Should You Include Hobbies on Your Resume?

The purpose of a resume is to outline your qualifications for a specific job, but what about the personal sections of your resume? Some say that including hobbies is a bonus while others discourage this practice. The advice you get will be different depending on who you talk to and the job you are applying for. There are pros and cons to both sides, so I'll outline them here.

Pros for Including Hobbies on Your Resume

1. You might share an interest with the hiring manager. One of the benefits of including hobbies on your resume is that you might interest a hiring manager based solely on what you enjoy doing in your spare time. This is a long shot, obviously, because you can't possibly know what a hiring manager enjoys nor whether or not he would be impressed by the fact that you enjoy it too. However, if you have a unique hobby like making stained glass, it might be enough to stick in the hiring manager's memory when it comes time to call applicants for interviews.

2. Hobbies add a personal touch to your resume. Hiring managers look at hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes each day, and it can get a little dull. When you add hobbies and other personal touches to your resume, it makes for more interesting reading. This might not do anything to improve your chances of getting a job, but it might put the hiring manager in a better mood.

3. Some hobbies teach professional skills. Hobbies aren't always all about fun and games; many teach important professional lessons that can be applied to the work place as well as one's home life. For example, if one of your hobbies is coin collecting, this demonstrates that you have a strong attention to detail, which is required for many professional pursuits.

Cons for Including Hobbies on Your Resume

1. It may detract from other portions of your resume. If your hobbies take up half the page on your resume, the hiring manager might wonder if you do anything but pursue hobbies. Even if you just add a little sidebar, however, it can detract from the professionalism you strive to portray in the other sections of your resume, which might hurt your chances of getting an interview.

2. Most hobbies are irrelevant. The most important rule of writing a resume is that you shouldn't include irrelevant information. For example, if you're applying for a job at a law firm, you wouldn't want to include the summer job painting houses you took during college. Hobbies are a little bit like that; they can be a nice touch, but they don't really speak for your qualifications for a particular job.

3. They extend your resume. Unless you've had only one or two jobs and no education, every line on your resume is valuable real estate. You don't want your resume to be too long because you don't want to irritate the hiring manager, and if you have to extend it a page to list your hobbies, it's just too much of a gamble.

Should You Include Hobbies on Your Resume?

The answer depends on your unique situation. If you are applying for your first job and have little education, I would definitely recommend including hobbies to flesh out the other information you put on your resume. If, however, you are applying for your third professional position, I would leave them off. There should be a specific purpose for each item you include on your resume. Discard anything that doesn't fit that mold.