There are two schools of thought when it comes to the ‘Hobbies and Interests’ section of a CV.
- Some employers think it’s completely unnecessary – it’s none of our business what you get up to in your spare time, as long as you can do the job!
- Some employers think it’s an absolute necessity - why wouldn’t we want to know a bit more about you as a person? Will you fit in? Are you interesting/quirky/sociable etc.?
Either way, it's always a risk.
You don’t particularly want to come across boring and generic and you might not want to come across too outrageous and quirky - like the interesting job candidates in this week’s blog.
I must admit, I had to look a few of these up!
Here are my favourites…
Hobby 1. Honestly, I like doing nothing.
Hobby 2. I’m a very sensual person (I like sex).
Hobby 3. Drinking.
Hobby 4. Hacking.
Hobby 5. LARPing.
Hobby 6. FarmVille.
Hobby 7. Painting my toenails.
Hobby 8. Talking.
Hobby 9. Samurai sword collecting.
Hobby 10. I like learning languages – I’m currently teaching myself to speak Wookie.
Hobby 11. Witchcraft.
Hobby 12. Escapology.
Hobby 13. Dinosaurs.
Hobby 14. Palm reading.
Hobby 15. Time travel.
Hobby 16. Snake skin collecting.
Hobby 17. Collecting firearms.
Hobby 18. Arguing with people online.
Hobby 19. Streaking.
Hobby 20. Work.
Hobby 21. Stalking celebrities.
Hobby 22. Taking surveys.
Hobby 23. Entering food-eating competitions.
Hobby 24. Ferret racing.
Hobby 25. Being awesome.
Hobby 26. Bull fighting.
Hobby 27. Handcuff-collecting.
Hobby 28. Sleeping.
Hobby 29. I don’t have any hobbies.
Hobby 30. I have 14 cats.
Hobby 31. Harry Potter.
Hobby 32. Cosplay.
Hobby 33. Worldbuilding.
Hobby 34. Cooking dogs (probably a grammatical error).
Hobby 35. Donating blood – 12 litres so far.
Hobby 36. Rock balancing.
Hobby 37. Owls.
Hobby 38. Planking.
Hobby 39. I like doughnuts, cupcakes, chocolate and ice cream. Together.
Hobby 40. Netflix n’ chill.
Hobby 41. Crowd watching.
Hobby 42. Scrabble.
Hobby 43. Frog dissections.
Hobby 44. Playing dead.
Hobby 45. Crash dieting.
Hobby 46. Eating (at least I’m honest).
Hobby 47. Tying knots.
Hobby 48. Space.
Hobby 49. I am the batman.
Hobby 50. You don't want to know...
The serious bit…
If you’ve ever been involved in recruitment then I’m sure you’ve come across some weird and wonderful CVs in your time (check out 99 other hilarious ones if you fancy a giggle).
But do try not to be too judgemental! If the only thing that’s putting you off a candidate is their weird hobby – have a chat with them – it’s the only way to really suss out their personality (click here to read some examples of personality interview questions you could ask).
Recruiter Pro Tip. While some recruiters might chuck your CV out if it lists weird and wonderful hobbies, others could be intrigued and interested – it’s a risk that you take. But consider this; do you actually want to work for a company who won’t accept you for who you are anyway? If you’d like some tips on how to make your CV stand out for the right reasons, click here.
