Hobbies And Interests On A CV: Do They Belong?

Including your hobbies and interests on a CV is a great way of showcasing your skills and qualities, but there are some cases where we’d recommend you don’t include them. It ultimately depends on your individual circumstances and the relevance of your hobbies and interests to the job you’re applying for. So, here’s our advice on when it’s appropriate to include them and when it’s best to leave them off. 

When to include hobbies and interests on a CV

First things first, let’s talk about when you should consider including hobbies and interests on a CV. Here are a few instances where you might want to include them: 

If you’ve got limited professional experience 

If you’re just starting out in your career and have limited professional experience, including your hobbies and interests is a great way to demonstrate that you’ve got transferable skills and qualities. For example, if you’re the captain of your sports team you can mention this to show your leadership and communication skills. 

If they’re relevant

If your hobbies and interests are relevant to the job you’re applying for, including them can be a great way to demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm for the role. For example, if you’re applying for a marketing job and are a talented photographer in your spare time you could mention this to show your passion for content creation and creativity.  

If they add value to your CV  

Let’s be honest, not all hobbies and interests are created equally! Some might be more relevant and impressive than others. So, you should only consider adding them if they really add value to your CV.

When not to include them

On the flip side, there are situations when it’s best to leave hobbies and interests off a CV. Here are a few instances where you might want to skip them:

If you’ve got lots of professional experience

It’s unlikely that hobbies and interests will add much weight to your CV if you’ve got plenty of experience. So you should focus on your professional achievements instead. 

If your CV is too long

If you’re struggling to keep your CV to a reasonable length, it’s better to focus on your professional qualifications and experience rather than including hobbies and interests. Remember, anything between 1-3 pages is acceptable for your CV. 

If they’re not relevant

If your hobbies aren’t relevant, don’t include them! They’ll only distract the reader from the most important information about your skills and experience. 

Top tip: 

Your hobbies and interests could be used to judge how well you’d fit into the company culture, so we suggest you do some research first. Check out the business website, social media accounts, and workplace reviews to give you an insight into company values. This should help you to gauge whether it would be appropriate to include a glimpse into your personal life on your CV. 

Key things to consider

If you’ve decided to include hobbies and interests on your CV, here are some key things you need to consider:

• Keep them concise and relevant. Don’t list every single thing you enjoy doing in your spare time – instead, focus on the things that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. 
• Honesty is the best policy. Don’t be tempted to embellish anything. That niche hobby you’ve made up to ‘stand out’ may just be the thing to catch you out, so it’s important to stick to the truth. 
• Remember that your hobbies might say more about you than you think, so choose them wisely and make sure they reinforce your application.
• Include them near the bottom of your CV so as not to detract from key details about your experience and skills. 

Once you’ve made your decision, it’s time to brush up the rest of your CV. For advice on structure and format, check out our guide on how to write a cracking marketing CV. The guide is focused on marketing roles, since that’s our niche, but the advice applies to roles across the board.