Interview Question: Why didn’t you participate more in extracurricular activities?

Strategy and Approach to an Answer:

The interviewer may be worried that if you don’t have many outside interests, you may eventually suffer from burnout. Employers like candidates who are well rounded and have interests outside of work. If you didn’t participate in formal extracurricular activities in college, you still may want to talk about some of your interests, such as reading or exercising, that you may have a passion for running even if you weren’t on the college track team.

Example of an Answer:

I wanted to give as much effort as possible to my studies. I came from a high school in a very small town, where I received a lot of A’s, but this didn’t prepare me well for college. So I studied hard. I have, however, found time to explore the city and make new friends, and I do socialize formally on the weekends.

List of Standard Interview Questions

• Tell me about yourself?
• Describe your employment history
• What are your major strengths?
• What are your major weaknesses?
• What prompted your decision to apply for this position?
• What do you know about this company?
• What’s your greatest achievement to date?
• Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
• Why do you want to work in this industry?
• Why should we hire you rather than someone else?
• Why weren’t your grades better?
• What have you gained from your work/school experiences?
• Why didn’t you participate more in extracurricular activities?
• What difficulties have you faced on the job?
• What do you put as an objective for a resume?
• Do you have any questions?