40+ Hobbies and Interests to Put on Your Resume

Including hobbies and interests on your resume helps you demonstrate a variety of relevant job skills and show employers you’d be a good cultural fit.

But in some cases, adding an interests section when making your resume is considered inappropriate. Before you start listing interests and hobbies on your resume, make sure you know when it’s the right time to do so.

Scroll down to view our full list of job-related interests and hobbies, as well as tips for where and how to list them on your resume.

Should you put your hobbies and interests on a resume?

Yes, you should put your hobbies and interests on a resume if you lack work experience and want to give employers a better idea of what you’re like outside of work (which often gives some insight into what you’d be like in the office).

Interests and hobbies help show that you’re a well-rounded applicant, and in many cases demonstrate important hard and soft skills.

However, if you already have a few years of work experience and can fill a one page resume with relevant professional skills and qualifications, don’t put hobbies and interests on your resume.

Here are more examples of when you should and shouldn’t add your hobbies and interests to your resume:

40+ job-relevant hobbies and interests for your resume

Once you’re confident that putting hobbies and interests on your resume will help your application, the next step is choosing the right examples to list.

To help you get started, here are 40+ professional interests and examples to put on your resume that reflect positively on you as a candidate.

1. Sports

Playing a sport is one of the best hobbies for your resume because it shows you’re energetic and healthy.

For example, a solo sport like jogging conveys that you’re self-motivated and disciplined. And with group sports, you communicate to employers that you’re capable of working with a team.

Additionally, being the captain of an amateur sports team demonstrates leadership skills and interpersonal skills — which are highly valuable in any professional setting.

These are good sports activities for your resume:

2. Outdoor activities

Putting outdoor activities like hiking or camping on your resume is a great way to show employers that you lead a balanced life and stay healthy.

Not only that, but getting into nature in your spare time is helpful for mental health and avoiding burnout at work.

These are some outdoor activities to put on your resume:

• Camping
• Fishing
• Gardening
• Hiking
• Mountain climbing
• Trekking

3. Technology-related activities

Companies are working remotely more than ever due to COVID-19. So interests related to technology show employers you’re an excellent communicator and up-to-date with current software.

For instance, if you maintain a personal blog, podcast, or Youtube channel, mentioning it on your resume is a great way to highlight your creativity, organizational skills, and technical skills. Blogging and vlogging are especially relevant to jobs in marketing or advertising.

However, only mention these interests if your media is work appropriate.

Here are other technology-related interests for your resume:

• Coding
• Content creation
• Fixing or troubleshooting computers
• Photo and video editing
• Podcasting
• Writing

4. Art

An interest in art tells the hiring manager that you’re creative and have a keen eye for detail.

Artistic interests are especially good to put on your resume if you want to work in a creative or design-focused field, like UX/UI, cinematography, or art curation.

Some examples of artistic hobbies to put on your resume include:

• Dance
• Drawing
• Graphic design
• Painting
• Pottery
• Photography
• Sculpting
• Sewing and making clothes
• Woodworking

5. Volunteer work

Putting volunteer work on your resume is a great way to showcase your community engagement, generosity, and time management skills.

If you’re applying for a role at a not-for-profit organization or a company that values social responsibility, volunteer experience is a great addition to your resume.

6. Travel

If you list travel as one of your hobbies and interests, you communicate to employers that you’re open-minded, adventurous, and tolerant.

Travel is a good interest to include on your resume if you’re applying for jobs that require you to:

• travel internationally
• have knowledge of different cultures and business customs
• involve working within a multicultural team

7. Foreign languages

Including foreign language skills on your resume shows dedication, initiative, and communication skills.

An interest in learning foreign languages is especially beneficial if you’re applying for jobs that involve international travel, multinational sales, or tourism.

8. Video games

Recently, many employers recognize that playing video games demonstrates problem solving skills and shows you can meet objectives.

However, you should still be mindful of the job you’re applying to before listing your interest in video games anywhere on your application.

For example, if you’re applying for a role in the tech industry, listing gaming as a personal interest is likely to get a positive response — especially if you understand how cross-platform games or peer-to-peer connections work. Such knowledge may even be relevant to the position.

However, mentioning your interest in gaming when applying to a law firm can appear unprofessional.

9. Music-related activities

Playing or creating music requires self-discipline and commitment. Additionally, being a member of a band requires collaboration and people skills.

Adding music as a hobby on your resume is a safe choice for any industry, and demonstrates a variety of valuable soft skills such as confidence, openness to feedback, and patience.

Some specific musical interests for your resume include:

• Beatboxing
• Guitar
• Piano
• Music composition
• Singing
• Songwriting
• Trumpet

10. Club or social-related activities

Being part of a social club or association shows hiring managers that you’re an active member in your community and enjoy being around others.

Listing your membership in a local sports, social, or academic club as an interest on your resume is a great way to highlight your interpersonal skills to potential employers.

Have a look at more club or social activities for your resume:

• Board games
• Local meetups
• Networking events
• Public speaking

How to list interests and hobbies on a resume

Now that you’ve got a shortlist of extracurricular activities for your resume, you’ll need to list them properly.

Our in-house career advisor Eva gives you tips on how you can accurately list your interests and hobbies on your resume:

To expand upon Eva’s advice, here are three steps to help you with the writing process:

1. Create an interests and hobbies section on your resume

Whether you’re creating your resume manually or using a resume maker, consider adding a dedicated section titled “Interests & Hobbies” or “Personal Interests.”

Adding your interests and hobbies in a separate section makes it easy for employers to separate them from the work experience on your resume.

Then, list 3–5 interests or hobbies in a bulleted list, similar to how you’d format your resume’s skills section.

Here’s an example of what a interests and hobbies section looks like:

If you lack work experience, consider making your resume interests section more detailed. For instance, you can include a brief one-line description for each interest that explains what you do or how it relates to the role.

If possible, quantify each point by adding hard numbers such as percentages or time.

These short descriptions can make up for a lack of professional experience because they showcase some of your best achievements even though they were outside an office setting.

Here’s an example of a detailed resume interests section:

2. List interests at the bottom of your resume

Place your interests section at the bottom of your resume or off to the side (depending on your resume layout).

While listing interests on your resume can make you look more appealing as a candidate, they are ultimately the least important information to include.

Listing such information at the bottom of the page helps you avoid distracting employers from the more essential information on your resume, like your educational background, work experience, accomplishments, and top skills.

3. Tailor your interests list to the job advertisement

Before you start putting interests on your resume, make sure that they’ll be well-received by the company you want to work for and show you’re a good cultural fit.

Follow these steps to keep your hobbies and interests relevant:

For example, if you’re applying to an organization that recently brought its team on a company-sponsored hike, try listing outdoor activities like hiking or camping on your resume to make a good first impression and show them that you’d fit in well with the company.