# Hobbies and interests on a resume: when to include them

> When hobbies and interests help a resume and when they waste space: who should include them, which ones to pick, how to format the line and what to skip.

- Canonical URL: https://jobbie.bot/blog/hobbies-on-resume
- Topic: [Resumes](https://jobbie.bot/guides/resumes)
- Published by [Jobbie](https://jobbie.bot/) · Updated 2026-10-06 · 7 min read

It depends on what the rest of the page already shows. Include hobbies and interests when they add evidence your resume lacks, such as a relevant skill, persistence or leadership, and you have room for them. That is most often true for students, career changers and applicants with little experience. Keep the section to one line of three or four specific interests at the bottom. If your experience fills the page, leave them off.

## Key takeaways

- An interests line is optional. Experience, skills and education come first, and nothing should be cut to make room for it.
- A good interest is specific, current and shows something the job uses: “half-marathons (3 completed)” says more than “running.”
- One line, three or four items, last section on the page.
- Skip the generic (“reading, travel, music”), anything you could not talk about for two minutes, and anything untrue.
- Think before listing interests that reveal religion, politics, health or family plans. You decide what an employer learns from the page.
- Conventions vary by country. UK guidance treats relevant hobbies as support for an application, while Canada’s Job Bank advises against listing them.

## Should you put hobbies on a resume?

Career offices do not agree, which tells you this is a judgment call. The career office at the University of California, San Francisco calls an interests section optional and says to include it if you have room. UC Berkeley’s School of Information generally does not recommend interests or hobbies on a resume, allows for exceptions, and says to keep them very brief if you include them.

Both positions lead to the same test: does the line earn its space on this resume, for this job?

| Include an interests line when | Leave it off when |
| --- | --- |
| You are a student or recent graduate and the page has room | Relevant experience already fills the page |
| You are changing careers and an interest shows the new skill | The interests are generic and could belong to anyone |
| The interest connects to the job, the product or the employer’s mission | You would have to shrink the font or cut results to fit it |
| The employer asks about life outside work, or the field values a personal connection | The interest could distract from your qualifications |

If you are short on experience, an interests line is one of several ways to fill the page with something real. The guide to a [resume with no experience](https://jobbie.bot/blog/resume-with-no-experience) covers the others, and they should come first.

## Which hobbies are worth listing?

Run each candidate through three questions:

1. **Is it specific?** “Landscape photography” gives a reader something to picture. “Photography” does not.
2. **Does it show a skill or trait this job uses?** Think of it as a small piece of evidence, the same way you would treat [transferable skills](https://jobbie.bot/blog/transferable-skills).
3. **Could you talk about it comfortably for two minutes?** Anything on the page can become an interview question.

| Interest | What it can show | Where it fits well |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Distance running, triathlon, competitive swimming | Sustained training toward a goal | Sales, operations, any role with long cycles |
| Coaching or captaining a team | Leading and motivating people | Management, teaching, customer-facing roles |
| Chess, debate, strategy games played competitively | Analysis under pressure | Analyst, legal and consulting roles |
| Open-source contributions, home lab, electronics builds | Technical curiosity beyond the job | Engineering and IT |
| Woodworking, instrument repair, model building | Precision and patience with your hands | Trades, lab work, clinical roles |
| Writing a blog or newsletter, hosting a podcast | Writing regularly for an audience | Marketing, communications, content |
| Improv, community theater, public speaking clubs | Presenting and thinking on your feet | Sales, training, client work |

An interest does not have to map neatly to the job. One memorable, specific item can simply give an interviewer an easy first question. UCSF’s advice applies either way: be prepared to elaborate on anything you list.

## How to format hobbies and interests on a resume

Call the section “Interests,” or fold it into an “Additional” section with languages and volunteering. Put it last. UCSF’s career office describes the usual size as three or four interests on one or two lines.

```Interests line: recent graduate applying for analyst roles
INTERESTS
Competitive chess (state scholastic finalist), half-marathons (3 completed), personal finance blog (40 posts)
```

```Interests line: career changer moving into UX design
INTERESTS
Urban sketching, board game design, volunteer note-taker at a monthly accessibility meetup
```

```Interests inside an "Additional" section
ADDITIONAL
Languages: Spanish (professional working proficiency), Portuguese (conversational)
Volunteering: Weekend bike mechanic, community repair shop, 2023 - present
Interests: Long-distance cycling, film photography, bread baking
```

