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Hobbies For Resume - 100+ Examples For Every Job Seeker

When you’re applying for a job, hobbies and interests are bound to make it to your resumes and interviews. But how do you pick the hobbies for resume? And what sets them apart from an area of interest in resume? Let's find out.

Hobbies and Interests: Meaning & Importance

Hobbies are fun ways to spend time and relax after a long day at work. They give us a chance to explore interests outside of work or in our spare time and develop skills that can be applied to other areas of life. On the other hand, interests refer to topics or areas that capture your curiosity and spark a desire to explore and gain knowledge. They often involve a deep passion for learning and discovering new ideas, concepts, and information.

Also Read: Reply Aptly To 'What Are Your Hobbies?' In A Job Interview

Importance of Interests and Hobbies

During a job search, a resume is critical for creating your first impression. It showcases your professional skills, educational background, and achievements. However, adding a section on hobbies and interests adds a personal touch, it shows the recruiter who you are beyond work.

Hobbies reflect activities you regularly engage in for fun or relaxation, like painting, hiking, or baking. Interests, on the other hand, can be more broad and aspirational, things you’re curious about or learning, such as artificial intelligence, public speaking, or sustainable living.

Including interests and hobbies in resume can help:

Highlight soft skills like creativity, leadership, and time management.
Demonstrate your willingness to learn new things.
Show your ability to balance work and life, which is valuable for well-being and productivity.
Create conversation starters in interviews and help build rapport.
Reveal your cultural fit with the organization’s values or team dynamics.

Recruiters want to hire people who have a vast range of interests and hobbies. Hiring employees with rich and interesting areas of interest can help lighten up the workplace and possibly even increase employee productivity. So, while your technical skills might land you the interview, sharing that you love strategy board games or participating in community theatre could make you more memorable and relatable.

When to include hobbies and interests in resume?

The relevance of including hobbies hinges on your career stage and how well they align with your professional identity. Let's understand in detail:

For freshers and graduates, hobbies are generally recommended. Given their limited work experience, these personal pursuits can offer valuable insights into their personality and skill set.

Some hobbies for resume for freshers can be volunteering, traveling, writing, quizzing, and active participation in college clubs. These demonstrate qualities like curiosity, teamwork, creativity, and leadership.

Early career professionals should selectively include hobbies, prioritizing those that reinforce their professional strengths. For instance, if you're applying for a role as a Data Analyst at TCS, mentioning your interest in data puzzles or your contribution to an analytics blog can strengthen your profile, while your weekend cricket matches can be left out unless they show team involvement in a meaningful way.
By the time individuals reach mid-level to senior professional roles, their extensive experience typically takes precedence. At this stage, including hobbies becomes optional unless they directly contribute to networking opportunities or further highlight leadership capabilities. At this stage, involvement in industry forums, mentoring initiatives, or exclusive professional clubs could be worth mentioning.

Difference Between Interests & Hobbies For Resume

Both hobbies and interests are activities that can be creative or intellectual or both, in nature. Both can also be done individually, or in a group. So what sets them apart?

Hobbies reflect what we actively make time for, while interests reveal what sparks our curiosity or inspires us, even if we haven't explored them fully yet. For example, someone might have a deep interest in traveling, fascinated by cultures, cuisines, and landscapes, but due to time or resources, may not travel often. Understanding this distinction helps us better express our passions and motivations, both in personal life and professional settings.

Let’s understand the five key differences between hobbies and interests:

Criteria	Hobbies	Interests
Meaning	Activities pursued for pleasure or relaxation	Subjects or topics that one is curious about or enjoys learning about
Level of participation	Typically require active participation	Can be passive or active
Type	May involve a specific skill or talent	Can be broad or general
Involvement	Usually done in one's free time	Can be pursued at any time
Outcome	Often results in a tangible product or outcome	May not have a specific end goal or outcome
Example	Examples of Hobbies: Reading, Biking, etc. (if you do it regularly)	Examples of Interests: Traveling (if you do it occasionally).

Note: When it comes to the list of hobbies and interests in resume, you can mention them separately. There is no hard and fast rule regarding it; it depends on how much information you want to provide about yourself.

