50 Interests and Hobbies
to Add to Your Resume Examples
To add some personality to your resume and show you’re a good cultural fit for business, you can add hobbies and interests. Here you’ll find:
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Top 10 Personal Interests
for a Resume
We’ve compiled 50 hobbies and personal interests to add to your resume and cover letter throughout this article. Let’s start with the top 10. We also included the skills to which each hobby or interest is connected.
Volunteer work/community involvement
Many companies are involved in their local communities, so any community involvement or volunteer work you reference is relevant. If you’ve done any volunteering — consider including the role(s) in a separate resume section titled “Volunteer Experience”.
Skills that volunteering interest supports:
Positive attitude, compassion, collective mentality and following instructions.
Club memberships
If you’re a member of any professional clubs or associations, consider including them. Even if the club memberships are hobby-oriented, your role can speak volumes. Suppose the job you’re applying for is people-oriented. In that case, club memberships can show off your ability to work well with others, whether dealing with customers or interacting with co-workers.
Skills that club membership supports:
Dedication, involvement, up-to-date on trends and topic expertise.
Blogging
Blogging is an interest that can easily be made relevant to your desired position. Blogging shows the ability to create, communicate, network, market and more. It’s easy to build your blogging website in a few minutes. Avoid linking to personal blogs if there is any content that’s not appropriate to share professionally.
Skills that blogging hobby supports:
Passion, social media, tech-savvy, design, written communication and audience engagement.
Sports
A reference to the sports you play regularly can enhance some of the soft skills listed on your resume, such as being a team player, working well with others, or having leadership abilities. Maybe the employer has a sports team or supports a local one and would be interested in a sports-knowledgeable employee.
Skills that sport hobby supports:
Physical ability, stamina, discipline, preparation, team spirit and motivation.
Art
Are you creative in any way? Do you paint, take photos (hello, Instagram), sculpt or create through another artistic medium? Creative people are often creative problem solvers. Companies across all industries are always looking for creative problem-solvers!
Skills that art interest supports
Creative thinking, expression, design knowledge, trend awareness and content production.
Gaming
Many companies, especially in the IT world, encourage multiplayer video gaming as a team-building activity and a way to de-stress. If you’re aiming for a job in tech, noting gaming as a personal interest could prove beneficial.
Skills that gaming supports:
Manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, computer knowledge and problem-solving.
Traveling
Exhibiting a desire to experience new cultures and environments — especially if your role involves working with foreign colleagues, partners or clients — can help your resume shine.
Skills that travelling supports:
Adaptability, communication, language skills, cultural awareness and open-mindedness.
Child Care
Whether it be babysitting for friends, taking care of family members, or working as a camp counselor, child care illustrates you’re a responsible person who thinks of others (and who knows how to take care of them)
Skills that child care supports:
Responsibility, awareness, trustworthiness, empathy and patience.
Pet Care
People love their pets, and pet owners appreciate quality animal care. As with child care, this interest shows you’re dependable and shows off your warmth and compassion (two traits that are valuable to almost any employer).
Skills that pet care supports:
Trustworthiness, following directions, friendliness, maintaining a schedule and reliability.
Music
This can include everything from instruments you may play, to DJ-ing, to being an avid concertgoer, to simply being a passionate fan of a specific genre. You can get creative with categories like this. For instance, if you’re learning to play the violin, use this as an example of your perseverance and willingness to learn new skills.
Skills that music supports:
Timing, dedication, collaborative spirit, self-motivation and high-energy personal.
Next, we’ll explain when and how to add personal interests to your resume.
Of course, if you want to jump-start your resume and skip the DIY process, use our Resume Builder! It can help you create a high-quality resume in just 15 minutes.
When to List Personal Interests
and Hobbies
Adding a hobbies and interests section to your resume is optional when you write a resume. Only include a hobbies and interests section for two reasons:
You have space, and the hobbies or interests reinforce your passion or skill for the job.
For example:
If you’re applying to work in a busy warehouse, the fact that you played college-level volleyball may indicate that you have the team spirit and determination to ace the role.
It seems welcome by the company or nature of the industry to show personality or color.
For example:
Google likes to hire people who are fun or playful. You can use this section to showcase the side of your personality that fits with the company’s, like your blog on funny shapes of clouds.
In a resume, you can add a dedicated section for Hobbies and Interests:
It’s also worth noting that your resume isn’t the only place to include your mention of your related hobbies or interests; don’t forget your cover letter!
It’s common practice to reaffirm your interest or passion for the role to write a cover letter. If you do so, it’s most appropriate in the final paragraph, where you reaffirm your interest in the role by connecting it to your passion or hobby.
Keep it short and sweet, but you could say something like, “My genuine passion and interest in local ecology makes this role a perfect fit.”