The difference between a wasted line and a useful one is usually detail.

| Vague | Specific |
| --- | --- |
| Reading | Economic history and science fiction; run a 12-person monthly book club |
| Sports | Captain of a recreational soccer team for four seasons |
| Travel | Solo long-distance hiking; completed a 200-mile trail in 2025 |
| Music | Jazz piano; play monthly at a neighborhood venue |
| Gaming | Organize a 30-person online strategy league |
| Cooking | Regional Mexican cooking; teach a quarterly class at a community center |

If an interest involved leading people, handling money or producing a result, it has outgrown the interests line. Give it a proper entry under “Leadership,” “Volunteer experience” or “Projects,” with a bullet that says what you did. A [recent graduate resume](https://jobbie.bot/blog/recent-graduate-resume) often gets most of its substance this way.

## What to leave off

- **Generic interests.** Reading, travel, movies, music and “spending time with family” are true of most people and say nothing about you.
- **Passive pastimes.** Watching series, scrolling and shopping do not show a skill.
- **Old interests.** If you last played competitive tennis fifteen years ago, it is history, not an interest.
- **A long list.** Eight interests look like padding. Three good ones look like a person.
- **Anything you would not want to be asked about.**

Take more care with interests that reveal personal characteristics. In the United States, federal law bars employers from discriminating against applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advises employers to limit pre-employment questions to what is needed to judge whether a person is qualified. A resume can volunteer what an employer would not ask. Listing a faith group, a political campaign or a health-related support group tells the reader something about you before you have met.

That is your choice to make. Some people include these activities on purpose, because they are central to who they are or relevant to the employer. If you would prefer the first screen to rest on your qualifications alone, describe the skill without the affiliation (“volunteer treasurer for a 300-member community organization”) or leave it off.

> **Note:** This describes US federal law in general terms and is not legal advice. State and local laws may add other protections, and rules differ in other countries.

## Do the rules change outside the United States?

Yes, so check local advice when you apply abroad.

- **United Kingdom.** nidirect, Northern Ireland’s government services site, lists interests among the parts of a CV and says hobbies and leisure activities can help support your application if they highlight responsibilities and skills relevant to the job.
- **Canada.** The federal Job Bank says it is not recommended to mention hobbies, because of the judgments employers can make.

Conventions on photos, personal details and length vary in the same way. The guide to [CV vs. resume](https://jobbie.bot/blog/cv-vs-resume) explains which document to send where.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should I put hobbies on my resume?

Only if they add something the rest of the page does not and you have space. Hobbies help most when you have little experience, are changing careers, or have an interest that connects directly to the job. If your experience already fills the page, leave them off.

### How many hobbies should I list on a resume?

Three or four, on a single line or two. That is the size UCSF’s career office describes as typical. Fewer, more specific interests are better than a long list, and each should be something you could discuss in an interview.

### Where do hobbies and interests go on a resume?

At the bottom, as the last section, under a heading such as “Interests” or inside an “Additional” section with languages and volunteering. They should never sit above experience, education or skills.

### What are good hobbies to put on a resume?

Ones that are specific, current and show a skill or trait the job uses: endurance sports for persistence, coaching for leadership, open-source projects for technical curiosity, a blog for writing. Add a detail that makes it concrete, such as a result, a number or how long you have done it.

### Is it unprofessional to list hobbies on a resume?

No, but it is optional, and opinions differ by field and country. A short, specific line at the bottom of the page is acceptable in most settings. A long or generic list, or one placed above your qualifications, reads as padding.

## Sources

- [UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development: Should I include an “Interests” section on my resume/CV?](https://career.ucsf.edu/news/should-include-interests-section-on-resume-cv): the section is optional, typically three or four interests on one or two lines, and you should be ready to discuss them.
- [UC Berkeley School of Information: Resume Basics](https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/careers/guides/resume): the view that interests are generally not recommended and should be very brief if included.
- [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices](https://www.eeoc.gov/prohibited-employment-policiespractices): the characteristics protected under federal law and the guidance on pre-employment inquiries.
- [nidirect: CVs and cover letters](https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/cvs-and-cover-letters): government guidance from Northern Ireland that relevant hobbies can support an application.
- [Government of Canada Job Bank: How to write a good resume](https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resources/write-good-resume): the recommendation not to mention hobbies.