Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on FlexJobs.com.
When it comes to resume advice, there are a lot of do’s and don’ts to consider. Among them, you may have heard that hobbies and personal interests have no place on your resume. But that’s not always true.
In fact, including role-relevant hobbies on your resume can add value to it by helping you highlight your skills, show some personality, and distinguish yourself from other applicants.
Whether you’re a recent graduate or an entry-level job seeker who needs more experience for your resume, or your interests and hobbies have helped you develop soft or hard skills relevant to the jobs you’re applying for, there is merit in including hobbies and interests in your resume. In fact, some hobbies can even become side jobs.
That said, there are also certain times when it’s best to exclude hobbies and interests from your resume. To help you pinpoint hobbies and interests that are applicable to the jobs you’re applying for and determine which to feature on your resume, we’ve curated lists of hobbies and interests for your resume.
We’ve also provided tips on when to include or exclude hobbies on a resume, how and where to showcase them, and more.
Should You Include Hobbies on Your Resume?
Deciding whether or not to include hobbies on your resume is ultimately a personal choice that varies among professionals at different career levels.
Seasoned professionals with a robust work history may utilize hobbies on their resumes less than early career professionals.
With considerable experience, certifications, and skills gained throughout their careers to reinforce their professional accomplishments, experienced professionals likely won’t benefit from including hobbies or interests on their resumes in the same way that job seekers with minimal work experience do.
On the other hand, job seekers with little to no work experience, such as new grads and people seeking entry-level jobs, may find it more beneficial to include hobbies on their resumes. Without much experience (if any), listing hobbies and interests can help round out an otherwise bare-bones resume.
Furthermore, spotlighting your hobbies on your resume can help you stand out in a competitive job market. And if your hobbies have helped you develop transferable skills that would be useful in the job you’re seeking, that’s all the more reason to incorporate hobbies in your resume.
In the following, we’ve highlighted top hobbies and interests to include on your resume, and they’re broken down into different career areas. After exploring them, read on to learn more about how and where to add hobbies to your resume.
10 Types of Hobbies and Interests to Include on Your Resume (Examples)
The following areas include top-ranking hobbies and interests that can be valuable additions to your resume by helping you demonstrate in-demand skills.
Keep in mind that while these hobbies are broken down into different career areas, many of them apply to diverse areas.
1. Administrative Hobbies
Administrative professionals wear many hats, and there are wide-ranging hobbies and interests that can help you showcase skills that will be useful in an administrative role.
From scouring the internet for the best deals to planning your own personal travel itineraries, your hobbies can help you convey to employers that you’re organized, a critical thinker, tech-savvy, and adept at multitasking.
- Continuous learning and improvement
- Hunting down deals
- Juggling
- Participation in an academic or professional club
- Personal development
- Running a personal blog or website
- Taking online courses
- Travel planning
2. Bilingual Hobbies
Bilingual hobbies not only help you establish strong communication and problem-solving skills, but learning languages for your career can broaden your job prospects.
For example, many companies that operate across international markets value bilingual applicants who can support diverse business functions, such as creating marketing campaigns or negotiating deals.
- Ambigrams
- Learning foreign languages
- Mad Libs
- Palindromes
- Peace Corps volunteering
- Sign language
- Translating books
- Travel and sightseeing
- World cuisines
- Wordle
3. Community Involvement Hobbies
Community involvement hobbies signal to employers that you can look beyond your own interests and consider the needs of others.
Not only is this a valuable attribute in successful collaboration and teamwork, but community engagement also helps develop communication, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills. As such, community involvement is one of the best hobbies to showcase on your resume no matter your industry.
- Community gardening
- Community service
- Financial literacy programs
- Group exercise/fitness classes
- Habitat for Humanity volunteering
- Local park cleanup
- Participation in a parent-teacher association (PTA)
- Serving on the board of a homeowner’s association (HOA)
- Supporting local committees/organizations
4. Computer Hobbies
Computer skills are crucial in the modern workplace, and presenting computer-related hobbies on your resume can potentially distinguish you from other applicants with basic computer knowledge.
Computer hobbies can help reinforce your skills with design or presentation software, online communication tools, social media tools, and data management programs.
- Augmented and virtual reality
- Building or customizing personal computers
- Coding boot camps
- Computer programming
- Creating YouTube content
- Ethical hacking and cybersecurity
- Fixing or troubleshooting computers
- Mobile gaming
- Website building
5. Customer Service Hobbies
Customer service roles require skills like active listening, attention to detail, communication, patience, problem-solving, and resilience, which can be learned through various hobbies.