Attractive Hobbies for Resume & Their Importance

You may have a variety of hobbies. But when adding them to your resume, you can strategically list your hobbies depending on the type of job you're looking for. Here are some best hobbies for resume that you can choose from:

1. Learning Languages

Learning a new language is a great way to enhance cognitive abilities and can also be a desirable asset in the workplace, particularly in fields that require frequent communication in foreign languages with individuals from different countries and cultures.

In addition to the benefits you mentioned, learning a new language can also improve one's ability to multitask, increase creativity, and improve cultural awareness and sensitivity. It can also lead to new job opportunities and career advancement.

More than just a hobby! Various studies have shown that the bilingual brain can have better attention and task-switching capacities than a monolingual brain.

2. Volunteering and community involvement

Volunteering and community involvement are great ways to develop important skills and demonstrate positive traits to potential employers. In addition to leadership and organizational skills, volunteering can also help individuals develop teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and time-management skills.

Volunteering can also provide individuals with valuable networking opportunities and the chance to gain experience in areas they may be interested in pursuing as a career. Additionally, volunteering can help individuals feel more fulfilled and engaged in their community, which can lead to improved mental health and well-being.

3. Travel

Traveling can be a powerful personal development tool. It exposes individuals to new cultures, unfamiliar environments, and diverse ways of thinking. Navigating these situations often requires flexibility, problem-solving, and effective communication. Over time, these experiences can help people become more open-minded, confident, and creative in how they approach challenges.

From a recruiter’s perspective, travel experience signals adaptability and cultural awareness - traits increasingly valued in today’s global work environment. It suggests that a candidate is comfortable with change, willing to step outside their comfort zone, and able to collaborate with people from varied backgrounds. These qualities align closely with what many modern roles demand, especially in dynamic, cross-functional, or international settings.

4. Writing & Blogging

Writing and blogging are great ways to showcase your written communication skills, which are essential in any workplace. Writing novels or scientific papers can demonstrate your ability to write in a clear and concise manner, as well as your creativity and research skills.

Blogging, on the other hand, can show your ability to connect with an audience, create engaging content, and build an online presence. So, writing as a hobby can be valuable for any career path.

5. Yoga

Practicing yoga can improve your physical and mental health, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase your overall well-being. Studies have shown that yoga can improve cognitive function and creativity, which can be beneficial in the workplace. Practicing yoga can also improve your posture, balance, and flexibility, which can help prevent injuries and improve your overall physical health.

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6. Podcasting

Podcasting can be a great way to showcase your knowledge and expertise in a particular industry or field. It allows you to reach a wider audience and connect with thought leaders and influencers in your industry.

Additionally, producing a podcast requires strong organizational skills, as you need to plan and prepare content, schedule guests, and manage the production process. Overall, podcasting can be a critical addition to your skill set and can help you stand out in the job market.

7. Music

Music has been shown to have numerous cognitive and emotional benefits. Learning to play an instrument can improve hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and spatial-temporal skills. It also requires practice and persistence, which can improve discipline and perseverance.

Listening to music has been linked to improved mood, reduced stress and anxiety, and increased cognitive function, including memory and attention.

8. Dancing

Dancing can be a great way to improve social skills and build relationships, both of which are important in many workplaces. Additionally, dancing has been shown to enhance cognition by improving memory, attention, and creativity.

9. Photography

Photography involves a lot of creativity and technical knowledge, such as understanding lighting and composition. It also requires collaboration when working with models or clients, as well as post-processing teams. Photography can help develop skills in communication, project management, and creative problem-solving.

10. Sports

Sports can be a great way to develop important soft skills and interpersonal skills that are highly valued in the workplace. Whether it's an individual sport or a team sport, the discipline, dedication, and perseverance required to improve and succeed can translate well into the workplace. For team sports, the collaboration, communication, and leadership skills that are necessary for success can be directly applicable to many work environments.

11. Reading

Reading is a powerful and enriching hobby that involves exploring books, articles, blogs, or any written content. Whether it's fiction, non-fiction, self-help, or biographies, reading can expand your knowledge, improve your imagination, and sharpen your focus. It helps improve:

Vocabulary and language skills, which make communication clearer and more effective.
Critical thinking, by exposing you to new ideas, perspectives, and problem-solving approaches.
Concentration and patience, as it requires staying focused for extended periods.

