10 Hobbies You Should List on Your Resume and What They Say About You

If you have ever worked at a job where you said to yourself, “I just don’t fit in here,” or if you have had an employee that you realize is not acclimating to your company’s climate, you probably understand the role that company culture plays in an employee’s success. More and more, companies are hiring the candidate that most closely fits the company culture—even if that candidate does not possess some of the skills sets on the company with list.

Increasingly, employers are looking at a potential employee’s outside interests and hobbies to measure their fit for the job. You can tell a lot about a person by their hobbies, or lack of them. You may not have considered chronicling your hobbies on your resume; however, in the impersonal world of electronic resume submissions, interesting hobbies paint a vibrant picture of who you are.

Hobbies are more than entertainment. Some hobbies teach you valuable, marketable skills that will directly benefit your employer. Religiously watching black and white television shows from the 1950’s might not demonstrate relevant skills for the average office job, but at a TV museum, that skill makes you a sure winner.

What do your hobbies say about you?

Volunteering/Community Service
Where you choose to donate your limited free time tells a potential employer a lot about your interests. Do you feed the homeless at the park? Volunteer with Girl Scouts as a Troop Leader? Organize your church’s craft bazaar? These activities indicate compassion, interest in young women’s futures, and dedication to a cause. They also express an ability to collaborate with others. However, be careful listing political organizations, even if you do volunteer weekly for the Young Republicans.

Languages
If you are a linguist that learns languages easily and for fun, list the languages in which you are fluent, and the ones that you are currently mastering, on your resume. If you are interested in learning additional languages, try Duolingo.com or Memrise.com. Many companies seek multi-lingual candidates, so don’t forget to include your linguistic prowess on your resume.

Extreme Sports
People who crave the rush provided by extreme sports such as skydiving, mountain climbing and BASE-jumping are risk takers. People who take calculated risks and push the envelope often make excellent managers and leaders. For women in particular, willingness to take risks in extreme sports demonstrates an abilitynot only to keep up with the men but to surpass them.

Music & Theater
Are you a classically trained pianist? Do you spend your weekends acting in a community theater? Musicians are often detail-oriented, excellent mathematicians. They can excel in accounting roles.  That self-proclaimed theater geek with a penchant for expressive clothing items might be an excellent fit in sales and marketing or a creative design company.

Artistic Hobbies
Creative hobbies like photography, cake decorating, and painting connote a creative mind. Like their music and theater counterparts, creative women succeed in marketing, public relations, and interior design. Creative hobbies also suggest an ability to plan and implement projects start to finish.

Endurance Sports
The determination and persistence required for endurance sports such as triathlons, running, or cycling make people who engage in such sports a right fit for sales and development positions. They can indicate a candidate’s ability to forgo short-term gains in favor or long-term results.

Journaling & Blogging
In the sea of text-speakers that speak in choppy abbreviations, people who can turn a well-thought phrase are in high demand. Personal blogging, creative poetry or short story writing, and newsletter writing for volunteer organizations all enhance your ability to communicate clearly with the written word. Social media and communications positions might be a right fit for people with these hobbies, even if they lack formal training and education in those areas.

Reading
Do you read voraciously? Your ability to consume a novel a day could mean that you can make short work scanning websites or manuals for an answer to a problem. Reading non-fiction might indicate a desire to information and an aptitude for a research-intensive position.

Travel
If you carry your passport with you and dream of your next adventure, you might be the perfect person for a job that requires world travel. Not everyone likes to leave home for several weeks at a time, however, if you are the type that relishes the thought of becoming one with the locals for a week or two, put that on your resume.

Group Sports
Do you play soccer, softball or basketball on a community team? You are probably a team player with a lot of stamina. Nearly every industry is looking for team players that understand how to work toward a common goal.

Don’t make the mistake of simply listing your hobbies. Busy hiring managers might not have the time to study your resume looking for the hobbies that make you the right fit. Make the connections for them by explaining the ways in which your activities make you an asset. Keep your list of hobbies to the top two or three about which you are most passionate or that provide skills you anticipate will make you a great fit for the company culture.