Hobbies Versus Interests
Since the word “hobby” often refers to things that are done as a distraction or for fun, many opt for a more serious section title like “Interests” or “Personal activities.”
You could include more or less the same information in each section, whatever you choose to name it.
The word “hobby” isn’t forbidden — it’s still acceptable to include it on your resume or cover letter if you want to express that you regularly practice your interest, or to come off as more lighthearted. Use your discretion.
How to Include Personal Interests
and Hobbies
Your hobbies and interests should come at the end of your resume, after your education section.
Keep your hobbies and interests section short, with four or five items maximum. Ensure they’re all related to the job you’re applying for in some way.
Here are examples of a hobbies and interests section for seven candidates, each in a different career:
Copywriter
Interests and Hobbies
- Blogging
- Poetry
- Psychology
- Community outreach
- Baking
Graphic Designer
Interests and Hobbies
- Drawing tablet gear
- Minimalist design
- Typography
- Yoga
- Paper arts
HR Coordinator
Interests and Hobbies
- Holiday food drives
- Soccer
- Social justice
- Mindfulness
- Music
Office Intern
Interests and Hobbies
- Social media
- Contemporary nonfiction
- Photography
- Meditation
- Self-improvement
Sales Associate
Interests and hobbies
- Travel
- Animal rescue volunteer
- Video blogging
- Craft markets
Web Developer
Interests and hobbies
- Website design
- Chess
- Vintage gaming collector
- Puzzles
- Escape rooms
Additional hobbies and interests
Photography
We live in a visual world, so companies always look for people with good camera skills. Photography is a great hobby or interest because your skills can be useful for events, blogs and social media purposes.
Cooking
While cooking may not be the most relevant of interests to put on a resume (unless you’re applying for a food-related occupation), it can show an ability to follow instructions, improvise and manage time-sensitive projects.
Collecting
Anything from stamp collecting to a passion for rare antiques can show that you have diverse interests outside your profession. Collectors often have excellent organizational and networking skills — those could come in handy in various jobs.
Working out
Exercise like cycling, weight lifting, running or even surfing prove that you have discipline and work ethic. People who work out also tend to have a greater mental balance and ability to manage stress. This can very much appeal to hiring managers!
Reading
This is such a broad topic that you should be able to easily reference books or articles you’ve recently read that somehow relate to your field. Avid readers usually have expanded vocabulary and know how to process content in written form (i.e., understand it).
Personal interests that you work into a resume should be relevant to the skills and abilities you’ll need to perform your new job. That can’t be emphasized enough! Most job ads do not require applicants to list personal interests on a resume, so don’t feel like you have to.
But if you do, check what the targeted employer shares on social media — and their company website about employee events — to learn which of your personal interests would be most relevant internally. Focus on those personal interests in your resume.
If you’ve got your interests on lockdown but need help figuring out what to focus on in your resume regarding job title and industry, check out LiveCareer’s resume examples.
If you’re ready to write your resume but need a sharp design, check out our resume templates!
Resume interests FAQ
Do I need a personal interests or hobbies section on my resume?
No, an interests and hobbies section is optional but recommended for certain jobs!
Include one if it shows your dedication or passion for your field or if the company wants someone with a personality. Only include interests and hobbies that matter to the job.
Add personal activities, interests or hobbies to your resume only if you feel it will help you get a job because it adds useful information.
What hobbies should I put on my resume?
There is no right set of hobbies to list. It depends on the job.
Your best strategy is to mention your hobbies or interests that prove your qualification, background or passion for the role.
Another smart idea is to include hobbies that serve as conversation starters during an interview. For instance, if you list “reading 19th-century Russian literature” as an interest, it sparks more than just saying “reading.”
It also paints a clearer picture of who you are as a person! Keep a mindset of putting forward your best and most unique character traits.
Is it OK to list hobbies and interests on a first resume?
Yes, of course.
While you don’t want to fill up your resume talking about everything you do for fun, sharing your outside passions, projects and learnings will help!
One piece of advice, if you’re writing a first-time resume and trying to create content to fill it, consider blowing up some of your hobbies into their own section(s).
For example, instead of listing “Volunteering” as a hobby, you could create a devoted “Volunteering” section where you list all your experience(s), whether at an old folk’s home, soup kitchen or animal shelter.
Why do companies ask about personal interests and hobbies?
Your interests and hobbies reflect who you are as a person.
Companies only want to hire people who are a good fit for the kind of culture and workplace they want. To ensure they’re choosing the right people to hire, many businesses look to hobbies and interests as a true sight into who you are.
While being honest about who you are is always required, it’s also good to understand what the company wants to hear. That way, you don’t miss an opportunity! So, be sure to research the company culture.
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