Should you mention your hobbies and interests in your resume?

We all have hobbies and interests, they are the activities that we enjoy. Many people have a whole gamut of different activities that they pursue during their leisure and non working time.

By putting some of these hobbies and interests into your CV or resume helps a prospective employer have a more rounded view of you as a prospective employee. In some cases, some of your leisure activities may well fit within the job specification for the job you are applying for.

For instance an avid amateur gardener may well only have carried out this activity for fun, but will be assisted in their application for a position as a groundsman or paid gardener, simply because they have gained knowledge carrying out their hobby.

This is true for many activities, particularly as those that have hobbies that can provide some sort of accreditation can then put that accreditation into the qualification section on their resume. This means your hobby or interest has built up an understanding for your prospective employer in regards your ability to learn.

Additionally, some employers look to fulfiling a position by creating a balance of culture within their workplace. By listing your hobbies and interests they can get some idea as to wether you will fit in with the existing team at their workplace. Care does need to be taken here as it may not be wise to list any extreme political connections or outlandish interests here as this may preclude an interview.

In addition, by listing your hobbies and interests on your CV or resume you are providing areas for discussion during your interview. Some interviewers like to see this as it gives them a chance to ask you questions about subjects you know and like. This way they can see and hear the real person as we all happily talk about the subjects we choose to spend our time on. It can be surprising the difference in manner within a person being interviewed when they move from the subjects regarding the prospective position to the more relaxing topics of their hobby or interest.

So yes, do list those hobbies and interests, you may even be lucky and have an interviewer that has the same interests. This gives you some common ground and creates a more relaxing atmosphere during the interview. Remember the person doing the interview may not have much experience in interviewing and may be grateful for some easy areas to talk about during the interview itself.