Be Prepared to Answer This Question During an Interview

You’ve made it to the end of the interview, nailed all of the technical questions, and gave great feedback for all of the HR type questions. Things are wrapping up, you think you are in the clear, and your interviewers ask you one last question: What do you enjoy doing with your free time – or some variation of this question. Let’s take a closer look.

Let’s get something straight right off the bat. It is a good thing…actually, a REALLY good thing, to be asked this question at the end of an interview. Being asked this question is a good indication that the interview went well, and also indicates that your interviewers are interested in you as a person, and not just as a worker. This isn’t to say that the interview did not go well, or that your interviewers do not like you, if they don’t ask you this question. So, if you are asked the question, how do you answer it?

I have actually seen a few memes and videos making fun of this specific situation. The general joke in the memes/videos is that, instead of answering truthfully, the interviewee will answer the question by saying that they actually enjoy studying and/or working on work related activities in their free time. This is total BS, and your interviewers know it! My advice…answer honestly, but in good taste.

Do you have kids, do you like to workout, do you go hiking or to the beach, are you an avid traveller, do you like cooking, do you like going to theme parks? Be creative, don’t be shy, but also don’t over divulge. The purpose of providing a good answer to this question is that it allows you to connect with your interviewers on a personal level. This is the best opportunity during an interview for both parties to have informal conversation, and to better get to know one another. Who knows, your interviewers may even have very similar interests to yours, which could very likely increase your chances of making an even greater impression, and even of getting hired. Ultimately, in providing a legitimate answer, you are telling your potential, future coworkers that you are an overall package, and not a mindless, soulless, corporate robot. However, it is always possible that a mindless, soulless, corporate robot is what your interviewers are looking for, in which case, you have to ask yourself if that is what you value in a job and coworkers. 

Remember, the type of information you provide in your response should be in good taste. Stay away from anything too personal, or generally, just distasteful. If you truly don’t have anything to say, gauge your audience, and improvise a response on the fly. The next few paragraphs detail how I’ve responded to this question in the past, where items in bold are typical responses, and where items in regular text are general comments.

Personally, I occupy my free time with many things. First and foremost, I have a middle school aged son, and we have a dog. Being active with both of them is always a priority, where activities usually involve sports, being outdoors, but also playing video games and checking out things that middle school aged kids do (TikTok is really big right now…). Lots of people have kids, and will be able to relate to this. Some people may tell you to not mention kids during an interview, but this portion of the interview is generally informal. There is a very good chance that your interviewers are parents, or even grandparents, and will definitely be able to relate. To show that you have a genuine interest in the best interest for your kids is a very personable and desirable trait to have.

I have many hobbies that I like to work on during my free time as well. I am a nerd at heart, and enjoy tinkering on various technical projects around the house or on my computer. I will often end my day by working on a jigsaw puzzle or reading a few chapters of a book. Although I don’t usually mention working on this website to potential employers, or engaging with my interviewers in my entrepreneurial passions, I will disclose that I have been working on some wireless communications projects, and will go into some detail regarding this project. By the way, this project can be found on my website here. Going down this route can be a good opportunity to showcase even more expertise, and open some more technical dialog; however, this needs to be done so very carefully, as it can open a can of worms if you cannot defend yourself on the technical subject, or if you are overly trying to show off. I will usually say that I am doing it to learn more about a particular subject that I am interested in, and to fulfill a desire to do more technical type work. After all, I am a bit of a nerd!

In a nutshell, I am a beachside resident on Florida’s space coast, and I enjoy going to the beach, and have recently picked up surfing. I enjoy spending time with my family, and soaking up the Florida sun. I like to stay active and healthy, and enjoy working out, cooking out, hanging out with friends, watching movies and TV, reading, and just generally relaxing and hanging out. Sometimes, I tap into my inner nerd, and tinker around with some cool COTS wireless transceivers to try to transmit and receive text messages using different forms of modulation.