Ultimate List of 100+ Hobbies and Interests for Your Resume

As you work through all of the “must-have” sections on your resume, you may find yourself getting to the end and thinking, “Have I given the hiring team any information or insight into my personal interests in my free time and who I am as a person?”

Enter: the “Interests” section of your resume.

How do you add your interests and hobbies for resume details without drawing attention away from the most important details? And, what should you even include? Read on for helpful resume tips on all of the above, in addition to 100+ creative hobbies you can use as inspiration throughout your job search. 

Why You Should List Hobbies and Interests on Your Resume‍

People often make mistakes when crafting their resume and leave important details off. The interests section of your resume is an opportunity to show a potential employer a little bit more about who you are and what you do in your spare time, as they relate to the job description, in a few critical ways:

1. They show you as a multidimensional person. 

We're more than our work experiences and skills, and including your unique hobbies and interests on your resume will present a more well-rounded idea of who you are as a person.

Let's say a hiring manager is making a decision about the last candidate they'll bring in for an interview. They're deciding between two people with the same level of experience and the same skill set — you and another applicant. You've included a few details about your interests. Suddenly, you're a person with a personality and a bit of depth — a small addition that got you to the next round of the hiring process.

‍2. They give employers and recruiters a better sense of company culture fit. 

‍There are many companies on the lookout for applicants with unique character or personality traits. Listing hobbies and interests on a resume is an easy way for hiring managers, recruiters, and potential employers to get a glimpse into who you are as a person and how well you'll relate to the company's work culture.

3. They help support a resume with limited professional experience.

If you don't have much experience under your belt, or you've just graduated and are on the lookout for your first role, listing your hobbies and interests can help to fill in the blanks of any limited skills. If some of these hobbies include community involvement through volunteering or being a part of an association or networking group, they could speak to you being a team player and highlight your leadership skills. 

100+ Hobbies and Interests To Put on Your Resume

Need a bit of help remembering your own hobbies and interests list? We have a tool, the Interests Workbook, to help you map out the things you’re excited about.

Use these general hobbies and interests examples below and personalize them by adding your own specifics:

Artistic Endeavors

• Animation
• Creative activities
• Creative writing
• Drawing
• Filmmaking
• Flower arranging
• Furniture building
• Furniture restoration
• Illustration
• Knitting
• Painting
• Photography
• Pottery
• Quilting
• Restoring Furniture
• Woodworking

Collecting

• Action figures
• Comic books
• LEGO sets
• Record albums
• Sports memorabilia
• Stamps
• Stickers
• Vintage collectibles

Games

• Board games
• Billiards/pool
• Card games
• Chess
• Crossword puzzles
• Geocaching
• Video games

Music, Movies & Performing Arts

• Acting
• Composing music
• Dancing
• DJing
• Juggling
• Poetry
• Playing a musical instrument
• Magic tricks
• Screenwriting
• Singing 
• Songwriting
• Standup Comedy

Plants & Animals

• Animal training
• Beekeeping
• Birding
• Gardening
• Houseplant caretaking
• Pet fostering

Playing Sports & Outdoor Activities

• Backpacking
• Baseball
• Basketball 
• Bodybuilding
• Canoeing
• Car racing
• Coaching
• Boating
• Bowling
• Football
• Fantasy football
• Fantasy baseball
• Golf
• Hiking
• Kayaking
• Martial arts
• Mountain biking
• Mountain climbing
• Paintball
• Pickleball
• Pilates
• Rock climbing
• Running
• Sailing
• Scuba diving
• Skydiving
• Snowboarding
• Skiing
• Tennis
• Whitewater Rafting
• Yoga

Technology

• 3-D Printing
• App Building
• Artificial Intelligence
• Blogging
• Computer Programming
• Podcasting
• Robotics
• Social media
• Virtual Reality
• Web Design
• Web Development 

Leisure Activities

• Baking
• Cleaning
• Coloring
• Journaling
• Karaoke
• Listening to music/attending concerts
• Meditating
• Personal reflection
• Puzzles
• Reading
• Swimming
• Walking

Miscellaneous

• Astronomy
• Astrology
• Building models
• Car restoration
• Community activities
• Genealogy
• Historic preservation
• Learning languages
• Networking groups
• Organizing events and local meetups
• Personal development
• RV traveling
• Sign language
• Traveling
• Vintage shopping
• Volunteering

4 Tips on How To List Interests on Your Resume

1. Use space wisely

If there just isn't room on your resume for listing interests, it's okay to leave them off. Consider putting your unique interests on another piece of professional real estate — your optimized LinkedIn profile's “About” section, for example. That way, when a recruiter or a hiring manager takes a look at your profile, they'll see them and potentially strike up a conversation in an interview about your personal activities.

A great way to check your LinkedIn profile for optimization is to download Teal’s Free Chrome Extension which includes an automated LinkedIn Review. Once you install the extension, just go to your profile page and click on the Teal logo. You’ll see a list of recommendations on how best to optimize your profile and can make updates as needed.

2. Keep your hobbies and interests list short yet detailed 

Choose three to five activities for your resume, and be specific if you can. For example, you can list “Active in a year-round indoor pickleball league” instead of “Playing team sports,” — or “Part of a book group focused on historical fiction” instead of “Reading.”

3. Tailor your list of interests based on the job posting you're applying for

Your collection of cookbooks may be more relevant than your love of true crime podcasts, if you're applying for a role at a marketing agency that works with food and beverage brands. Interests related to musical instruments would not be the most appropriate for that role. Choosing relevant hobbies and experiences to highlight can reflect positively on you and help establish that you're even more of a fit for the job position you're applying for.

4. Stay away from controversial and irrelevant hobbies

It most likely goes without saying, but we'd suggest staying away from listing anything that might be considered polarizing. That could include political or religious affiliations — or potentially controversial activities of personal interest like gambling or hunting. Unless you're applying for a very specific role where those interests are expected, certain activities might harm the perception of you as a candidate and give other applicants an advantage.

Where Should Hobbies and Interests Go on a Resume?

Since these details aren't as critical to your experiences, skills and personal summary, the ideal place for your hobbies and interests is at the very bottom of your resume. If your resume has a column format, you can put your interests in the righthand column along with your skills. 

Instead of "Hobbies Section", for the actual name of the section, it's best to stick with something general, such as “Interests”. Remember, you don't want to overcrowd your resume, so don't include more than five hobbies.

If you'd like to take the guesswork out of this section, Teal's Resume Builder has a built-in Skills & Interests section where you can easily add your details. 

Final Thoughts

‍There are plenty of resume experts that will tell you to leave these more “personal” details out of your resume. Here's our take, though: business is personal. 

You shouldn't have to shut down your personality and the unique details that make you who you are just because you're interviewing for a new role. In fact, showcasing a few of the things you like to do when you're not working can give the entire picture of who you are as a candidate.

Once you've outlined specific, job description-related hobbies and interests on your optimized resume, you'll want to practice weaving them into your answers for when you land a job interview. Within Teal’s Job Tracker are tips and resources to help you practice interviewing.