50+ Hobbies & Interests for Your Resume in 2022

Table of contents:

• Should you include interests on your resume?
• Interests to avoid on your resume
• How to include interests on your resume
• Examples of hobbies and interests for your resume
• Tips for your interests on your resume

Imagine this scenario.

You’re a hiring manager and after hours of reviewing resumes for the role you’re filling you’re considering two candidates to move forward to the interview stage.

Their resumes are very similar in terms of their qualifications and you’re having trouble deciding which of the two to move forward with.

Now, you’re a big running enthusiast. You wake up early on Saturdays to run with your local running group. You even run a few marathons a year.

You scroll down the resumes and see that one of the two job applicants is also a big running enthusiast. Since the resumes of the two finalists were so similar, you decide to go with the one you think will be a slightly better cultural fit due to your shared interest.

This is the value of including hobbies and interests on your resume.

They won’t make or break your application but they can marginally increase your chances of getting an interview by showing you’re a real person with real interests.

Not everyone should include their interests on their resume and not all kinds of interests are created equal in the job market.

In this guide and in our easy resume tips guide, we’ll do a deep dive on which of your interests or hobbies to include on your resume and we’ll show you how to include them to give you that small leg up in the application process.

When it comes to applying to jobs with your resume, every small advantage adds up!

Should you include hobbies or interests on your resume?

Before we dive into the types of hobbies and interests you should add to your resume, we first need to answer the question of whether you should include them at all.

The primary factor in determining whether you should include an interests section on your resume is the type of role and company you’re applying to.

Modern technology companies are likely to be more interested in learning about your prospective cultural fit. One great way to demonstrate that on your resume is through your hobbies.

Older, more established companies are less likely to be interested in what you do outside of work.

To determine whether you should include your interests do the following:

• Read the job description of the role you’re applying to. Do they make specific mention of their company culture or the importance of cultural fit?
• If the answer is “yes”, that’s a good indication that you should include your “interests” section.
• Visit the company’s website. Read their “about us” section as well as their employment pages. Do they talk about culture or the importance of unique perspectives?
• If the answer is “yes”, then again it’s probably best you include your interests.

When it comes to your resume, not all hobbies and interests are created equal!

For example, I am an expert television show binge-watcher. If there was a binge-watching championship, I think I could win gold. 

Still, this is a hobby of mine I would leave off my resume. It’s not that there's anything wrong with this hobby, it’s just that it’s neither particularly unique nor noteworthy.

Remember the goal of your “interests” section is to help you stand out. If the hobby you include is something the hiring manager has seen hundreds of times, then it won’t accomplish what you need it to on your resume.

This means you should be as specific as possible when describing your hobbies or interests. “Sports” is not the same as “captain of a local co-ed basketball team”.

Interests to avoid on your resume

If you’re on the fence about whether you should include a particular interest or hobby on your resume, it’s usually better to err on the side of caution.

The last thing you want to do is turn a “yes” into a “no” by including something taboo on your resume.

This means you should not include anything about your politics on your resume (unless, of course, you’re applying for a job in politics).

This is not to say you should avoid talking about your volunteer experience through your local church if that’s a hobby of yours!

Just imagine you’re meeting someone you’d like to make a good impression with. If it’s a topic you’d avoid in that conversation, then leave it off if you'd like to present a professional resume.

With that said, here is my experience including a hobby that, under different circumstances, would have been better left off my resume.

How to include hobbies and interests on your resume

Before we dive into the best way to include hobbies or interests on your resume, let’s start with an example

This example comes from our administrative assistant resume guide. We have a list of 1,000+ resume examples for all professions you can browse for inspiration.

Here are a few rules you should strive to follow when you include your hobbies or interests on your resume:

• Add a specific section to your resume called “Hobbies” or “Interests”
• Limit the number of hobbies you include to 5 at most
• Keep it toward the bottom of your resume layout.
  • We have a couple of new Google resume templates and Word resume templates that already have this section built in. 
• Be as specific as possible
• Don’t let this section be the reason your resume extends to two pages

All of these rules follow the principle that your interests should not be the focus of your resume. They are on your resume to add color to who you are as a person.

The fact is, some hiring managers won’t put much or any weight on this section of your resume. That’s the reason you shouldn’t make it so prominent.

Unfortunately you won’t be able to land a job as a surgeon with your hobbies alone, you need to still have the right qualifications for the role!

With that said, the more specific you are with your interests the more likely what you put is going to resonate with the person reviewing your resume. 

