Resume Interest Examples

Resume Interests Examples: Resume Hobbies and Interests Examples and Tips

• Should hobbies be included in a resume?
• Should ‘area of interests’ or ‘field of interest’ be included and how?
• Are hobbies relevant to job application?
• How to include ‘interests and activities’, ‘skills and interests’ or ‘hobbies and interests’ in a resume?

If you are asking these questions, this article discusses the above topics and provides examples for the same.

Should you include hobbies and interests in a resume?

Generally, yes. Everything, of course, depends on the interests and hobbies and the position you are looking for.

It is great if you have a page full of important technical skills and years of professional experience. But it usually produces a much better effect to have professional history combined with personal attributes.

The importance of listing these personal interests

Employers tend to respond better to professionals with a personality.

Listing interests and hobbies in a way that’s relevant shows confidence. Personality and professionalism back each other up and ensure employers that you possess the right qualifications as a well-rounded person.

Resume Interests Examples: How to List Interests/Hobbies in a Resume

• List Relevant Interests/Hobbies: Not all of your hobbies/Interests/activities are relevant, of course. But this does not meant that if you are applying for an engineering position your hobbies should be power-tools and Home Improvement.

For Example: If you are applying, say, for a Desktop Support Engineer job, than mentioning hobbies like reading, blogging, and web browsing might seem irrelevant or insignificant.

But in fact, employers are happy to see such things.

They imply an innate ability to spend long hours at the table and in front of the computer. Which means that this individual is probably better suited for a Desktop Support or Technical Support job than someone who lists hiking and surfing as favorite pastime.

• Social Activities/Interests: This principle is especially obvious when it comes to interpersonal communication. When a job requires good people skills, employers pay a lot of attention to how candidates might interact with people.

To show an outgoing personality and leadership potential, list social hobbies: clubs, team sports, camping, social volunteer work, etc.

• Be Honest: Employers are very experienced at correlating resume and interview. It would require considerable acting talent to appear the opposite of what you are in an interview.

• Adapt: You can adapt your hobbies and personal interests to suit your resume. If a job is significantly people-oriented, mention only those of your hobbies which imply social skills or craft them in a way which makes the social aspect more apparent.

For example:

• If you list “Reading/Writing”, it may imply solitary activity and an introverted personality.
• While mentioning “Reading Clubs and Creative-Writing Workshops” brings out your sociability and socially oriented creativity.

• Volunteer work in a resume can be especially effective. Even if it is not directly related to the position you apply for, it immediately implies initiative, strong social involvement, and significant social experience.

• Finally, “Hobbies” does not have to mean only the one or two things you are truly passionate about. It may mean preferred pastime, preferred socializing activities, and volunteer work.

Let’s look at the 1^st example: 

Resume Interests and Hobbies

• Playing musical instrument: guitar or piano
• Bird watching
• Web savvy
• Cooking
• Traveling – Exploring exotic countries
• Fashion and modeling
• Collecting stamps, postcards and pens
• Dancing
• Astrology
• Child care

Here is the 2^nd sample:

Resume Interests and Activities (social activates)

• Sports: football, basketball, volleyball
• League of ‘Athletics’
• Wine Tasting group
• Reading Books Club membership
• Volunteering to the “red cross”