A good section on hobbies and interests can make a CV more attractive and interesting to read. It can help you catch the eye of tons of recruiters and employers. Not sure which hobbies and interests your resume needs? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. From what a hobby or personal interest is and why your CV needs them, to a few examples per industry, you’re sorted thanks to YoungCapital. Stick with us to hear everything you need to know about including all your hobbies and interests on your CV, so you can focus on landing the job.
What can you call a hobby or interest?
So, what exactly qualifies as a hobby or interest worthy of your CV? Well, your CV usually covers where you’ve worked, where you got your qualifications, and what your skills are already, so none of those go under ‘hobbies’. This category refers to the things you do in your spare time, like activities or personal projects. Usually they’re just for fun, and you don’t have to get anything out of them other than your own enjoyment.
Are you a member of a sports team? That’s one to add. Do you volunteer with a youth group? There’s another one. Are you learning French, Chinese, or something else that’s new? Boom – stick that language on your CV. Now you’ve got plenty of hobbies and interests to list on your CV.
Why you should include a hobbies and interests section on your CV
But what’s the point of having hobbies and interests on your CV? Surely your future employer doesn’t care if you play 5-aside on a Sunday morning, right? You’d be surprised! Many employers like when you put interests and hobbies on your CV so they can get to know a bit more about you. They’re going to be evaluating you as a person, not just a working machine.
You can use your hobbies to show off extra hidden skills that may not be obvious from your work or school history. For example, if you’re on a rugby team, you can say that you know how to work in a team and are dedicated. Aside from showing off your own skills, adding good and relevant hobbies and interests to your CV can set you apart from the competition. It’ll also give you some interesting topics to talk about in the interview. If you spend your time doing interesting or unusual activities, you’ll likely catch the interest and attention of the recruiter reading your CV.
You should still try and keep at least a few of your hobbies and interests relevant to the job, though. While unicycling and juggling are certainly interesting, they alone unfortunately won’t help you land an IT role. Building a website for a friend’s small business, on the other hand, will definitely get you noticed. Make sure you can sell your hobby or interest to the recruiter; it should be fairly clear to them how your hobby relates to the position, but it can’t hurt to leave a little explanation too. You don’t want to pile on too much fluff and irrelevant information to your CV, so focus mainly on the hobbies and interests that fit the job.
Examples of hobbies and interests for your CV
Still not sure what hobbies and interests you should put on your CV? We’ve got examples to help give you some inspiration for different job types.
1. Creative jobs
If you’re going for a job in a creative industry, like writing, marketing, or design, then you obviously want to play up your creative side. Hobbies like blogging, graphic design, or photography would show off your passion for the field. Interests like visiting art galleries and museums would show that you go above and beyond to seek out creative opportunities.
2. Management positions
A management or leadership role is a tough one to get into without experience, but not impossible. A good hobby for your CV would show leadership abilities, like running a sports team. You could also mention being in a book club, for example, to show that you can listen and discuss topics openly with others.
3. Finance and business roles
For finance and business positions, it’s important to show that you have a strong analytical mind. Your CV should include hobbies like playing chess or strategic games, interests like following the stock markets, and listening to business and news podcasts.
4. Tech jobs
If you’re aiming to be the next Steve Jobs, it’s good to show off your tech interests on your CV. Hobbies ranging from computer programming to PC building to 3D printing can all show your skills to potential employers. As long as you can justify why it’s on there, you should totally add it to land yourself a great IT job.
5. Teaching and healthcare roles
You need to exhibit your caring side for a job in teaching or healthcare, as well as your openness and accepting attitude. One of the most obvious hobbies and interests to have on your CV is caring for children or the elderly. Some more out-of-the box ideas are experiencing new cultures, learning about psychology, and reading new material on caring and development.
Those are just a few of our favourite examples of interest and hobbies for your CV, to help make it more interesting and unique. If you need some more inspiration on what to add in, check out our more in-depth CV examples. Or, have a look at our fully-fledged CV template to get an idea of what the finished product should look like.
List of hobbies and interest you can use for your CV
Participation
- Being a member of a professional body
- Being involved with charities
- Following business and financial news
- Joining social, environmental or animal rights groups
- Keeping up with the latest developments in technology
- Mentoring or coaching
- Organising events in the community
- Participating in fundraising events
- Volunteering at local companies, clubs, and organisations
Creation
- Building and fixing computers
- Completing DIY projects
- Cooking and baking
- Creating new dishes
- Drawing, sketching, painting, etc. by hand
- Designing and developing websites
- Designing art
- Photography
- Playing music
- Reading for fun (fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, etc.)
- Writing (blog posts, articles, poems, books, etc.)
Activities
- Fishing
- Going out and eating at new restaurants
- Playing chess and puzzle games
- Playing individual sports (running, swimming, cycling, etc.)
- Playing team sports (football, cricket, basketball, tennis, etc.)
- Watching food-related TV programmes
- Setting-up computer networks
- Travelling
- Using computer programs for design
Hobbies and interests for your CV: in short
Hobbies and interests make your CV pop and, if you do it right, might just be the key to landing you a job. They can be any activity that you do in your spare time, whether it’s to relax your mind or exercise your body. They’ll give you some great conversation topics for your interview, and are a great way to show off some less-obvious skills. There’s no limit to what you can add to your CV’s hobbies and interests section, but some of the most popular are:
- Creative: blogging, graphic design, photography, art galleries;
- Finance and business: strategic games, following stock markets, news podcasts;
- Management: leading sports teams or organisations, collaborative groups;
- Tech and IT: computer programming, web design, PC building, 3D printing;
- Teaching and healthcare: volunteer caring, reading psychology theories, travelling and learning about other cultures.
This is only a short list of examples of interests and hobbies to add to your CV. It’s up to you to decide if your own interests and activities are right for the job you’re applying for. If they’re really relevant to the position, you can also add them to your cover letter or supporting statement to drive the point home more. Need some extra help with creating your CV? Make use of our free CV builder to save yourself a lot of hassle and effort. Is it ready to go? Then start applying to some of the great vacancies waiting for you.
FAQs about
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Should I have certain hobbies and interests on my CV for certain jobs?
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Are there hobbies and interests I shouldn’t have on my CV?
You definitely should; it’s very helpful to have hobbies and interests on your CV that are relevant to the job. Only if you actually do them though – no fibbing!
It’s pretty much an issue of common sense. A general rule of thumb is if you wouldn’t talk about it with your nan, you shouldn’t talk about it with your future employer. Keep it short, sweet, and as relevant to the job as possible.