Tell Me Something That's Not on Your Resume (Best Answers)

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“Tell me something that is not on your resume” is one of most common interview questions you might get asked.

The question can be confusing because it’s hard to know what interviewers are looking for. It’s open-ended, which means that interviewers aren’t expecting you to follow a certain answer format.

Employers ask this question to give you an opportunity to highlight something about yourself — whether it’s a special skill, travel experience, or lifelong goal — that’ll make you stand out and help you demonstrate how you’d fit with the rest of the team.

Here’s how to answer this question effectively:

1. Choose a focus

When an interviewer asks you to tell them something that’s not on your resume, answer with something that’s authentic to you, and something you’re proud of.

Choose your topic and explain what it means to you, as well as what you’ve learned from it, or how it’s helped you grow as a person.

You can also connect your answer back to the job you’re applying for by choosing something directly relevant to the role. However this isn’t necessary, so it’s up to you. Use your best judgment about what each interviewer will respond to.

Here are a few ideas for you to consider:

Sharing a hobby is a great way to show who you are beyond your resume — but the key is to go beyond just describing it. The best answers highlight what the hobby has taught you and how it shapes the way you work, think, or interact with others.

Here are a couple examples:

Showcase your soft skills

“I really love gardening. For the past two years I’ve been growing flowers and vegetables in pots on my balcony, and before I started I never realized how much work it takes to just grow something, and then you might still not get anything edible. It’s a really interesting process and I love the routine and the dedication that it takes.

Maintaining a well-tended garden and giving the plants everything they need to grow and thrive, no matter the season has taught me a lot about dedication, patience, and the importance of having a long-term growth mindset. Caring for my plants is also therapeutic and really helps me decompress after a long day at work.”

This response shows how the candidate’s interest in gardening has also helped them cultivate dedication, patience, the ability to manage stress, and resilience: qualities that are transferable to any job.

Share a passion

“One thing that’s not on my resume is that I like studying history in my free time. I tend to go down rabbit holes on specific time periods or events and try to understand how different factors connect.

It’s made me more analytical in how I think about problems. I naturally look for patterns and context before jumping to conclusions, which is something I bring into my work as well.”

This response works because by describing how they explore connections between events, the candidate demonstrates analytical skills and curiosity. It also clearly ties that mindset to how they approach problems at work, making the answer both personal and relevant.

Besides hobbies, you can choose to focus on a life experience that gives the interviewer insight into who you are as a person. This could be any event that was formative, unforgettable, or unique in some way.

For example:

Show an achievement

“I once ran a half marathon for charity with my two brothers to raise money for the local Children’s Hospital. None of us were runners before, and I was in pretty bad shape. We started training about three and a half months before the actual race, running in the mornings and on weekends. It was really tough waking up early to go running, especially in the winter, but I was motivated to deliver on my commitment.

The feeling of accomplishment I felt when I crossed the finish line was something that I’d never felt before, and the whole experience taught me the power of determination and hard work. Now, every time I go into a difficult challenge, I think about everything I learned in my training to run the half marathon.”

This response effectively demonstrates the candidate’s determination and commitment to giving back to the community by overcoming a personal challenge, and highlights how the experience has shaped their mindset toward facing challenges in other aspects of their life.

Another way to respond to “tell me something that’s not on your resume” is to highlight a goal or a dream. This could be a learning, fitness, or professional goal, or something else that motivates you.

For example, talk about your aspiration to complete a marathon (for example), learn a new language, or develop a specific role-related skill. Emphasizing your desire to achieve difficult long-term goals can also signal that you are a good fit for companies that value this quality.

When sharing a goal, provide insight into the steps you plan to take to achieve it and what motivates you to pursue it. Here’s an example of a job-seeker applying for a job as a technical writer, a job that requires independent learning and research skills:

Share a learning project

“My family has been planning a trip to Portugal for a few years, and one of my personal goals has been to learn Portuguese before we go. I really want to be able to get around and talk to the locals when we go, so I bought a few books and have been taking lessons online. It’s actually been really rewarding to be able to take myself from a beginner to an intermediate level in a foreign language by myself. Our trip is at the end of the year and I plan to keep learning Portuguese even after it’s over, because knowing a second language has added so much richness and value to my life.”

The candidate’s story highlights their ability to set and pursue goals independently, and their commitment to continue learning after the trip shows their desire for personal growth. These qualities help the interviewer see that they would be a good culture fit on a team where being self-driven and having unique interests are encouraged.

2. Avoid inappropriate answers

Even though there’s no right answer to this open-ended question, it’s important to avoid oversharing in an interview.

And, don’t reply with a joke (even if your sense of humor is an important part of your personality).
Employers want to hire people who take themselves and their jobs seriously.

Here are some specific things to avoid when answering “Tell me something that’s not on your resume”:

Any dangerous or illegal activity
Controversial subjects like politics or conspiracy theories
Activities that directly interfere or compete with the job or company you’re applying for
Jokes or false statements
Anything negative about previous employers or coworkers

3. Use ChatGPT prompts to create an effective response

You can use ChatGPT (or your preferred LLM) to help you prepare for this interview question. Below are two ChatGPT prompts that’ll help you generate ideas and create a sample answer.

Use this first prompt as a way to get ideas for how to answer this question at your own interview. Simply fill in the underlined parts with your own information, and ChatGPT will create three different example answers for you:

If you want help creating a more tailored response, you can try this prompt, which asks ChatGPT to create a sample response for you by asking detailed follow-up questions:

ChatGPT Prompt #2: Create a tailored answer

You’re an experienced career coach helping me prepare for an interview. The interviewer asks: “Tell me something that’s not on your resume.”

First, ask what I want to talk about in my answer. After I respond, ask 2–3 follow-up questions to help you understand the story and why it matters. Then write a sample answer that:

sounds natural and conversational
explains the topic clearly
includes specific details
shows why it matters and what it says about me
connects it back to why I’d be a strong candidate

Then give 2–3 brief suggestions for how I can personalize or strengthen the answer.

Additional interview resources

Here are some other common interview questions that you might also encounter in your job search:

Years of Experience

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Articles Written

Nathan Soto is dedicated to providing practical guidance to job seekers, especially people with nonlinear career paths.

Nathan’s articles and career advice have been featured on multiple platforms, including Forbes, MSN, NBC New York, Memphis Business Journal, Newsweek, and Fast Company, offering insights into resume writing, interview preparation, and personal branding.

Nathan graduated from the University of Nevada with a double B.A. in French and Music. In addition to writing, he also works as a Mandarin–English translator.

Expertise

Writing and Editing Research Translation and Interpreting (Mandarin–English) Proficiency in Mandarin and French Career Counseling Crafting Engaging Content Testing New AI Tools