Quick List of Hobbies To Add in Resume [80+ Examples]

Here is a comprehensive list of hobbies and interests that you can pick from:

Artistic Interests:

Painting
Drawing
Sculpting
Calligraphy
Pottery
Jewelry making
Standup comedy
Theatre
Spoken poetry
Improv
Origami
Graffiti art
Digital illustration
Tattoo design
Animation
Mosaic making
Interior decoration
Candle-making
Sand art
Storyboarding

What is storyboarding?

Storyboarding is a visual planning technique used to map out the sequence of a story, concept, or project through a series of illustrated or sketched frames, similar to a comic strip. It is used in filmmaking, animation, advertising, UX/UI design, presentations, instructional design, and product development.

Reading and Writing Hobbies:

Poetry writing
Book club participation
Blogging (Short-form and long-form)
Journaling
Scriptwriting
Book reviewing
Movie reviewing
Flash fiction writing
Fan fiction writing
Reading graphic novels
Editing and proofreading
Historical research
Speech writing
Audiobook narration
Magazine contributions
Writing letters or postcards
Reviewing tech gadgets

Do you know what these hobbies are?

Flash Fiction Writing: Flash fiction is extremely short storytelling, usually under 1,000 words. It challenges writers to create compelling plots, characters, and emotion within a tight word limit. It’s perfect for those who enjoy creative writing with precision and punch.

Fan Fiction Writing: Fan fiction involves writing new stories using existing characters or worlds from books, movies, or shows (like Harry Potter or Marvel). Writers expand on original plots or imagine alternative storylines. It’s popular among fans who love reimagining their favorite universes.

Organization Hobbies:

Decluttering and organizing spaces
Event planning
Bullet journaling
Time management techniques
Digital file organization
Meal planning and prepping
Feng shui
Home automation setup
Minimalist living practices
Productivity app exploration
Creating planners and templates
Scrapbooking
Vision board creation
Travel itinerary planning
DIY storage solutions
Task batching
Habit tracking

Know these hobbies!

Bullet Journaling: Bullet journaling is a customizable method of organizing your life using a dotted notebook. It combines to-do lists, calendars, habit trackers, notes, and reflections in one place, using symbols (or “bullets”) to track tasks, events, and ideas. It’s popular for its flexibility and creative freedom.

Task Batching: Task batching is a productivity technique where you group similar tasks together and complete them in a single time block. For example, checking emails, making phone calls, or scheduling social media posts at once. It reduces mental switching and improves focus.

Sports Hobbies:

Running/jogging
Swimming
Tennis
Cycling
Basketball
Hiking
Cricket
Rock climbing
Martial arts
Archery
Kayaking
Surfing
Zumba
Parkour
Table tennis
Acroyoga
Fencing

What is Parkour? Parkour is a physical discipline and activity that involves moving through obstacles in an urban or natural environment using only the human body. It includes running, jumping, climbing, swinging, vaulting, and rolling to travel from point A to point B as efficiently and fluidly as possible.

Finance Hobbies:

Stock market investing
Budgeting and personal finance management
Cryptocurrency trading
Real estate investing
Tax planning and optimization
Financial literacy education
Angel investing
NFT curation
Peer-to-peer lending
Crowdfunding analysis
Small business mentoring
Financial podcast hosting
Business case competitions
ESG investing

Know more....

ESG Investing (Environmental, Social, Governance): This means investing in companies that care about the planet, treat people fairly, and are run responsibly. People who do ESG investing want their money to support good causes while also earning returns.

NFT Curation: NFT curation is about picking and showing off digital items, like online art or music, that are one-of-a-kind. It’s like being a digital art collector who helps others discover cool or valuable pieces online.

Other hobbies

Baking
Gardening
Stamp Collection
Coding
Astronomy
Acting
Quizzing
Bird watching
Drone flying
Language learning
Chess
Mixology (mocktails/cocktails)
Wine tasting
Aquascaping
Model building (e.g., planes, trains)
Travel vlogging

Do you know what this means?