Furthermore, because most customer service jobs require interacting with people, hobbies that involve teamwork or demonstrate your outgoing personality could be beneficial to your resume.
- Bonsai
- Karaoke
- Knitting
- Meditation
- Model building (trains, airplanes, etc.)
- Performing arts
- Playing an instrument
- Yoga
6. Internet Hobbies
Internet hobbies are in no short supply these days, and if it’s a remote job you’re after, displaying your internet prowess via the internet-related hobbies you pursue in your spare time can reinforce your tech skills.
Whether you’re after a job in computer science or a job in hospitality, your internet skills will come in handy.
- Creating social media content
- Maintaining a personal influencer account
- Online gaming
- Online learning
- Online networking
- Programming
- Taking online surveys
- Twitch live streaming
7. Research Hobbies
Research skills are another valuable ability, and research hobbies can also help you develop creative thinking, decision-making, evaluation, investigation and analysis, and organizational skills, all of which can be applied to a wide variety of roles and industries.
- Art collecting
- Collecting and analyzing data
- Economic research
- Genealogy
- Metal detecting
- Music theory and analysis
- Researching and writing academic papers
- Wikipedia editing/contributions
8. Sales Hobbies
Sales professionals can pursue many career paths. Regardless of your specific sales niche, however, there are several key skills that are valuable in any sales position, including soft skills like active listening, communication, negotiation, organization, persuasiveness, time management, and thinking on your feet.
The following hobbies (and more!) may help you obtain and demonstrate some of those skills.
- Acting
- Archery
- Debating
- Improv classes
- Networking
- Philosophy
- Pickleball
- Shuffleboard
- Role-playing games
9. Volunteering Hobbies
Volunteering hobbies, like community involvement hobbies, are among the best hobbies to display on your resume regardless of your career field.
Volunteering demonstrates compassion and initiative and teaches soft skills like leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, and time management — all of which are in demand across industries.
- Animal rescue/shelters
- Blood drives
- Conservation
- Disaster relief
- Environmental protection
- Fostering animals
- Fundraising
- Homeless shelters
- Human rights advocacy
- Toy drives
10. Writing Hobbies
Writing hobbies can help you develop one of the most highly desired soft skills among job seekers: communication. Additionally, writing-related hobbies can help you develop or strengthen your creativity and hone your research, planning, and organizational skills.
- Blogging
- Content creation
- Copywriting
- Creative writing
- Fan fiction
- Fiction writing
- Journaling
- Photojournalism
- Poetry
- Screenwriting
Additional Hobbies and Interests for Your Resume (Complete List)
In addition to the top hobbies and interests outlined above, the following hobbies and interests can help you display your unique abilities and strengthen your resume.
1. Artistic and Creative Hobbies
Art and creative roles call for creative thinking abilities as well as self-confidence, adaptability, strong communication skills, discipline, teamwork, and an open mind.
Whether you pursue an artistic or creative hobby independently or one that requires you to work in collaboration with others, you can leverage your hobbies to convey some of these key skills to potential employers.
- Animation
- Composing or arranging music
- Crafting
- Cross-stitching
- DIY projects
- Embroidery
- Home improvement projects
- Knitting
- Painting
- Screen printing
2. Design Hobbies
Design jobs, like design hobbies, come in many forms.
Whether you’re interested in digital, print, visual, or web design, for example, your design-related hobbies can help you demonstrate hard and soft skills, such as attention to detail, ideation, illustration, knowledge of various design principles or design software programs, multitasking, verbal and written communication, and more.
- Building/restoring furniture
- Calligraphy
- Glassblowing
- Landscape design
- Scrapbooking
- Sewing/making clothes
- Sketching
- Typography
- Woodworking
3. Education Hobbies
Education jobs also come in various forms, from tutoring and teaching to coaching and curriculum development. But across these areas is the demand for skills like effective written and oral communication, computer literacy, creative thinking, an analytical mindset, conflict resolution, empathy, problem-solving, and media literacy.
Perhaps you’ve gained or used those skills while leading a fitness class or attending weekly trivia at your local pub.
- Academic tutoring
- Coaching
- Counseling others
- Making infographics
- Mentoring
- Singing or vocal training
- Teaching art classes
- Teaching yoga
- Trivia competitions
- Visiting museums and galleries
4. Engineering Hobbies
Engineering hobbies aren’t limited to engineers, nor are they necessarily specific to engineering.
On the contrary, many logic-based and recreational hobbies can help you develop skills that will be useful in engineering roles, such as mathematical ability, analytical skills, scientific acumen, creative problem-solving, project management, teamwork, and, of course, communication.