You also want to be able to relate your hobbies or interests to what makes you a particularly good fit for the role you’re applying to.

Examples of hobbies and interests for your resume

Here is an extensive list of different hobbies and interests you can potentially include on your resume. You can always list a slew of things you enjoy on your resume outline and narrow it down when you get ready to build your actual resume.

Remember, your hobbies are supposed to be for your enjoyment. If you don’t think you have any hobbies that are good to include on your resume, that’s okay!

Volunteering

What better way to demonstrate you’re a caring, civic-minded person than by including your volunteer efforts on your resume?

People want to work with kind people. Not to mention many companies now give employees time off each year to volunteer for efforts they care about.

By including your volunteer efforts on your resume you’ll come across as someone who is desirable to work with and someone who may align with the mission of the company you’re applying to.

• Fostering animals
• Volunteering within your religious organization
• Firefighter/ EMT
• Working for local committees or organizations in your community (like the Board of Education for example)
• Coaching youth sports teams
• Volunteering with organizations that help the homeless
• Tutoring
• Volunteering at local meetups or hackathons
• Volunteering at an animal shelter

Exercise

Mentioning the way you exercise as one of your interests or hobbies can be a great way to build a quick bond with the person reviewing your resume.

The key here is to try to be as specific as possible. Saying something like “sports” in your interests sections is not worth including. What sports do you play?

Exercise can be anything that gets the heart pumping. If you dance or do karate those are unique hobbies that you should definitely mention on your resume.

• Running (if you run events like 5Ks mention that!)
• Yoga
• Weight lifting
• Dance (what kind of dance do you prefer?)
• Golf
• Karate
• Pilates
• Basketball (do you play in a league?)
• Volleyball
• Bowling
• Rock climbing
• Biking
• Skiing/ snowboarding
• Swimming
• Hiking

Art

Most companies would benefit by having a creative person join their company. If you’re looking for a career in marketing or design that is especially true.

Even if you’re looking for a job as a programmer or data scientist, creativity can still be an invaluable skill.

Like exercise, try to be specific here. Saying “music” is not a particular unique hobby. Saying you play guitar, however, may catch the eye of the hiring manager.

If you have a portfolio of your work you can even link to that here if you’re really proud of it.

• Photography
• Painting
• Drawing
• Comic books
• Sewing
• Classic films
• Instruments (guitar, violin, piano, etc..)
• Interior decorating
• Writing (what kind of things do you write?)
• Calligraphy
• Stand-up comedy
• Singing
• Rapping

Puzzles/ Games

Much like your artistic endeavors can showcase your creativity to a prospective employer, your interest in board games or other types of gaming can demonstrate your strategic and objective skillset.

I likely sound like a broken record at this point, but be specific. Saying “video games” is not going to add much value to your resume whereas “PC gaming” might (remember to do your research on the company to make sure this would be appropriate).

• Chess
• Poker
• Dungeons and dragons
• Sudoku
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Crossword puzzles
• Trivia

Other

Your hobbies don’t (and likely aren’t) confined by neat category distinctions. Remember, a hobby worth including on your resume can be anything that’s a passion of yours that can demonstrate a trait that might be appealing to an employer.

For example, on the list below you’ll see brewing beer as a hobby. As long as the company you’re applying to is a more modern company this could be appropriate to include. To be a successful brewer you need to be precise and thorough, both great traits in a prospective employee.

• Learning languages (which/ how many languages have you learned?)
• Traveling (before Covid, did you go anywhere interesting?)
• Foodie (talking about local restaurants can be a great way to break the ice in an interview)
• Gardening
• Brewing beer
• Cooking (which cuisine is your specialty?)
• Baking (who doesn’t love the person who bakes for office parties?)
• BBQing (this would certainly grab my attention)
• Social media (if you run a successful social account for a local organization or cause that can be an invaluable skill)
• Camping

Tips for your interests on your resume

Most people don’t live to work, they work to live. Therefore, most of your time is likely going to be spent outside of your office.

Including your hobbies and interests on your resume is a great way to humanize yourself and become more than just a resume to the hiring manager.

Remember these tips when including hobbies and interests on your resume:

• Research the company and jobs description for the role you’re applying to in order to determine if you should include hobbies.
• Put your hobbies in a dedicated “interests” or “activities” section on your resume.
• Keep this section short (4-5 interests at most) and move it to the bottom of your resume.
• Your hobbies are for you; don’t take up a hobby just to please a potential employer.