Many people will tell you that hobbies don’t belong on a resume. They’ll say that it’s fluff and a waste of space.  After all, shouldn’t you keep work and play separate? Nope, not always!

Many employers seek out not just qualified people, but those who’ll bode well with the workplace dynamic, could bring different perspectives to the table, and vibe with the company’s values. 

These factors don’t easily come across standard resume sections like work experience or education. But your list of hobbies and interests can hit that. 

The key, however, is getting it right. Not every hobby or interest is worth including on your resume (e.g., “Netflix and chill”). So here are some pointers to help you determine when and what interests and hobbies to put on your resume. 

Should You Put Hobbies on a Resume?

Yes, according to Nolan Church, former Google recruiter, and Head of Talent at DoorDash, listing hobbies on a resume is a good idea to differentiate as a candidate. 

“I’m not looking to hire robots, right?”, explains in a CNBC interview. “I’m looking to hire people.” For Church, the person’s passions and interests are also a good indicator of the person’s reliability and commitment. 

Other employers also scan resumes for so-called ‘mad skills’ — unusual skills, hobbies, and interests that people choose to present on their resumes. According to Gaby Wasensteiner, a career expert with LinkedIn, “mad skills are less about personal character traits” and more about the unique competencies no one else on the team has. This naturally piques hiring managers’ interests. 

Wasensteiner also adds that mentioning your hobbies can indicate a potential for development. If you took the time to master a fiddly musical instrument, you likely have the stamina and dedication to learn more skills at work. Similarly, pursuing skills outside of your line of work (e.g., learning basic coding or mastering typography on the side) shows your adaptability — a #1 skill of the moment, according to LinkedIn. 

To sum up, you should list hobbies on your resume when they say something extra about you. For example, show your passion for a particular cause or industry (e.g., mentioning your drone videography skills is cool if you apply as a UX designer for a drone company). Or indicate some personality traits (e.g., painting suggests you are creative and a visual thinker) or additional capabilities (e.g., podcasting says you’re a good public speaker and host). 

What Hobbies to Put on a Resume?

When it comes to listing hobbies on a resume, you have to be strategic. Choose three to five options that speak to either your people skills, extra technical skills, personal values, or character traits. 

Need some inspo? Here’s our big list of hobbies to put on a resume:

Sports 

Listing sports hobbies is a good way to demonstrate your discipline and endurance. Especially, when you have some really interesting achievements like completing a triathlon or winning a national dance competition. But even if you’re not a pro-level athlete, sports hobbies can also demonstrate your teamwork skills (e.g., all sorts of group sports) or high mental resilience (e.g., yoga, swimming, or cycling). 

Sample good hobbies to put on a resume: 

• Team sports (e.g., soccer, basketball, volleyball)
• Running or marathons
• Yoga, barre, or pilates
• Rock climbing
• Martial arts (e.g., karate, kung-fu) 
• Hiking or trekking
• Dancing (e.g., ballroom, modern, jazz) 

Creative & Artistic Hobbies 

Showing your expressive side is a good idea for any sort of creative role — in design, marketing, or media production. At the same time, these skills can also demonstrate your out-of-the-box thinking and innovative capabilities. 

Given that “creativity” is expected to be one of the top in-demand skills by 2027, you won’t go amiss by mentioning one of the following hobbies on your resume: 

• Painting, drawing, or calligraphy
• Graphic design or typography 
• Videography or video editing
• Photography 
• Flower arranging 
• Musical instrument skills 
• Paper quilling
• Scrapbooking 

Languages & Communication

A genuine interest in languages indicates your cultural dexterity and cultural awareness — competencies many multinational employers value. While other hobbies with a ‘talking’ component can be an extra demonstrator of your strong interpersonal skills. 

Some good hobbies in this category include: 

• Proficiency in foreign languages 
• Sign language interpreting 
• Debate club membership 
• Standup comedy 
• Spoken poetry 
• Audiobook narration 
• Voice acting or dubbing 
• Podcasting or hosting on YouTube 

Tech & Digital Hobbies 

Your hobbies section can be a good place to list technical skills that you’ve acquired outside of your role(s). These skills show you have high digital literacy and passion for technology — which is exactly what many employers seek these days. 

