myself out or want to work on personal projects rather than my actual job.
After that advice I started diversifying my answers. I still mention that I program occasionally in my spare time, because it's true, but I elaborate how these personal projects are different than what I do as a career, but I also mention kayaking, traveling, and other completely non-work related hobbies.
Having been on the other side of the equation (as an interviewer, rather than an interviewee) at my previous place of employment, I never found it wise to ask questions that are not germane to the position for which the candidate is being interviewed.
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Originally Posted by eastcoastguyz
The lesson here is, treat it like any other part of your interview. Have a memorized response to it.
I agree with you completely. My current position is quite different, and I don't do any interviewing. But when I interviewed for the position I have now, being on the interviewee's end for the first time in several years, I got several questions for which I was not prepared. One question which bothered me very much was whether I lived alone or with family. My response was "I am completely financially independent and self-sufficient"; without directly answering the question, I still knew how to satisfy the interviewer's concern. The interviewer's most significant concern of all seemed to be the fact that I live 52 miles from my place of business (he even admitted to Google-mapping my address from my resume before interviewing me) and was afraid I would have problems with punctuality. My response was "I am a responsible person, regardless of where I live. I could be across the street and be an irresponsible person and show up late every day, or I could live 2 hours away and be responsible and make a point of following my schedule."
It' a question that is good to ask if the interviewer wants to know you as a person rather than just an employee. SOmeone who likes to read as a hobby is different than someone who likes to skydive. It's a good question to get a deeper sense of who you are and what you are like.
They want to make sure that you don't have any life outside of work, and that you don't have any hobbies that would require taking time off from work or wanting to leave at the end of the day.
What do you like to do for fun? is one of my personal questions that always gets asked, along with, What can you tell me about my company? The reason is that you can't prepare a canned answer for it without being personal. Also, it's uncommon, so it catches people off guard, and generally they're more honest.
The whole point of an interview - for me - is to gauge "fit" with the team. Your skills are laid out on your resume, and your skill set is what got you the interview in the first place. I generally have about 200 applicants for jobs when I post them, between HR and myself, that will get whittled down to about 10 based entirely on resume/cover letter. Of those 10 I'll start interviewing my perceived top three, and expanding the list until I'm satisfied I have the right person.
Skills and certifications are great, and they demonstrate a technical capability. What I'm concerned about is how you'll fit in with me, how I manage, and how you'll fit in with the rest of my team. Whether we like it or not, we spend more waking hours of our day with the people we work with than our own loved ones, so I try my hardest to make sure my team is filled with people I want to be around, can relate to, and who want to be around my team so that we can all succeed together.
I don't care about your religion, your political alignment or any of the other "no go" topics. What I care about is someone who can relate to how I communicate, how I expect things to be done, and any other stupid stuff going on. What you do for fun reflects a lot about you, and at the end of the day I WANT us to have something in common so that it's more than just a job.
Now I'm sure lots of people will come in to tell me how wrong I am, and how it's none of my business, and they're there to just work and go home, not make friends. They're more than welcome to do that, but at the same time I'm just as welcome to hire nice people who are team players and will produce what I need.
I encourage interviewees to ask the same questions, as you should be interviewing your potential manager as much as they're interviewing you. I'm clear as to the type of manager I am, and I also recognize there's a large part of the population that can't work with my style and produce to my expectations. We'll both be much happier if they don't take the job.
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