Common mistakes to avoid when answering “what do you do for fun?”

Career Coaching Management
#1

You might think it’s pretty hard to mess up on this common interview question. You’re right — even if you don’t give a stellar answer, this is not a super important part of the job interview.

That said, a truly horrible answer will stick out in your interviewer’s mind and may cost you the job.

If you and another candidate have all the same skills and qualifications, but she’s just a more interesting person to talk to, the odds are that the hiring manager will hire her.

Avoid these common mistakes and you’ll be just fine:

Don’t say you have no hobbies at all. Even if this is mostly true, it’s not a good look, and there are a lot of ways that you can frame your interests to make them a little more accessible to those who are unfamiliar with them.

Don’t lie. Best case scenario is that you do get hired only to have it eventually revealed that you’re not actually that into skiing, making you the office liar.

Worst-case scenario, the hiring manager is a former Olympic competitor and immediately discovers how little you actually know about it, ending the interview on the spot.

Don’t bring up anything illegal. Enough said. Also, this isn’t college, and your love of drinking and smoking does not qualify as a hobby.

Hanging out with friends. This is boring. Talk about what you and your friends actually do.