The best hobbies and interests for your CV.

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Talking about yourself can be tricky — especially when trying to consider what someone actually wants to hear. Writing a CV and telling someone about your work experience can be hard enough — but what do you say about your pastimes? Writing about your hobbies and interests for a CV may seem difficult but it’s easier than you think.

Explore how to include hobbies and interests on a CV with this guide from Adobe Express.

What are hobbies and interests?

Before you can begin to talk about your hobbies and interests, it’s worth defining what they are. Hobbies and interests are something you do in your spare time for fun — this could include everything from sports and art to blogging and music. In some instances, you may even use your hobbies and interests as an additional income stream.

Examples of hobbies and interests on a CV.

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Should you include hobbies and interests on a CV?

You may want to include your hobbies and interests on a CV. In fact, it can be a great way to tell your employer more about you – and maybe show some additional skills. This can be especially useful if you’re writing a CV with little or no work experience.

While anything can fall into the category of a hobby or an interest, you may need to consider how you talk about them. After all, watching TV may be a pastime but would you call it a hobby? And is there anything you could write that’s worth knowing about that?

This is a great opportunity to personalise your CV — not only to find common ground but also to show off relevant experience.

Picking your hobbies and interests to share on your CV carefully can help you stand out.

When should you not add hobbies and interests on your CV?

Here are some things to consider when you’re writing about your pastimes to help ensure they’ll land with your potential employer:

Where to put them on your CV.

There are other things to consider if you want to include your hobbies and interests on a CV — namely, the order in which you place the section. Here’s a tip — it’s not at the start.

Your professional experience, skills and qualifications are the most important thing to get across. Talk about those before any mention of hobbies and interests. Ideally this would come towards the bottom of a CV as additional information.

Learn more about how to format your CV

Explore and edit these free CV samples below.

Tasks
resume
Topics
creative
Q

Template IDs

(To pull in manually curated templates if needed)

Orientation


(Horizontal/Vertical)

Vertical

Width


(Full, Std, sixcols)

sixcols

Limit


(number of templates to load each pagination. Min. 5)

6
Animated
All

Sort

Most Viewed

Rare & Original

Newest to Oldest

Oldest to Newest

Newest to Oldest
Locales
GB or EN

Premium


(true, false, all) true or false will limit to premium only or free only.

false

Examples of hobbies and interests to put on your CV.

Not all hobbies and interests are made equal when it comes to your CV. But don’t be disheartened — it all depends on the role you’re going for. What you need to prioritise is relevancy: transferable skills and experiences that relate to your desired job role.

Here are some examples of hobbies and interests to put on your CV (and why they could be relevant):

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Useful things to know.

Is it unprofessional to include hobbies on a CV?

No, but sharing irrelevant hobbies or cramming them into an already busy CV could work against you. Think carefully about what your chosen hobbies and interests say about you and try to write about them in a way that is relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Are employers interested in your hobbies and interests?

Yes, most employers love hearing about your hobbies and interests. Not only do they demonstrate some of your transferable skills, but it’s an opportunity for the employer to get to know you better.

How long should a CV be?

Generally, CVs should be no longer than two pages of A4 and it should be tailored to the role. If you do not have room for your hobbies and interests, consider adding key skills you’ve learned from them into your skills section.