Personal Activities on Resume?

Question

I read in the knowledge vault that personal activities (such as hobbies, sports, etc.) are common on an applicant's resume. Is this true? It seems a bit odd to talk about personal hobbies in this perspective. Right now I have mine listed as cooking, hiking/running, restoring a car (more specific), and golfing...do I add value by having these on my resume?

Thanks!

Thanks!

pelihu · Answer

I think it's an effective use of a line at the bottom of your resume. It will be a good conversation piece and believe me, your interview will go very smoothly if you can spend 1/2 of it talking about your hobbies. The ones you listed are pretty common, so they won't do much to distinguish you, but it will be likely that you will encounter people who are into the same things.

Rubashov1 · Answer

I would do it if I had the space.

mbagal1 · Answer

Yes, that's the same advice I got - to add it because it acts as a conversation starter during an interview. It doesn't have to be that you climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro - just your regular everyday hobbies and interests.

cpgmba · Answer

Sounds good!

What's the typical "headline" for that section that includes both community and hobbies? I've seen Other Data, Activities, and Interests.

Raabend · Answer

As I had mentioned in the Tuck thread, on my resume I mentioned the social meet-up that I co-founded and 1/3 of my Tuck interview was spent talking about it. The interviewer found it soooooo interesting and would not drop it.

Leverandon · Answer

Hmmm...I hadn't really seriously thought about putting hobbies and activities on my resume. I guess I'll go ahead and add a line about that.

ryguy904 · Answer

I concur with pelihu. Speaking from personal experience (at least on the job front), in 3/4 of my interviews for my current role, we spent a good proportion of the interview discussing my "interests." To be clear, the interests that I list on my ressy are 1) intentionally not mundane or common interests (e.g., cooking, traveling, camping - I'm not saying these aren't cool activities, but for resume purposes they are boring) and 2) are not my (most) favorite interests. The items that I include are purposely eyebrow raisers and attention grabbers intended to spark conversation. Listing items such as cooking or traveling are a waste of ink, in my opinion. However, if you say "visited 36 countries" or "back to back Santa Barbara chili cook-off winner 2006-2007" or something more colorful and engaging, those may work better.

kryzak · Answer

it takes only ONE line and will often be a huge factor in your interviews if your interviewer shares the same hobby. Our career advisor just stressed the importance of that one line at our resume workshop earlier this week.

togafoot · Answer

My additionals take up 6 lines altogether. It's usually been one of the parts people ask me about during interviews.
Although i also put down where I've lived (country-wise), professional qualifications and my language capabilities in the additionals. So actual hobbies take up 3 lines. But i use them to try to show diversity in industry knowledge.. in my case, i list my experiences and achievements in the games and music industries.

Personal Activities on Resume?

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