The Yes and No to Including Personal Interests in Your Resume

You’ve just written your resume and now there’s the question as to whether you should add some personal interests or hobbies as a finishing touch. Will it be beneficial or will it harm your chances of getting an interview? Unfortunately the answer is not clear-cut, there are pros and cons; however, by being aware of the factors you need to consider, you will be in a good position to make the right call.

To start with, think of the effect of including personal interests in your resume: they give the reader some insight into who you are. You shift from being a list of qualifications and experience to being a person. Now, that will bring in some bias on the reader’s part. Whatever personal interests you list the reader will judge and subsequently form an impression about the type of person you are. This could be positive or indifferent, or, even negative.

For example, say you include that you sing at an up-market bar on the weekends; perhaps the reader is very conservative and feels you are probably unprofessional and maybe even irresponsible. That is certainly not the image you want to portray. You may have thought that such an interest shows creativity or culture or a well-rounded person. It comes down to different perceptions, beliefs and views on the world. You won’t know the effect of your personal interests on the reader and that is where the risk comes in.

As with all risks, the benefits can be significant: Perhaps these additional details really grab the employer and get you an interview.

If you do decide to provide personal interests in your resume, you really need to think about what you include. These are the questions to ask about each personal interest:

• Could this interest in any obvious way turn an interviewer off? For example: anything political, controversial or too time-consuming should be omitted. Also, don’t include any business that you have on the side; it may look as if you are biding your time and will quit the workplace once you your venture is profitable. It’s best if your interest is something to which people can relate.


• Does this interest show that you have additional knowledge or a particular skill that will be beneficial in this job? For example, you paint and draw as a hobby and your work involves the backend IT for websites. Benefit: You have an eye for good-looking website design. Don’t include any irrelevant activities.


• Does this show good character traits? For example: teamwork, discipline or leadership ability. (Volunteer or charity work is usually beneficial.)

Don’t list too many interests. You don’t want to appear overly busy (and possibly not work-focused) and you must be careful that you don’t make your resume too long.

Where it is important to include personal interests is if you have little work experience, are a recent graduate, changing career or have been absent from the workplace for a significant period of time (such as mothers returning to work after a period of raising children.) Interests then provide prospective employers with some information from which to draw conclusions and make decisions.

Another benefit of including personal interests is that it adds a further dimension to interviews. There is something to talk about besides the position and it gives the interviewer a chance to get a better view of you as a person. Perhaps they even want to see if you will fit in with the company’s culture.

There are pros and cons to including personal interests in your resume. At the end of the day it is your decision to make. When you face that question, think about whom you are and whether you think it is appropriate for this particular job application. Remember though that whatever personal interests you include in your resume must be linked to the position for which you are applying in some way; they must show skills or positive traits that will enhance your performance in the job. Your resume is, after all, there to promote you for a particular position.