"Discuss a topic that interests you' - Could someone please support me with this question?

[AV2000]

I'm applying for a first year scheme however unsure how to answer this question. I have two different topics I could discuss, one is fitness (which is something I'm really knowledgable about/could provide a personal perspective on). I am able to link this commercially too through talking about Peleton's recent collapse/integrate commercial awareness. However it feels quite unsophisticated and is not necessarily a distinct topic.

The second topic I could partially discuss is renewable energy - specifically nuclear fusion reactor. However, I am much less knowledgable/confident in my information about this (I have a stem background but not physics), don't necessarily have a method of critically discuss it. It is however quite relevant, and if asked about in an interview I would definitely struggle to answer it.

Does anyone have immediate 'yes' or 'no' to either of my options?

 

[NatashaS98]

Hi @akshatav - I am an application reviewer at TCLA and I hope I can help answer your query. 🙂

This is a great question - I remember too struggling with the 'discuss a topic that interests you' question when I was applying to firms.

I think the most important way to answer this question is authentically - if you are less confident about the topic on renewable energy and would struggle to discuss this at interview, I think it is likely that this will come across too in your application answer. I also feel that renewable energy is a topic that is often discussed in quite a few application answers and therefore may not give you the opportunity to truly stand out.

I personally feel your idea of talking about fitness is a brilliant one - Graduate Recruitment are really using this question as a springboard for discussion and to get a real insight into who you are. Given you have a personal perspective on this topic, I think this would be a fantastic topic to talk about The topic is not in my view unsophisticated - the most important thing here will be to express your passion and interest in fitness in an engaging and eloquent way. Being able to express your ideas fluently is what will make your answer sophisticated.

As such, my suggestion would be to talk about fitness in your answer.

Hope that helps!