What are Hobbies and Interests?
Hobbies are leisure activities not connected to your profession. Usually, they do not involve an income, though people are increasingly turning their hobbies into income sources. Hobbies are specific activities like photography, baking, trekking, or even playing an instrument or dancing.
Interests are usually broader; they are about exploring ideas, concepts, and subjects that captivate you and you want to learn more about. These subjects could be from history, culture, the culinary arts, space, or probably nature.
Why are they relevant to your resume?
Now, you may wonder if your hobbies and interests are not related to your professional career; why should it feature on your resume or your cv. Firstly, here’s the difference between cv and resume– A cv (curriculum vitae) presents a full detail of your academic and professional credentials. In contrast, a resume is just a concise summary of your skills and qualifications. So, your hobbies or interests can feature on both your cv and your resume.
Over the past two to three decades, many organizations have begun realizing the significance of one’s leisure life and its relevance to one’s approach to work. Especially careers that involve a lot of interpersonal interaction.
Hobbies and interests can say a lot about how interesting you are and even display a bit of your character. Trekking and rock-climbing can connote interest in keeping yourself physically and mentally fit. But there’s a catch. Mentioning pastimes, such as watching movies, listening to music, or reading, are now considered commonplace and dull. They do not present anything unique about you as a person. A hobby should emphasize aspects of your personality that can strengthen your candidature for a potential job.
So, let us take a quick look at some hobbies for resume that bring your personality alive.
- Community involvement –
Volunteering shows initiative and a strong sense of moral values. Community work can also indicate teamwork, leadership, and speaking skills.
- Blogging-
Communication plays a significant role in every organization. Good writing skills are an invaluable resource to possess from a professional standpoint. It also shows you as someone playing an active role in the digital world.
- Podcasting –
This activity allows you to demonstrate that you take your interest seriously. Your efforts to build an audience means you have latent marketing skills and love connecting with people.
- Learning languages –
There is a proven correlation between picking up new languages and problem-solving abilities, and memory skills. Learning a new language opens up whole new perspectives.
- Photography –
No, not those selfies, nor the picnic stuff, but serious photography that involves investing in academic knowledge and building an area of expertise. It suggests conceptual skills, technical knowledge, and perseverance.
- Travel –
Not just for tourism, but the type of travel that brings alive curiosity, courage, and discipline. Embarking off the beaten path means you are stepping outside your comfort zone, adapting and learning new things.
- Outdoor activities –
Hiking, camping, fishing, trekking, mountain climbing, or even gardening are all activities that express your resourcefulness and showcase a willingness to face challenges.
- Sporting activities –
Being a member of your local sports team or being a regular on the weekend circuit is evidence of self-discipline and competitiveness. Team sports help improve leadership and interpersonal skills as well.
- Yoga –
An activity that is now all the rage, regular yoga involves a great deal of concentration, focus, and discipline. A great way to relax and strengthen your physical and mental agility also adds immense value to your resume.
In Conclusion Individual interests will vary and span a broad spectrum of areas. It is critical to be completely honest about what you put on your resume. Avoid mentioning something just to impress unless you have something to support your claim. Tailor the description of your hobby to the job you are applying for. Ideally, your hobby or area of interest should help connect who you are and the organization you want to be part of.