How To List Hobbies And Interests On Your Resume?

Earlier when times were simple and when the air wasn’t competitive, People never really glanced much at the hobbies section of resumes. However, now it has become an essential part of one’s character. Lets know How To List Hobbies And Interests On Your Resume With Examples.

How To List Hobbies And Interests On Your Resume With Examples

In this article, I shall discuss with you the inner secrets and importance of hobbies that provide a deep insight to your resume.

What Should you Include in your Resume?

Now what you would want to include is pretty simple, but there have been numerous occasions where people tend to overwhelm it and the reader or recruiter is frazzled and doesn’t want to go through with your application.

If you don’t have a ton of experience in your resume, making your qualities shine can just be the key for you.

  • Include Aspects of your Personality.
  • Don’t be all over the place.
  • Pay attention to the job description.
  • Be Genuine (No Fakeness!)
  • Add Humor.
  • Keep them on toes.
  • Add them to your Strengths and Weaknesses.

Now these might look like a lot of topics, but we will brush through each of them to get you clear and roaring for your resume.

Include Aspects of your Personality

Your hobbies are not only there as a side salad to your dish, they are also there to enhance your personality and give some elements of your character to the recruiter. 

Such as mindfulness, journaling, and self-care. Penning these habits down gives an aura of a gentle person with a high level of emotional intelligence.

Your hobbies can provide a base to your certifications. Having spent 7 years to earn a Visharad certificate in Bharatanatyam (an Indian dance form), your hobby is to dance. Makes so much sense to a person reading it.

Don’t be all Over the Place

What this means is you only have limited space in your resume. The hobbies section shouldn’t occupy the whole lot of your resume but act as a cherry on top.

For a sales job, public speaking and networking makes sense.

Overcrowding it with archery, swimming, camping can be way too much and out of context.

Pay Attention to the Job Description-

You might be having a lot of skills but most importantly they should match your job description. Someone from a hospitality industry would be looking for skills like clear communication, patience, empathy and as far as hobbies are concerned, language learning, blog writing, public speaking would be much appreciated.

Putting something odd like rock climbing, skateboarding, snow skating, wouldn’t be bad but it is always a plus point to include things that already match the job responsibilities. Reassuring the recruiter that they won’t have to help you with these things.

Be Genuine (No Fakeness)

A lot of clueless souls out there tend to forget this. Trying to be sophisticated and fancy can lead to more damage than good. Not just in the matters of hobbies but your skills, past experiences. 

The only goal that should be there is to be genuine with your character but giving out bits of surprises and wit. So as the person actually reads it, he or she enjoys it and is more curious about your character. Being boring and the same can do no good.

There could be times where you don’t have any experience or hobbies, but you can use your humor to tame things down. Would be explained more on the next point.

Add Humor

Being humorous is a great skill that not a lot of people appreciate. It can be quite tricky to know when to use your humor that too in matters sensitive as your career. But the good news is that you don’t have to think about it too much!

For example, if you want to give a Patisserie related resume, adding the hobby of “Spilling Buttercream on my Apron”, or putting something such as, “Just a grandma who loves to Bake”. Putting these simple things can put up a smile on someone’s face and that’s appreciating in its own way. 

Keep them on their Toes!

A factor of surprise is always appreciated. How you want to make other wonders is up to you.

Singing, dancing, and reading are all excellent skills to have so they have been used monotonously and have lost their touch.

Imagine if someone reads that you are a teacher but also do tattooing on the side, or star in a drama or even have a business to your name, small doesn’t matter but still you have got them. Giving out a wow factor does not only give an element of revelation but also give an insight of you as a person.

Add them to your Strengths and Weaknesses

Putting your strengths and weaknesses and happen to show everyone what you are not good at with a possibility of being shot down. It is quite impressive but to not be stupid in that sense and suing different factors of your resume to add to your advantage can be profitable to you in ways you wouldn’t know.

For example, in your hobbies you have to organize. Now it can mean anything on how you like to organize certain things. And your weakness is that you tend to be extremely organized, you like everything to be perfect and speck and clean, which keeps you a little behind in matters of your work. However, you can also use that as your strength even though it takes you a little more time. You have no mistakes whatsoever in your work.

Better a little late than having tons of errors to correct. Am I right?

Using your skills and manipulating them in matters to your benefit is an excellent skill to have. And if you have it, you should make good use of it!

Conclusion-

Writing resumes and making small parts like hobbies and educational background shine can be a challenge but using the right words and being smart with your skills can make you stand out from the monotonous ones.

Just remember to stay true to your character and rest all will follow. 

Good Luck!

Frequently Asked Questions
  1. If one is applying for a more analytical job role, what hobbies should one have? 

Being analytical can be a great thing and if a person wants to offer you a job based on it, you should keep your skills in check. Reading, Photography, Sketching, and Creative Writing can come in these categories.

  1. If one doesn’t have a lot of experience in that particular field what should one put in their resume?

If you don’t have a lot of experience, having a simple robotic resume and cover letter won’t make the cut. Writing a short note is something which is bolder and sterner to express your skills and why you should be considered than the rest. When you are a fresher, you already have a disadvantage weighing your shoulders, being extremely polite and aggregable can get you either lucky or starch you out. 

You should show your desperation, agony and fire to achieve your goal.

  1. What are some unusual hobbies to make you stand out?

Things that are not common or are common and are not put up openly can be put in this category. Video gaming, Reviewing Books, Language Learning, Theatre, Fencing can be used.  

How To List Hobbies And Interests On Your Resume?

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