Aquascaping is the art of designing underwater landscapes in aquariums using plants, rocks, driftwood, and other natural elements. It's like gardening underwater - combining creativity, nature, and design. People enjoy it as a relaxing, visually rewarding hobby that also involves care and attention to detail.

Job-Relevant Hobbies And Interests For Resumes

Here’s a look at certain hobbies and interests relevant to a particular role. These hobbies not only align with the demands of the job but also help professionals sharpen key skills, stay updated with industry trends, and bring a more well-rounded perspective to their work.

Role	Relevant Hobbies and Interests
Software Developer	Coding, problem-solving, attending tech conferences
Graphic Designer	Drawing, photography, typography
Marketing Manager	Staying active on social media to understand trends and audience behavior, event planning, content creation, public speaking
Sales Representative	Networking, public speaking, traveling, attending trade show
Teacher	Lesson planning, classroom management, tutoring
Engineer	Building and fixing things, problem-solving exercises, staying updated with new technology
Accountant	Trading, listening to finance podcasts, staying updated with tax regulations
Writer	Reading, researching, creative writing
Chef	Cooking, experimenting with new recipes, food photography
Human Resources Manager	Attending HR workshops or seminars, participating in mentorship programs, reading about labor laws and workplace trends, using HR tools
Psychologist	Journaling, storytelling, mindfulness practices
UX Designer	User research, wireframing, prototyping tools, observing human behavior
Data Analyst	Data visualization, Excel tricks, playing with statistics
Architect	Sketching buildings, exploring cityscapes, model making
Journalist	Keeping up with current events, investigative reading
Lawyer	Debating, reading legal thrillers, case law research
Fitness Trainer	Weightlifting, nutrition planning, leading group workouts

Selecting Interests And Hobbies For Resume: Points To Remember

Here are some points to keep in mind when picking hobbies for resume:

Tailor the hobbies to the position: It's important to tailor your resume to the position you're applying for by including hobbies and skills that are relevant to the job.
Display different aspects of your personality: When it comes to listing hobbies, it's best to choose a balanced mix that showcases different aspects of your personality.
Avoid controversial hobbies: Avoid listing hobbies that are too political or controversial, and limit the number to two or three max, placing them towards the bottom of your resume. While it may seem risky, including unique and unusual hobbies can be attractive hobbies for resume. They can help you stand out from other applicants.
Strike a balance: You must remember that it is important to strike a balance between showcasing your interests and highlighting your technical skills and abilities. Your resume should prioritize the latter while keeping hobbies and personal interests to a minimum.
Prioritize the list of hobbies and interests: When listing your hobbies and interests in resume, it's best to prioritize the most important ones by starting with the top three or four. You can add additional hobbies later if you wish, but keep the information brief and relevant to the job you're applying for.
Be honest: Be honest about your hobbies and avoid listing false ones just to meet the recruiter's criteria. This may come across as insincere and could harm your chances if you're caught later. It's better to focus on genuine hobbies that showcase your personality and skills, and demonstrate how they relate to the position you're applying for.

Remember: An unintentional mistake can hamper even the most well-crafted resumes. Thus, avoid using words that could be interpreted as controversial or sensitive or reflect antisocial behavior. Be mindful of using language that could offend others.

While it's true that senior professionals may choose to omit the hobbies section from their resumes, for freshers it is important to include hobbies and interests that are relevant to the position you're applying for.

Summing up

Including hobbies and interests in resume can help show your personality outside of work. When including hobbies on your resume, choose activities that demonstrate skills or qualities that are relevant to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a job that requires teamwork, you may want to highlight any team sports you regularly participate in. Similarly, if the job requires any artistic activities, you could mention hobbies such as writing, painting, or photography.

Hobbies can also indicate your level of dedication and commitment, as well as your ability to manage time and prioritize activities. However, it's important to keep the hobbies section brief and relevant to the job and avoid listing activities that may be controversial or divisive.

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Shreeya Thakur

As a biotechnologist-turned-writer, I love turning complex ideas into meaningful stories that inform and inspire. Outside of writing, I enjoy cooking, reading, and travelling, each giving me fresh perspectives and inspiration for my work.