- 3D printing
- Aviation/flying
- Car restoration
- Contributing to open-source software
- Drones
- Geocaching
- Logic games/puzzles
- Sound engineering/production
- Web design
- Web development
5. Entertainment Hobbies
Entertainment hobbies can help you build and showcase many different skills that are sought after in diverse industries, such as research, improvisational thinking, flexibility, versatility, knowledge of digital media, public speaking, the ability to meet deadlines (punch lines are all about timing!), and interpersonal skills, among others.
- Dancing
- Filmmaking
- Juggling
- Magic tricks
- Podcasting
- Singing
- Stand-up comedy
- Theater
- Videography
- Vlogging
6. Event Hobbies
Event jobs can range from working as a wedding photographer to coordinating special events to raising funds.
If you’re a frequent attendee at music festivals, you can use this hobby to reinforce your passion for events. If you plan your annual family reunion, there’s some event planning experience for you. If you participated in student government events, there’s some experience as well.
Event hobbies can help you develop skills that range from organization and time and project management to networking, budgeting, strategic planning, multitasking, and research.
- Attending concerts
- Attending festivals
- Creating flower arrangements
- Event organizing
- Hosting parties and events
- Planning family reunions
- Relay races
- Running marathons
- Student government
7. Fashion & Beauty Hobbies
Fashion and beauty hobbies can result in a pretty wide skill set that can not only be applied to roles in this industry but to many other fields as well. For example, if you create and publish makeup tutorials on YouTube, you’re using and developing skills like computer and social media literacy, creative thinking, art and design skills, and product knowledge.
Other skills applicable to hobbies in this area include soft skills like attention to detail and hard skills like knowledge of fashion trends and design, among many others.
- Bargain shopping/thrifting
- Cosmetics
- Creating makeup tutorials on TikTok or YouTube
- Hairstyling
- Jewelry design
- Personal styling
- Vintage shopping
8. Finance & Accounting Hobbies
Accounting and finance jobs demand soft skills like attention to detail, communication, critical thinking, organization, and time management, as well as hard skills like data analysis, the ability to prepare financial statements, and knowledge of accounting and spreadsheet software.
From decision-making and forecasting to business acumen and financial modeling, your finance hobbies can help you display skills in many areas.
- Angel investing
- Attending financial seminars and webinars
- Budgeting
- Financial blogging
- Investment portfolio management
- Reading financial news/market reports
- Serving as treasurer for a club or organization
- Stock market analysis
- Trading
9. Food & Beverage Hobbies
Food and beverage hobbies can be applied to jobs in areas from hospitality to marketing to writing.
If you’re a foodie who enjoys writing Yelp reviews of new restaurants in your area, your hobby may appeal to employers seeking applicants who are passionate about producing and delivering great food.
If you’re a social media influencer who creates delicious cocktails and shares them with others through curated TikTok videos, you’re utilizing branding, promotional, community-building, adaptability, trend awareness, and many other skills.
- Baking
- Brewing beer and/or winemaking
- Cooking classes
- Culinary tourism
- Food banks
- Food blogging/recipe-sharing
- Food styling and photography
- Mixology
- Reviewing restaurants
- Wine tasting
10. Gaming Hobbies
Gaming hobbies can support your application for various roles, even if you don’t want to be a professional gamer. Gaming hobbies can equip you with an analytical mindset and teach you creativity, communication, project management, language, programming, storytelling, design, and other technical and soft skills.
- Board games
- Card games
- Chess
- Crossword puzzles
- Escape rooms
- Game design
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Sudoku
- Video games
- Word games
11. Marketing Hobbies
Marketing-related hobbies can teach you skills that are essential to marketing and other roles, such as adaptability, communication, creativity, empathy, problem-solving, relationship-building, copywriting, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media.
All of these skills can support your resume if they’re relevant to the job you’re applying for.
- A/B testing for marketing campaigns
- Drawing
- Graphic design (brochures, logos, etc.)
- Participation in focus groups
- Reading marketing news/books
- Staying updated on the latest marketing trends
12. Medical & Health Hobbies
Medical and health hobbies can result in skills that can be applied to jobs in medical coding, telemedicine, and different career areas entirely.
Say you’re a nutrition guru who has helped your local school system implement healthier food options for K-12 students. You’ve demonstrated leadership, analytic reasoning, and problem-solving in addition to a passion for nutrition, which could lead to vast job options.
- Beekeeping
- Composting
- CrossFit
- Exercising
- Fitness blogging/vlogging
- Firefighter/EMT
- Healthy cooking
- Mindfulness practices
- Nutrition advocacy
- Taxidermy
13. Mortgage & Real Estate Hobbies
Mortgage and real estate hobbies can help you showcase field-specific skills, such as knowledge of your local real estate market.
