Should i include personal interests on resume

Communication is the heart of every organisation. Writing novels or publishing scientific papers give a clear representation of your written communication skills. Blogging, just as any kind of writing, proves you have communication and writing skills. Data shows communication is the most important skill for people entering the workforce.

The podcast format has become incredibly popular. Podcasting allows to demonstrate you have industry expertize, know how build an audience marketing skills and connect with thought leaders networking and research skills. It's a good way to improve organizational skills , too. The rise of social media has created such new job professions as a social media manager, content creator, or SEO specialist.

The three fastest-emerging languages of global consumers are Russian, Hindi, and Japanese. Studies have found a correlation between learning languages and problem-solving abilities , intelligence , and memory skills. Photography is so much more than just taking pictures. It develops conceptual skills and technical expertise , but also teaches how to collaborate with others.

Curiosity, courage, and self-organization. And flexibility and adaptability are among the most important workplace personal traits. Exercising in general develops self-discipline, patience, and helps bounce back from disappointment. Team sports create opportunities to improve leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills , too. It also involves concentrating on breathing and is a great way to relax your mind.

And data shows a relaxed employee is less likely to leave their job. It also boosts cognitive performance and helps to unwind. Hundreds of jobs require creativity skills. Imagination and inventiveness are also parts of critical-thinking skills. Reading shows you follow your passions. It also prevents cognitive decline and reduces stress. And helps maintain work-life balance. Making music is good for your brain.

You might find it surprising, but research shows learning how to play instruments fosters math and science ability. It also helps improve your mental performance making you better able to concentrate and memory.

Listening to music lowers stress and elevates your mood. It strengthens learning and memory abilities, too. In the ever-changing corporate world being able to learn new things on a daily basis is a top employability skill especially in the rise of AI. The list above is more-or-less sorted by how appropriate listing them on a resume is. The last four? Skip them unless you can be more specific and know for a fact that they will resonate with the hiring team.

Let's be honest, if you boil down your passions into a single word, they become a yawn fest. Listening to music, reading books, and watching movies? Saying you like these is like saying you like to breathe.

Here's what to do instead—. Take Shanice, for example. She's applying for a junior position with an advertising agency. She noticed the company is laid-back and a bit geeky—at least juding by a photo she saw on the about us page. The team seems to love Rick and Morty. She does too! There you go, immediate connection. Then there's Mike.

He likes reading books, sure, but his favorite writer is Wang Shuo. He could mention that on his resume: Reading books by Wang Shuo. Who is Wang Shuo, you ask? Bam—immediate conversation starter. And Peggy —she's played basketball since high school and noticed strong teamwork skills in the job ad.

Now she can use her passion to signal that she's a team player—quite literally! Quirky hobbies like origami, calligraphy, amateur astronomy or breadmaking can stand out. But some will stand out for all the wrong reasons think: amateur taxidermy or collecting photographs of famous killers. If you're applying for a job in marketing, don't say it's your hobby. And don't double-down by saying Confessions of an Advertising Man is your favorite book ever. If you're a developer, don't try to squeeze coding, programming, and computer science into your hobby section, and so on.

It will look desparate and become a distraction. Pro Tip: If you want to save time and find out how to write a resume for your profession, take a look at our guides and examples of resumes for different jobs. Spell check? Start building professional resume template here for free. You should always start by researching the company. Do they have a particular work culture? You coach the local high school basketball team? Then you might excel at teamwork and leadership.

You might make a great coder, but might not necessarily excel at a social job. So, should you include hobbies and interests on your resume? Need an awesome resume? So, as a general thing, you should ONLY mention your hobbies and interests on a resume if you have the space for it. And if you are going to mention them, you should also know that certain hobbies say specific things about you. For example, if you like to speak at local conventions, chances are, you might be an extrovert and good at public speaking - which might come in handy at a sales role.

In that case, you might want to think about how your hobby is perceived and what kind of association the HR manager might get from it. The HR manager has discarded all but 2 resumes. Now, when the hiring manager is faced with selecting from 2 equally qualified candidates, the deciding factor tends to come down to them being a right fit culture-wise.

If one of them volunteers at the local soup kitchen, while the other resume appears to be devoid of personality, the one with the list of hobbies and interests is most likely always going to come out on top. If done right, your hobbies could be the icing on the cake for the rest of your resume. If done right, your interest section could improve your job attractiveness as a potential candidate to the HR manager.

They might remember the person who does archery in their free time, compared to the other lifeless resumes, and even bring it up during the interview. But how exactly do you list them? And more importantly, how do you know which interests are relevant to that one specific company? To figure that out, start by researching the company. See if they have any specific work culture, work retreats, and what qualities would complement your job role.

Name and contact information 2. Summary or objective 3. Professional history a. Company name b. Dates of tenure c.

Description of role and achievement 4. Education 5. Skills 6. In this article, we discuss how to list hobbies and interests on your resume, when you should include this section, what types of hobbies and interests work best, and which you should leave off. Hobbies and interests are closely related but may not always be the same. Hobbies are activities that you engage in, while interests are passive ideas or topics. If the employer is interested to know more about that hobby, you may be asked to elaborate during an interview.

If you are interested in travel but have done very little of it, that would be considered an interest. Hobbies you include gives employers an idea about how you spend your time and what additional skills you may have. There are several situations in which including hobbies and interests add little value to your resume.

You should consider putting hobbies and interests on your resume when:. Before writing a section for hobbies and interests, research the company receiving your resume.