That really stumps me. My quick answer is: obviously I want to work. But I get the feeling that they're asking me to more carefully and honestly consider the question.

Excerpts

Some things I've run across that might help me figure out this riddle. (bold items indicate ideas that are explored further, below)

Existentialism [wikipedia]

Existentialism is a term applied to the work of a number of philosophers who generally held that the focus of philosophical thought should be to deal with the conditions of existence of the individual person and their emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts. The early 19th century philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, posthumously regarded as the father of existentialism, maintained that the individual is solely responsible for giving his own life meaning and living that life passionately and sincerely, in spite of many existential obstacles and distractions including despair, angst, absurdity, alienation, and boredom.

Subsequent existential philosophers retain the emphasis on the individual, but differ, in varying degrees, on how one achieves and what constitutes a fulfilling life, what obstacles must be overcome, and what external and internal factors are involved ... Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophy, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.

The theme of authentic existence is common to many existentialist thinkers. It is often taken to mean that one has to "find oneself" and then live in accordance with this self.

Emphasizing action, freedom, and decision as fundamental, existentialists oppose themselves to rationalism and positivism. That is, they argue against definitions of human beings as primarily rational. ... Sartre saw problems with rationality, calling it a form of "bad faith", an attempt by the self to impose structure on a world of phenomena — "the Other" — that is fundamentally irrational and random. According to Sartre, rationality and other forms of bad faith hinder people from finding meaning in freedom.

The notion of the Absurd contains the idea that there is no meaning to be found in the world beyond what meaning we give to it. This meaninglessness also encompasses the amorality or "unfairness" of the world.

Kierkegaard [wikipedia]

Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives, focusing on the priority of concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. ... Kierkegaard also stressed the importance of the self, and the self's relation to the world as being grounded in self-reflection and introspection.

Contemporary philosophers such as ... have adapted some Kierkegaardian insights. Hilary Putnam admires Kierkegaard, "for his insistence on the priority of the question, 'How should I live?'".

scholars have interpreted Kierkegaard variously as, among others, an existentialist, neo-orthodoxist, postmodernist, humanist, and individualist.

Humanistic psychology [wikipedia]

a psychology that focused on uniquely human issues, such as the self, self-actualization, health, hope, love, creativity, nature, being, becoming, individuality, and meaning—that is, the understanding of "the personal nature of the human experience".

Humanistic psychology is sometimes understood within the context of the three different forces of psychology: behaviorism, psychoanalysis and humanism.

Humanism [wikipedia]

Humanism is a worldview and a moral philosophy that considers humans to be of primary importance. It is a perspective common to a wide range of ethical stances that attaches importance to human dignity, concerns, and capabilities, particularly rationality.

Individualism [wikipedia]

Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own interests, whether by society, or any other group or institution.

Absurdism [wikipedia]

Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find inherent meaning in the universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd), because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to the individual. "The Absurd," therefore, is commonly used in philosophical discourse to refer to the clash between the human search for meaning and the human inability to find any.

the Absurd arises out of the fundamental disharmony between the individual's search for meaning and the apparent meaninglessness of the universe. ... humans have three ways of resolving the dilemma: suicide, religion, or acceptance. ... Acceptance of the Absurd: a solution in which one accepts and even embraces the Absurd and continues to live in spite of it.

(table 1: Relationship between atheistic existentialism and absurdism)

Atheist existentialism

Camus utilizes dualisms between happiness and sadness as well as life and death. ... such dualism becomes paradoxal, because humans greatly value their existence while at the same time knowing their endeavours are meaningless.

Books to consider reading

• Sarte's Nausea — The novel Nausea is, in some ways, a manifesto of atheism in existentialism.[1]