These hobbies can also enable you to develop more general skills, such as accountability, analysis, customer service, appraisal and valuation, collaboration, communication, documentation, networking, and project management, that can be applied to different career areas.
- Copywriting
- Historic preservation
- Interior design/decorating
- Market research
- Neighborhood outreach
- Photography
- Public speaking
- Urban farming
14. Organizational Hobbies
Organizational skills are crucial to every career and to tracking your job search efforts. Exhibiting that you’re organized through various hobbies can bolster your resume no matter what specific job title you’re after.
The following hobbies are just a handful of examples that can help you showcase your organizational skills.
- Arranging local meetups
- Coin or stamp collecting
- Digital organizing
- Feng shui
- Home organization
- Organizing community events
15. Project Management Hobbies
Project management hobbies aren’t exclusive to project managers.
Just as we’ve highlighted project management as a useful skill in many of the areas listed above, hobbies that signify your ability to successfully manage tasks and projects can show employers that you’re capable of looking at the big picture and using your critical thinking, planning, and time management skills to outline actionable steps to ensure completion and success.
- Adult education classes
- Creating spreadsheets
- Gardening
- LEGO building
- Meal planning
- Playing sports
16. Reading Hobbies
Reading hobbies enhance your vocabulary and cognitive skills, broaden your knowledge of various subjects, and help you acquire skills in areas like reasoning, language, concentration, empathy, creativity, and — you guessed it — communication.
These skills can be highly useful in fields ranging from law to marketing to publishing, to name a few.
- Attending author talks and lectures
- Attending literary events
- Being part of a virtual or in-person book club
- Comic books
- Historical research and reading
- Hosting a free library
- Literacy analysis/criticism
- Professional development books
- Reviewing books
- Self-help books
17. Science Hobbies
Science hobbies can help you develop three indispensable skills in the field of science and beyond: critical thinking, data analysis, and problem-solving. Moreover, many of the hobby samples listed below can teach you other valuable skills, such as concentration, curiosity, spatial visualization, patience, perseverance, and planning.
- Astronomy
- Cooking
- Origami
- Meteorology
- Podcasting about science
- Reading scientific articles/journals
- Scuba diving
18. Sports Hobbies
Sports hobbies, as you can probably guess, teach you the value of teamwork and good sportsmanship. But they can also help you boost your confidence and fine-tune skills like emotional intelligence, goal-setting, time management, resilience, respect, and handling defeat with poise.
And if your hobby is an individual sport, you’ve likely developed discipline, independence, and mental toughness in addition to other helpful soft skills.
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Bowling
- Cycling
- Fantasy sports leagues
- Football
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Weightlifting
19. Technology Hobbies
Tech hobbies, similar to computer hobbies, can be a particularly useful addition to your resume in the modern job market. Tech hobbies not only improve your computer literacy but also your analysis, communication, and organizational skills.
Not to mention, some technology hobbies can help you become proficient in various programming languages, which is a great hard skill to have.
Plus, you may be asked, “How do you stay current with new technology?” Your hobbies can reinforce your response to that question!
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- App development
- App testing
- Hackathons
- Machine learning experimentation
- Robotics
- Smart home automation
20. Traveling Hobbies
Travel hobbies can be applied to many industries, whether you’re looking for an entry-level job near you or a travel job that will take you around the world. Traveling helps you develop research, planning, decision-making, problem-solving, visualization, and stress-management skills, as well as empathy and potentially even language skills.
- Agritourism
- Backpacking
- Camping
- Exploring new cultures
- Motorcycle touring
- National Park Travelers Club
- RV traveling
- Travel blogging
- Travel reviewing/writing
- Trekking
When to Include Hobbies and Interests on Your Resume
When reading job descriptions to identify resume keywords and the top skills employers want you to have, you may come across skills that are related to your personal interests and hobbies. In that case, it’s a great idea to mention hobbies that apply to the job duties you’ll be performing.
While you want to be selective with the hobbies you choose to display, it’s generally a good idea to include hobbies that:
- Align with the job requirements and/or the company’s mission
- Allow you to showcase role-relevant skills
- Demonstrate your company culture fit
- Illustrate your unique personality traits, particularly if the company values or has requested these details
- Round out your resume when you have limited work experience
When to Exclude Hobbies and Interests From Your Resume
On the flip side, sometimes you’re better off excluding certain hobbies and interests from your resume. It’s a good idea to leave hobbies off a resume if they:
- Are dangerous, inappropriate, or potentially discriminatory
- Are too personally revealing (think politics and religion)
- Are very basic (“watching movies”) and don’t add value to your resume
- Conflict with a company’s culture or values
- Make your resume too long
How Do Hobbies Differ From Interests?
