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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.