To add some personality to your job application and show you’re a good cultural fit for the business, check out our list of hobbies and interests for a resume.
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Including a section for hobbies and interests on your resume shows employers you’ve developed a broad range of skills you can bring to the workplace, adding extra value to your job application. If you’re applying to companies that care about cultural fit, a thoughtful hobbies and interests section can even tip the scales in your favor when competing with candidates who have similar qualifications.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to write a resume that highlights your hobbies and interests the right way, and share a list of the best examples to include. Let’s dive in!
Listing interests and hobbies can add depth to your resume by showing who you are as a person beyond your professional role. It can also reinforce the skills you bring to the job by showing that you find joy and meaning in your work and have interests outside of work.
Recent graduates, for example—who have recently moved out of their student accommodations and may not have extensive work experience yet—could benefit from and appeal to hiring managers by listing relevant hobbies and interests on their resumes.
However, if you’re a professional with years of experience—enough to fill a one-page resume—you needn’t necessarily include a list of hobbies and interests.
If a job post or ad asks you to include your hobbies and interests on your resume, always do so.
Hobbies are activities that people engage in for pure enjoyment during their downtime. Pursued for fun or relaxation, common hobbies include cooking, hiking, dancing, gardening, and stamp-collecting, to name but a few. Hiring managers will appreciate the skills gained in your pursuit of hobbies like teamwork, attention to detail, or organizational skills, which can easily transfer to the workplace.
Interests encompass a wide range of topics and subjects that pique your curiosity and spark your desire to learn more about them. Common interests include travel, gaming, art, and photography. A love and interest in art and travel, for example, could tell hiring managers that you’d be a great fit for a curatorial role.
Here’s a cheat sheet with the top soft and hard skills each hobby or interest reinforces. Mentioning each hobby could imply these resume skills to a hiring manager.
Want to find more in-demand resume skills relevant to your role? Check out our Resume Builder. It will ask you to enter the job title for which you are applying. Once you do, it will autosuggest 100+ skills you can select from and add to your resume!
Include a hobbies and interests list for your resume for two reasons:
1. You have resume space, and the hobbies or interests reinforce your passion or skill for the job.
2. The company or the industry’s nature is creative and personality-focused.
If you’re convinced adding different types of hobbies and interests on your job application is a great idea, write your resume using our most powerful tool, Resume Builder.
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Now that you’ve identified the hobbies and interests that may boost your hiring potential, listing them correctly on your resume is key. Consider the following information:
Before you include hobbies and interests, be sure they’re welcome on your resume.
Here are some questions you should ask:
Hobbies and interests might only be expected or valuable for some roles. It might just seem like you’re padding your resume to include them otherwise.
One exception: If you’re writing a CV—an academic or international version of a resume—it’s standard to include hobbies and interests.
Check out their website to see what hobbies or interests a company might value most.
If they have an “About us” page or mission statement about their business, that’s the best place to target for helpful information about their values.
Note what they mention! This is a big hint for what kinds of hobbies, activities, and lifestyles they encourage their employees to pursue.
Based on your research about what a company values, you can understand which of your hobbies, interests, and skills to include.
For example, if a company mentions its commitment to community building and family values, it could be a good clue to mention your community volunteer work or child care hobbies.
Your volunteer work could work hand-in-hand to reinforce listing “empathy” or “positive attitude” as skills.
List your hobbies and interests at the end of your resume, after the education section, since they relate to your personal life rather than your professional experience and should have the lowest placement on the page.
You can choose a different name for this section depending on your feel for the company’s values: “Hobbies and interests,” “Interests,” “Passions.”
Keep your “Hobbies and Interests” section brief, with a maximum of four or five items. Ensure they’re all related to the job you’re applying for somehow.
You can use bullet points:
Or, separate the interests with commas: Museums, swing dancing, folkloric storytelling, and blogging.
For any hobby or interest you consider adding, always ask yourself: Is my passion for this related to the job I’m applying for? That’s a good way to check whether it might strike an employer as a significant plus.
If there’s a connection between your passion for the hobby and your interest in the job, you could mention that in your cover letter!
Only include hobbies and interests you feel ready to discuss. Stay in your comfort zone.
The last thing you want is to have a softball interview question about one of your hobbies and interests turn into a dealbreaker when you don’t know how to answer. Your hobbies and interests should reflect your true passions and knowledge.
Being specific expresses your personality.
For instance, explaining that you’re into “Japanese wood prints” or “watercolors” adds a lot more character than just saying you like “art.”
There are certain hobbies and interests that you should leave off your resume, including:
Hobbies and interests are a great way to express a deeper sense of who you are to hiring managers!
Add them cautiously and only when the job posting instructs you to do so.
If you add them, aim to:
If you’re ready to start creating your resume, use our Resume Builder.
Our team of career experts created the builder to provide step-by-step guidance and text suggestions to help people create their resumes.
It simplifies the writing of your resume into a straightforward three-step process. Best of all, you can finish your resume in under 15 minutes!
No, a hobbies and interests section is optional, but it can help if it highlights your passion, dedication, or relevant personality traits. Only include hobbies or activities that relate to the job or company culture and add value to your application. Skip it if it’s not relevant.
There’s no single right set of hobbies to list since it depends on the job. Choose hobbies that show your passion, relevant skills, or spark conversation in an interview. Be specific to stand out and reveal more about your character. Highlight what makes you interesting and memorable.
The best hobbies for students show passion, responsibility, and uniqueness. Employers like candidates who seem dedicated and motivated. Include hobbies that highlight responsibility, like volunteering, or that reveal creativity and individuality, like “mixed media art” or “sustainable gardening.” These details can make you more memorable and appealing.
There’s no single best hobby, but community service, volunteering, or leadership roles are highly valued. Employers appreciate candidates who are compassionate, positive, and motivated. Showing you work for a cause bigger than yourself signals strong character and dedication, which can make you stand out as a great hire.
Yes! While you shouldn’t overload your resume with hobbies, sharing meaningful passions can help. If you’re writing a first-time or fresher resume, expand key hobbies into sections. For example, instead of just listing “Volunteering,” create a “Volunteering” section detailing your experiences at a shelter, soup kitchen, or care home.
Your hobbies and interests reveal who you are and help employers see if you fit their culture. Many companies use this section for insight, so be honest but strategic. Research the company’s values and highlight hobbies that align with what they’re looking for to boost your chances.
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