While “hobbies” and “interests” are sometimes used synonymously, there are some key differences between them.
Hobbies are activities you participate in. They’re hands-on projects or pursuits you actively engage in and often result in something tangible, such as composing (resulting in a written piece of music) or sewing your own clothes (resulting in a handmade dress, for example).
Conversely, interests are ideas, subjects, and topics that appeal to you. These are concepts, issues, and subjects that you appreciate or explore, such as art history or fashion, but not necessarily activities you engage in.
Where hobbies entail a process of doing or creating that can help you develop skills, interests entail studying or learning and primarily help you develop appreciation or understanding.
Best Types of Hobbies and Interests for Your Resume
Now that you have a wide range of hobbies and interests at your disposal to inspire your own resume selections, let’s explore some of the best types of hobbies and interests for your resume and why they stand out as top choices.
1. Continuing Education
Participating in educational pursuits and displaying education-related hobbies on your resume can demonstrate to employers that you have a growth mindset and are committed to lifelong learning.
Taking online classes or obtaining certifications could be especially useful if you’re looking for a job without a degree.
2. Professional Development
Professional development is an essential piece of everyone’s career, regardless of the industry you work in. Like continuing education, professional development can demonstrate to employers your commitment to growth and learning.
Furthermore, it can show that you take initiative by voluntarily enrolling in courses to enhance your knowledge in your free time.
3. Technology Skills
Because technology is so prevalent in the modern job market (and in modern society in general), any hobby or interest you have that reinforces your technology skills can be particularly appealing to employers.
Tech skills can be applied to just about every career field, and if you lack technical skills for a particular job, taking up a hobby that can fill that gap can help your job search.
4. Cognitive and Intellectual Pursuits
Hobbies that require logic and critical thinking and improve your cognitive abilities are appealing to hiring managers and recruiters because they demonstrate your analytical and problem-solving skills.
These skills can be applied to diverse areas, so they’re a great option for any career field you’re pursuing and may be particularly helpful if you’re considering a career change.
5. Cultural Development and Awareness
Being culturally aware can be useful in many fields, from advertising to social work. Exploring new cultures indicates that you’re a curious person, and curiosity can help your job search!
Not to mention, exploring different cultures can help you develop language skills and enhance your overall appreciation for and knowledge of other cultures. If you’re seeking a role with a company that operates internationally and/or is committed to diversity, your cultural awareness can help you stand out.
6. Volunteering and Community Involvement
As we stated before, volunteering and community involvement are two of the best types of hobbies to feature on your resume because these activities not only indicate that you’re proactive (volunteering is voluntary, after all!) but that you also have empathy for others.
The skills you’ll gain as a volunteer or active member of your community range from interpersonal skills to public relations. And as a bonus, volunteering offers career benefits.
7. Creative Pursuits
Flexing your creativity can help you gain and advance myriad skills, from brainstorming to critical thinking.
Employers appreciate applicants who demonstrate creative abilities because those skills can improve brain function, concentration, and problem-solving abilities.
8. Sports and Team Participation
If you’re applying for a role that involves a great deal of collaboration and teamwork, highlighting any sports or team activities you’re involved in is an excellent choice for your resume.
While there are roles that allow you to work alone (not to mention individual sports like horseback riding!), most roles involve some form of collaboration, and thus, strong team players are a welcome addition to every team.
Where to Put Hobbies and Interests on a Resume
Regardless of the resume format you use, it’s generally best to list your hobbies and interests at the bottom or off to the side of your resume.
Your interests and hobbies should supplement — not eclipse — the main components of your resume, such as your name and contact information, professional experience, educational background, and top skills.
By placing your hobbies and interests at the end of your resume or in a column off to the side, you’ll ensure that the most vital information recruiters and hiring managers are looking for remains front and center.
However, there are some exceptions. For starters, if you’re actively involved in a hobby that is highly relevant to the job you’re applying for, it may be appropriate to include a brief mention of your hobbies in your resume summary.
For example, if you’re applying for a teaching role and you’ve dedicated a great deal of time to tutoring reading skills at your local literacy council, this would be a great thing to add to the end of your professional summary to demonstrate your experience and commitment to teaching.
Furthermore, if your hobbies have led to role-relevant awards, you could incorporate a mention of your hobby and the related recognition you received in your career accomplishments section, should you choose to include one.
Otherwise, it is most common to create a section at the bottom of your resume to house your hobbies and interests.
