Hobbies and Interests on a CV
Hobbies and interests are optional on a CV and only worth including if they add something genuinely relevant, such as showing a transferable skill, responsibility, or a link to the role. A short, specific hobbies section can help; a generic list of interests with no detail usually adds little.
When hobbies are worth including
Hobbies can be useful when you have limited work experience, when a hobby shows a relevant skill, or when it involves genuine responsibility, such as organising something or captaining a team.
They can also be a natural talking point at interview, giving you something specific to discuss beyond your work history, and can help a reader remember your application among many similar ones.
A hobby can also occasionally show a direct link to the role itself, for example an interest in food and cooking for a hospitality application, which can add a small extra layer of relevance.
These situations are the exception rather than the rule, so it is worth applying this thinking selectively rather than assuming every hobby needs to be justified this way.
When to leave them off
If your CV is already full with strong, relevant experience, a hobbies section is not necessary and can be cut to save space. It is better to have no hobbies section than a weak, generic one that adds little value.
For more senior applications, hobbies are also less commonly included, since the space is usually better used for a fuller account of professional achievements.
If you are unsure, it is a reasonable default to include hobbies only when you have space left over after everything more important has already been covered clearly.
Which hobbies help most
Hobbies that show responsibility, consistency or transferable skills tend to be the most useful, particularly for entry-level applications.
A hobby that has been pursued consistently over a long period, rather than a passing interest, tends to be more persuasive, since it suggests genuine commitment rather than something listed purely to fill space.
- Team sports, especially if you captain or organise the team
- Volunteering, even informally
- Running a club, society or online community
- A long-term hobby that shows discipline, such as a musical instrument or a sport
How to write the hobbies section
Keep it short, a single line or a small list, and be specific rather than generic. 'Reading, socialising and music' tells a reader little; 'Captain of a local five-a-side football team' says more in fewer words.
Avoid listing hobbies purely to fill space; each one included should tell a reader something they could not already guess.
Where to place a hobbies section
A hobbies section, when included, normally sits at the very end of a CV, after skills and any additional information. It is the least important section on the page, so it should never take space away from your work experience or education.
Because it comes last, it is also the first thing to cut if you are trying to fit your CV onto fewer pages, without losing anything essential.
Keeping it consistently at the bottom also means a reader can quickly skip past it if they are short on time, without missing anything more important further up the page.
Hobbies as an interview talking point
A specific, genuine hobby can give an interviewer an easy, low-pressure question to open with, which can help settle nerves at the start of an interview. This is a small but real benefit worth considering, particularly for less experienced candidates.
If you do include a hobby for this reason, be ready to talk about it naturally. A hobby mentioned only to look good on paper, with nothing genuine behind it, can be obvious if it comes up in conversation.
Choose hobbies you would genuinely be happy to talk about for a minute or two, rather than one that sounds impressive on paper but that you know very little about in practice.
How much detail to give
A short phrase is usually enough for each hobby, such as 'Volunteer coach for a junior football team' rather than a full paragraph. The goal is to give a reader just enough context to understand why it is relevant, not a full account of the activity.
If you are unsure whether a hobby adds anything, it is generally safer to leave it out rather than include something purely generic that takes up space without telling a reader anything new.
Two or three well-chosen hobbies are usually enough. A long list can dilute the section, making it harder for a reader to notice the ones that are genuinely relevant.
As with the rest of your CV, honesty matters here too; only include a hobby you genuinely take part in, since a fabricated interest can be easy to expose in conversation.
