A social media survey carried out by recruitment consultant Rytons Associates has produced some interesting findings on the hobbies and interests CV debate.
Rytons Director Patrick Murtagh posed the question of the importance of including this section on a CV on LinkedIn recently, and the response he received was massive. The move came because a number of his clients saw it as valuable and others a waste of time, which left him on the fence about whether or not a hobbies and interests section was important.
In the many responses received from people at all stages of their career, one thing that came out above all was the idea that it allows the employer the chance to discover more about the person they’ll be working with and whether they would make a good fit. But on the other hand, others felt that if not explained properly, having a particular hobby could go against them in an interview and leave them vulnerable to poor judgement.
Comments in favour of adding a hobby section on your CV included:
- Potential to be an icebreaker or conversation starter at interview.
- For apprenticeships, it was of ‘paramount importance’ in the absence of real work experience.
- It gives an indicator of whether they’re the kind of person the interviewer is looking for and where their drive and passions lie.
- Evidence of volunteering should also be included and people with little direct work experience could visit the national volunteering database do-it.org.
Comments against raised the following:
- It could lead to poor judgement of character and even be the reason for not being offered a role. The interviewer might worry that it could interfere with working life.
- It’s not of any interest if doesn’t directly relate to the role.
- The dominating message overall in the study was that there were more plus sides than negative ones.
However, Patrick felt that just listing them as a series of bullet points was a definite no-no, because in the absence of explanation it left the candidate open to judgement. Any hobbies should clearly show how they relate to the job, or demonstrate how they helped shape the candidate positively into the type of person the interviewer was looking for.
Patrick added: “Make sure you are not leaving things to a reader’s interpretation of your personality. If you only include bullet points, something you see as positive might not be read that way. Make sure people don’t categorise your personality into something that isn’t a true representation of who you are based on stereotypical values. Use your hobbies and interests to the best possible advantage.”
In summary, the importance of a hobbies and interests section on your CV has a lot to do with what stage you are at in your career and how you present that information. So, in response to the survey, using the stage of a person’s career as a guide, the team at Rytons put together some basic points to consider in getting this part of your CV right.
One to three years’ experience
- Use it to showcase your personality and get across key attributes.
- Show how the hobbies relate to the job.
- Give examples of how they have made you the person you are.
- Don’t just give a list of generic interests.
Three years’ experience up to and including management
- This CV should talk more about work experience.
- Include a hobbies section, but keep it short.
- Give a more concise explanation of how hobbies and interests relate to the job.
Senior management upwards
- Experience and direct knowledge of the role is the key.
- Hobbies and interests section is much less important and little attention is paid to it.
