"What do you do in your freetime?"

[Ellie Arroway]

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At a couple of interviews I've been asked this question, & while I was wondering whether it would be best to avoid talking about new hobbies. In the last week I got my hands on a violin and I'm pretty excited about that as something I want to try & funnel a decent chunk of my downtime into (and yes, I'm going to spend some time with a real teacher and not try to self-teach at first). Would mentioning this just get me in trouble since I'm not far into it enough to talk about it at length?

 

[Fivo]

I doubt anyone would care unless they were into that kind of music and the like. You play the violin, another applicant does balet, and another rock climbs. One isn't better than the other, they're just different.

 

[CuttingCorneas]

Why would it? All you have to say is that you recently started learning to play the violin, and explain how you're attempting to. It's not like they're going to whip one out and make you play it.

The only reason this would be a problem is if you said you had played the violin for years or were an expert at it, or just tried to sound more experienced than you actually were. Chances are they could call you out pretty quickly that way, especially on the off chance that one of your interviewers also plays a string instrument.

 

[MedPR]

I'm honest, except for the part where I play Fifa and other video games.

 

[Bangersandmash]

As long as your new hobby isn't bad (like discovering a love of porn or killing small animals), I don't see why you can't share your experience.