My rule of thumb is that, if the questions use the word "passion," it's always a cynical attempt to filter out candidates who won't center the company in their life. (A similar question is "why do you want to work for us?" because it frames their leadership as something to aspire to have in your life.)
It's far safer when they ask questions about contributions to projects, that might provoke a passionate response. That could still be about filtering people, but it's more likely that they're figuring out which project to put you on or confirming that you care about your work.
I can say that, when I've been a part of the interviewing process and the candidate doesn't get excited about anything they've worked on, that's a "no-hire." It actually has nothing to do with passion as such, but rather that they've made me suspicious. If nothing in their work history provokes an emotional response or even a story, it sounds suspiciously like they've been pushing work off on their colleagues.
My rule of thumb is that, if the questions use the word "passion," it's always a cynical attempt to filter out candidates who won't center the company in their life. (A similar question is "why do you want to work for us?" because it frames their leadership as something to aspire to have in your life.)
It's far safer when they ask questions about contributions to projects, that might provoke a passionate response. That could still be about filtering people, but it's more likely that they're figuring out which project to put you on or confirming that you care about your work.
I can say that, when I've been a part of the interviewing process and the candidate doesn't get excited about anything they've worked on, that's a "no-hire." It actually has nothing to do with passion as such, but rather that they've made me suspicious. If nothing in their work history provokes an emotional response or even a story, it sounds suspiciously like they've been pushing work off on their colleagues.
I really like this response.