Yes, indeed... "Hi . What's your real life look like?"

I guess I used to ask....and be asked about jobs/ work ( learned from my family !). I would rarely put forth what I do for a living before. Kind of embarrassed.
Now I let 'em know right away...."I'm a Roofer". Eliminates the snobs right away. The money is good, I work outside. Never a dull day. And besides, everyone else has a friggin' roofing story, problem or question.....but that's boring on their part, not mine.

"why, do strangers, talk only about the weather?" (Tom Waits)

For some people asking what they do for a living would reveal what they love to do, but those individuals are either privileged or got lucky in the life lottery and were able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps; for the majority of people in the world, the profession is less choice-based.

For many years I worked at Walmart; I used to enjoy telling people I worked at Walmart -- they'd always ask, "What store?" The most biased people would typically stop talking to me after that and decent people would at least keep the conversation going long enough to find out what I did for Walmart. It was a good way to see who is who, for sure.

Exactly true. That's what pissed me off about Unitarians went I rejoined their church in Des Moines long after I had moved away from there. It was always the first ? they would ask me at coffee hour or any other social situation at the church. It was clearly their way of sizing up whether I measured up to their income level and job status. If I didn't, they would quickly excuse themselves and literally walk away. The most blatant form of classism I ever experienced and I never forgot it, that's why I have seldom come back to that building even tho I am still nominally a member, because from what I have heard, nothing much has really changed on that front with them.

Truer words were never spoken.

Very good.

I ask it when the conversation has a major lull, or the person is letting me do all the talking so that they will talk about themselves, but I like your suggestion much better.

Some things I love:
My kids
My friends
My ability to take care of myself
Inquisitive minds
Others that enjoy learning and aren't afraid to try new things to talk to
Ice cold hard cider
good chocolate
cooking
walks in trees
making things
CRISP salads or apples
Autumn
Puzzles or problems to figure out

It's much more important, I agree. "What do you do?" was such a base, calculated business question that it always left me cold, so I try not to use it in my personal life. Plus, I started making a lot of Asian friends a couple of decades ago and asking "What do you do?" is really offensive in their cultures. I like your variation a lot more, and will have to remember to use it.

Much like your suggestion, I like asking what someone is passionate about. I don't care if the answer is pancakes, if you don't have SOMETHING you're passionate about, you're probably not much my kind of person. You'd be surprised how difficult this question is for some to answer, or at least I have been.

What I love, in no particular order:

Wine
Tomatoes
Jillian
Mikey
Frankie
My friends
Helping
Swimming
Running
Calisthenics
Cooking
Bubble baths
Music
Dancing
Reality shows
Cooking shows
Shoes lol
My house
Family..

Perhaps this is true for some, but definitely not for me. I’m usually just trying to get to know someone better. It comes from a place of curiosity, for me.

I love music, weed, chocolate donuts, and really cold milk.

I agree, that's an excellent question.