The following hobbies are ideal for people in non-tech roles, who want to flex their extra chops: 

• Programming language knowledge 
• Low code development 
• 3D design 
• Ethical hacking
• Building PCs
• Raspberry PI programming 
• Digital artistry 
• AI prompt engineering 

Analytical Hobbies 

Are you after a role that requires strong problem-solving or strategic thinking skills? In that case, you may hint at your analytical mindset by listing hobbies that require some cognitive gymnastics. For example: 

• Competitive chess 
• Strategy games (e.g., Go)
• Puzzles or riddles (e.g., Sudoku, crosswords)
• Fantasy sports league management
• Participating in hackathons
• Escape room challenges
• Geocaching 

Mindfulness & Well-Being Hobbies

Showing your interest in mental health practices is a good indicator of your ability to manage stress and cope with emotionally demanding tasks. If you’re after a customer-facing or managerial role, adding mindfulness hobbies can be a good way to show your high emotional intelligence. 

Sample hobbies include: 

• Meditation or mindfulness practices
• Journaling
• Aromatherapy
• Tai Chi and Qi Gong
• Sound healing
• Leading group meditations 
• Organizing self-care retreats

Community Engagement

Not exactly a hobby, but community engagement and volunteering work can also make your resume stand out. These commitments indicate your propensity for leadership and teamwork. And they can resonate a lot with purpose-driven employers, who support similar causes. 

So you can also bring up interests like: 

• Volunteering or charity work
• Mentoring or tutoring
• Community event hosting 
• Professional association participations 
• Clean-up drives 
• Fundraising for nonprofits
• Serving on neighborhood advisory boards
• Arranging festivals or heritage days 

Where to Put Hobbies on Your Resume? 

List your hobbies and interests at the end of your resume as a one-liner or a bullet-point list under a self-explanatory title like  ‘Hobbies’, ‘Hobbies & Interests’, or ‘Community Activities’ if you’re more into volunteering work. 

Here’s a quick example of a hobbies section on a manager’s resume: 

Tips for Adding Interests and Hobbies On Your Resume

Hobbies section on the resume should be short and simple. The section should intrigue the hiring manager so that they want to learn more about the person behind the words. 

Here are a few more quick pointers to help you frame your resume hobbies section. 

Be Honest 

Don’t lie about your hobbies as some candidates do. According to a Babel survey, one in eight Americans lies about their fluency levels in a foreign language and another 14% also listed hobbies they actually don’t do like bogus volunteering work or a feigned interest in art. 

That’s a bad strategy because you never know who your interview is going to be. Perhaps, they are a fluent Japanese speaker themselves or actually come to the community center you’ve mentioned every Sunday. 63% of hiring managers view dishonesty as the biggest red flag and won’t proceed with duplicitous candidates. 

Choose Interests That Reveal Your Personality 

Your goal is to determine which interests can make a hiring manager stop reading and think: “Whoa, I’d love to know more about this person. They seem great!”. 

The purpose of your Hobbies section is to give the manager some easy ice-breakers for the actual interview. Who knows, maybe you’ll bond with the hiring team better over your shared passion for bullet journaling and that would ultimately lead to a job offer. 

Tailor Align Your List of  Hobbies with Company Values 

Finally, if you want to slightly tinder your odds, you can always curate your Hobbies list in line with the company values to show how great of a match you could be. 

Head to the employer’s social media. Most companies share updates from their corporate initiatives, retreats, etc. This gives you a good idea of what the culture and values are, and you can adapt your Hobbies section accordingly. For example, if the company frequently does community work in a local college, you can mention your interest in public speaking or coaching. 

Conclusion 

Just like other elements of your resume, the hobbies section should serve a clear purpose. That is to showcase your attractive personal qualities, prompt for additional skills, and demonstrate that you are a “fit”. If it meets all of these three criteria then you should definitely add one to your resume!

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