30+ Interest Survey Questions to Uncover What People Care About
Discover 30+ effective interest survey questions with sample templates to uncover what people truly care about in work, school, and beyond.
Interest survey questions—sometimes called an interest questionnaire, interest inventory, or survey of interests—are all about uncovering what truly matters to people. Whether you’re slicing and dicing your audience into meaningful segments, refining products, or simply wanting to engage learners or employees, these surveys are a game-changer. The beauty? You can deploy them anytime—from onboarding newbies and prepping a curriculum to launching a product or revamping workplace perks. Stick around, and you’ll get ready-to-use templates, stellar sample questions, and proven tips to make your surveys sparkle.
Employee Engagement & Workplace Interest Surveys
Want to know what your employees really care about beyond their job descriptions? That’s where an employee interest survey shines, offering a glimpse into their professional growth desires, social preferences, and wellness pursuits. Think of these surveys as your backstage pass to insightful workplace engagement questions that fuel vibrant company culture.
These surveys are best rolled out during onboarding to set the right tone or annually to check the pulse at engagement reviews. They also come in clutch during times of change management when you need to understand your team’s evolving needs. Why bother? Because understanding employees’ interests helps you tailor perks, develop sharp training programs, craft team-building events everyone’ll actually want to show up for, and supercharge Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Here are 5 sample questions to get you started:
- Which professional skills are you most interested in developing this year?
- How do you prefer to celebrate team achievements (e.g., off-site, lunch-and-learn, virtual shout-out)?
- Rate your interest in company-sponsored wellness programs (yoga, meditation, fitness stipend).
- What social causes would you like the company to support?
- Which communication channels keep you most engaged with company news?
With these, you’ll be on your way to a more connected, motivated workplace where people feel heard—and trust me, they’ll thank you for it.
Create your survey, it's 100% free
Creating your interest survey with HeySurvey is delightfully simple. Just follow these 3 easy steps:
Step 1: Create a New Survey
Start by logging into HeySurvey or jump straight in without an account to try it out. Click “Create Survey”, then choose from:
- Pre-built Templates — perfect if you want a quick start with recommended questions.
- Empty Sheet — for full customization from scratch.
- Text Input Creation — type your questions, and HeySurvey formats them automatically.
Name your survey so you recognize it later, and you’re ready for the next step.
Step 2: Add Questions
Click “Add Question” at the top or between questions to insert new ones. For interest surveys, mix question types like:
- Choice (single or multiple answers)
- Scale (Likert or rating scales)
- Text (open-ended responses)
Customize each question’s wording, add descriptions, and mark important questions as required so respondents don’t skip key insights. Need images? Upload, or grab fun GIFs from Giphy or beautiful pics from Unsplash effortlessly. Don’t forget to preview your question flow and tweak branching logic if you want personalized paths!
Step 3: Publish Survey
Once your questions look good, hit “Preview” to see exactly what your respondents will experience. Tweak design elements in the sidebar if needed — colors, fonts, backgrounds, animations, you name it. When all is set, click “Publish” to get your shareable survey link. Remember, publishing and viewing results require you to have an account, but the setup is fast and free.
Bonus Steps (to make your survey truly shine!)
- Apply Branding: Upload your logo in the Designer Sidebar to make the survey feel like a natural extension of your brand. Adjust colors and fonts to match your style.
- Define Settings: Set start/end dates, limit responses, add custom redirect URLs, or allow respondents to view results—find all these options under the Settings panel.
- Skip & Branch Logic: Use branching to create dynamic survey paths that respond to answers. For example, skip irrelevant sections or dive deeper when respondents show strong interest.
Ready for a head start? Click the button below to open a pre-built interest survey template and customize it your way!
Student & Classroom Interest Surveys
Teachers and educators, your best ally is a student interest inventory. These surveys illuminate what sparks curiosity and motivation in your classroom. They’re your secret weapon for tailoring lessons and projects that actually engage students rather than just fill seats.
Great times to deploy these surveys include the start of a semester for a fresh take on planning, during parent-teacher conferences to bridge home and school, or before diving into project-based learning. This insight enables differentiated instruction that hits the mark and boosts overall learner engagement.
To kick off your own classroom survey, try these 5 sample questions:
- Which subjects or topics do you enjoy learning about outside of school?
- How do you prefer to show what you’ve learned (video, essay, presentation, art)?
- Which extracurricular activities excite you the most?
- Describe a problem in the world you’d like to help solve.
- What type of classroom environment helps you focus (music, silence, group work)?
These questions invite students to share preferences that might surprise you—and shape a learning environment that feels more like a playground than homework hell.
