Your CV is your chance to showcase your skills, qualifications and experience to potential employers. But it’s also an opportunity to reveal a bit more about your personality and interests outside of work. The hobbies and interests for CV section allows you to demonstrate skills and qualities that may not come across elsewhere on your CV. Choosing the right ones to include can strengthen your application.
Relevant Skills and Achievements
The best hobbies or interests to include on a CV are ones that are relevant to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a project management role, highlighting charity or volunteer work where you took on organisational or leadership responsibilities can demonstrate useful skills. Quantitative hobbies like bookkeeping, trading stocks or running a fantasy football team can show numeric and analytical skills for finance or data-driven roles.
Any hobbies where you have won awards, medals or competitions are worth mentioning as they demonstrate you are accomplished and committed. Describing your level of proficiency in a hobby also shows progression. For example, you could write “Level 7 gymnast with regional medals” rather than just “Gymnastics”.
Transferable Skills
Hobbies that display skills that can transfer to a workplace environment tend to go down well with employers. Team sports demonstrate teamwork, communication and leadership abilities. Debating clubs or dance troupes reveal public speaking skills. Creative hobbies like writing, photography or painting show artistic flair. Musical instruments display dedication, focus and attention to detail.
Even hobbies like video gaming require teamwork, problem-solving, resilience and hand-eye coordination. The key is to think about how skills developed through your interests relate to the roles you are applying for.
Personality and Cultural Awareness
Hobbies also give some indication of your personality, values and cultural awareness. For example, an interest in current affairs or politics suggests an inquisitive mind and curiosity about what’s happening in the world. Volunteering demonstrates compassion and dedication to a cause. Learning a language shows an interest in different cultures and openness to expanding your horizons.
These sorts of hobbies can make you appear well-rounded and socially aware – qualities employers find attractive, especially for public-facing or client service roles.
What Not to Include
While hobbies can enhance your CV, not all pastimes create the right impression. Avoid mentioning activities that suggest risk-taking or illegal behaviour like reckless extreme sports, gambling or drinking. Leave off any interests with political, cultural or religious connotations that could be divisive – your CV is not the place to air controversial views.
Also, steer clear of sedentary solitary activities like video games and watching TV, which portray laziness. Old-fashioned and exclusive pursuits like fox hunting may not convey the right message either. And forget trivial pastimes like doing puzzles – keep it professional.
How to List Hobbies and Interests on a CV
When it comes to formatting your hobbies section:
- Keep it short – Around 3 to 5 interests is ideal
- List your most recent or current hobbies first
- Write 2-3 word summaries rather than detailed descriptions
- Order them so most relevant come first
- Use bullets or commas between each entry
- Include any awards or accomplishments
Some examples:
- Badminton (County level), Running (Completed London Marathon 2023), Baking (Winner of “Bake Off” style charity competition)
- Photography (Published in Amateur Photographer magazine), Guitar (Grade 8), 5-a-side Football
- Volunteering for local homeless charity, Current Affairs member of University debate society, Fluent in French and Spanish
Evaluating Your Hobbies and Interests
Before deciding which hobbies and interests to add to your CV, thoroughly evaluate each one. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is this hobby relevant to the role I’m applying for?
- Does it portray me in a positive light?
- Is it a productive use of time?
- Does it show progression and commitment?
- Is it interesting and impressive?
- Does it reveal something unique about me?
- Is it current?
- Does it complement the rest of my CV?
- Is there space for it?
- Can I speak about it if asked?
Carefully choosing hobbies that show your skills, interests and character in the best light can make your CV stand out. Just be selective and highlight activities that enhance your personal brand and fit with the company culture. With the right hobby profile, you can make a great impression on recruiters.
Showcasing your hobbies, interests and achievements outside of work provides balance to your CV. They reveal there’s more to you than just your academic and professional credentials. The activities you choose to mention give employers extra insight into what makes you tick – and could just set your application apart from the competition.
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