Do you feel at home in your field?
An interview question, asked long ago, taught me what a recruiter is really listening for.
1 min read
A few years ago, in an interview, a recruiter asked me a question that caught me off guard:
“If it weren’t IT, what field would you have liked to work in?”
I hesitated. Nothing came to mind. I finally answered: “Honestly… I can’t picture anything else I’d have wanted to do.”
In the moment, I thought: what a stupid answer.
He smiled and said: “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
That’s when I understood. He was looking for someone who feels at home in their field. Someone for whom this work isn’t a fallback, but an obvious fit.
What the question reveals
We talk a lot about technical skills, certifications, years of experience. But the feeling of being in the right place matters just as much. It shows in curiosity, in the desire to learn, in the way you approach problems.
An experienced recruiter knows it: you can train someone on a technology, but you can’t hand them a passion for their craft.
And you — if you were asked this question today, what would you answer?