How do you know you really love to do something?
I started thinking about this the other day, when I was talking with Grace, the woman for whose job I'm filling in this week. We were talking about computer programmers--this office is full of them--and how they really love programming, to a degree beyond I-like-my-job. "They even go home and program over the weekend, in their free time!" I observed.
"That's actually a big thing that we look for," she said, nodding. She explained that when budding young programmers come in to the office to interview, the interviewers ask a sort of 'trick' question to determine if the engineer is truly committed to his or her work. The question is, what do you do in your free time?
"Because," she explained, "if someone really loves to code, he'll do it in his spare time too. That's how we weed out the people who really love what they do--that's the kind of person we look for."
I thought it was a neat idea, because sure, it's a good way of thinking. After all, passion shouldn't be turned on from 9-5, M-F, and then turned off again. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but imagine being in that interview and being asked that question. I might have a slightly different train of thought, something like, well, I do love to code in my free time, but I don't want them to think that that's all I do...so I should talk about my other interests too, so that they know I'm a balanced person. I just wouldn't want that to backfire on me.
I suppose, though, that there are ways we can incorporate our interests into our hobbies--similar to the work we do during the week, but less...work-ish. A programmer might make a little game or an app in her free time, for example. I guess everyone finds different ways to balance work-work and fun-work.
If I'm ever presented with that question in an interview, though, I know I'll be trying to find a way to make it seem as if I simultaneously work on the weekends and lead a very grounded, balanced, exciting life...ah well. I'll figure it out.
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