Consumer Product & Brand Interest Surveys
Before throwing your latest product into the wild, an interest survey helps you peek at what customers really want. This type of consumer interest survey fishes out preferences that guide product features, marketing angles, and even eco-friendly packaging choices.
These surveys rock at pre-launch to validate ideas or post-purchase to gather feedback for future iterations. The goal? Nail down that product-market fit and charm your ideal user base with customized offerings.
Here are 5 consumer-centric questions ready to deploy:
- Which product features would make you most likely to upgrade?
- How important is eco-friendly packaging when choosing a brand?
- Rank the following benefits in order of importance (price, durability, design, customer support).
- Which social platforms influence your buying decisions the most?
- What upcoming trends are you most excited to see in this product category?
Curating these insights sharpens your competitive edge while delighting customers with products made just for them.
Hobby, Lifestyle & Personality Interest Surveys
Want to create content, communities, or subscription boxes that feel like they were tailor-made? A hobby interest questionnaire or lifestyle preference survey dives into what folks love doing in their free time and who they really are beneath the surface.
These surveys are gold mines for curators and creators eager to personalize recommendations, from binge-worthy streaming picks to curated hobby kits. Launch them whenever you want to refresh your understanding of your audience’s passions or habits.
Try these lively questions to stir the pot:
- Which weekend activities do you enjoy most?
- How often do you try new hobbies or classes each year?
- Rate your interest in outdoor vs. indoor pursuits.
- Which genres of books, films, or podcasts captivate you?
- If you had an extra hour daily, how would you spend it?
Answers here reveal not just preferences, but lifestyle rhythms and personalities. It’s like hosting a chat with your audience’s inner circle.
Career & Professional Development Interest Surveys
Organizations that care about their talent pipeline know the value of a career interest inventory or professional development survey. These tools spotlight ambitions, preferred learning modes, and career paths—crucial intel for building mentorship programs, cataloging training workshops, or designing alumni networks.
Perfect moments to send these surveys include performance reviews, career fairs, or when someone’s signing up for courses. Businesses and institutions benefit from this foresight to grow workforce skills strategically.
Here are 5 questions that get to the heart of career dreams:
- Which career paths interest you the most over the next five years?
- What certifications or credentials are you eager to pursue?
- How do you prefer to learn new job skills (online courses, workshops, coaching)?
- Which industries’ trends do you follow closely?
- Rate your interest in leadership positions vs. specialist roles.
Use these responses to build smarter career progression plans that feel as unique as each employee’s fingerprint.
Event Planning & Experience Interest Surveys
Planning a conference or workshop? An event interest survey or conference topic questionnaire ensures your event content and format hit the sweet spot for attendees. These surveys reveal preferred session styles, hot topics, and even ideal networking setups.
Deploy them before tickets go live to tailor agendas or right after registration opens to adjust on the fly. Listening first means delivering second, always impressing your crowd.
Here are 5 sharp questions that help curate your event:
- Which session formats do you find most engaging (panels, hands-on labs, keynotes)?
- List three topics you’re eager to explore at our next event.
- How important are post-event networking opportunities to you?
- What time of day do you prefer for workshops?
- Rate your interest in hybrid or virtual attendance options.
With these insights, you’ll craft memorable experiences where people leave buzzing about more.
Best Practices – Dos and Don’ts for Crafting High-Performing Interest Surveys
To create high-performing interest surveys, one golden rule is: Align each question with clear objectives. Avoid slipping in “nice-to-know” fluff that clutters your data and bores respondents.
Keep language simple and jargon-free to respect everyone’s time. Also, steer clear of biased or loaded phrasing that nudges answers a certain way—let your audience’s true preferences shine.
Mix up formats! Use a cocktail of closed questions for quick data, Likert scales for gauging intensity, and open-ended prompts that reveal fresh ideas. But don’t drown them in endless grids, or risk survey fatigue.
Always promise—and deliver—privacy and value. Respecting data protection laws isn’t just good manners; it builds trust. Before launching, test different wordings (hello A/B testing) to find what resonates best. Remember, one size rarely fits all.
For SEO and discoverability, sprinkle in keyword variants like interest questionnaire and survey of interests naturally. Structuring your content with the SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) framework and adding schema markup boosts search engine love.
Conclusion
Interest surveys hold the key to more personalized, engaging experiences across workplaces, classrooms, product development, and beyond. Choose the survey type that fits your goal, and don’t wait—actionable insights lose their magic with delay. Ready to dig deeper? Download a free template and launch your first interest survey today. Because when you know what people really care about, magic happens.