How Should You Present Hobbies and Interests on Your CV?

It never fails to amaze me how diverse they can be, and yet this may be the most under-rated (in terms of importance) and rushed aspect of a person’s CV.  It usually comes at the end and is rarely given enough attention.  What is it?

You usually find this section virtually scribbled and tacked onto the bottom of what could otherwise be – an outstanding CV!!  It is usually entitled ‘Hobbies and Interests’ or something of that nature and it very often amounts to little more than a list of activities that either a person can undertake on auto-pilot on a weekly basis – nothing wrong with that of course, but it is sometimes portrayed less like a ‘hobby’ or ‘interest,’ and more like ‘stuff I do at weekend to ease the boredom!’  The classics are ‘Walking,’ ‘Reading,’ ‘Socialising with friends’……sorry, I may have nodded off just thinking about this.

Whenever I see this on a CV, I am inclined to wonder – if only judging by the tentative nature of what is written down, where it seems that the person is unsure whether this even belongs on a CV.  It definitely belongs on there because what you do in your spare time reveals much about you that maybe a PhD in Nuclear Physics does not!  (Admit it…you’re thinking ‘Geek’ right now aren’t you??)

It helps the recruiter build a better picture of you, helps him or her see who is already on the team that you would get on with, reveals aspects of your personality AND skills that can make a huge difference.  For instance, if you enjoy rattling off the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword whilst dipping toast soldiers in your boiled egg before your morning shower, it certainly backs up any claims that you have made to being a ‘methodical worker’ or ‘advanced analytical skills.’

I created a CV for a ‘dynamic,’ ‘fearless’ Marketing Manager a few months ago and when we got to this section, she had to really rack her brains.  I don’t know why, because she had done sky-diving (273 jumps) and scuba diving amongst other ‘High-Octane’ pastimes. 

The flip-side to this is the area of what could be viewed as controversial interests.  Obviously I am not suggesting that you are involved in covert, government overthrowing activity before your pub-lunch on a Sunday, but there could be certain spheres of activity that may or may not go down well – this could be affiliations with political parties or religious organisations for example.  That is not to say that activity that you do in connection with this does not belong on your CV, I did some work for a lady with certain beliefs (doesn’t matter what,) but she had organised seriously complex events and liaised with a multitude of other organisations to make this happen with success.

The areas I mentioned earlier…reading etc.  I am not saying that they do not belong on your CV, but you should expand on this.  ‘I particularly enjoy the works of Tolstoy…’ reveals more about you than ‘reading’ – ‘I am passionate about creating authentic Thai cuisine’ trumps ‘cooking’ any day of the week.

You should also consider activity that could be viewed positively or negatively and make sure that this comes under the correct ‘positive’ heading.  If you are a bit of a Facebook or Twitter fan, you know how much of your life this can consume.  Does it belong on your CV?  Definitely…but the impression you want to give is not ‘Give me the job and then every time you see me, I will be ‘lol-ing’ with my friends’ and so forth.  The impression you want to give is ‘I know how Social Media can take your business forward and increase your profile and profit line!’  I will let you decide which has the most appeal.

What you include in (or even whether you include) a ‘hobbies and interests’ section is a bit of a judgement call, a bit of a grey area and calls for a bit of thought and discretion – if you need any help with yours, drop me an email with what you have so far, and I’ll let you know what I think.

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Quick Fixes for Your CV

Actually, there are far more than seven ways to improve your CV! Below are some ways to instantly tidy up your CV and improve the responses that you get from your CV drive / mailshot, whatever you want to call it. Hope they help out.
The first and most obvious thing your CV should not contain are
spelling mistakes, grammatical errors etc. It may be confusing as to which word to use at times..(Is it "there," "they're," "their?") But (thankfully) word processing packages always have a spell check. It does the work for you so that if you do make a minor error, it's easy to correct. When a recruiter opens a document that is littered with mistakes, it is viewed as almost unforgivable and could jeopardise your chances. If you are using Microsoft Word 1991, maybe it is time for an update, or just get someone to proofread it.

You would probably agree that the most common way to send a CV now is by email...I agree that there are probably still some die-hard Ludites out there who will refuse every kind of correspondence that doesn't require their trusty letter-opener, but on the whole, email is the vogue. How tempting it would be to send an attachment, maybe a photo of yourself to add "the personal touch," STOP! Unless you are an actor or a model or a job of this nature, there is no room for a photo. If a recruiter would like a face to fit the name - they will invite you in for an interview or at least snoop your Facebook account.

Clearly, you need your personal contact details on there, it's up to you how much you put on there (be wary when uploading a CV to the net, minimal info only.) You definitely need your phone details on there, either mobile, landline, or preferrably both. Here's the point! Have you set your own voicemail message? Is it funny? You may have thought so when you put on your best Yoda voice, telling the caller "Leave a message you should!" It may not go down well when someone wants to invite you for an interview, chances are, Yoda will not impress. The impression you want to give is "I'm serious about getting a job!"

On the same subject as contact details, your email should be professional sounding. If you have an email address that lots of people know, a personal one that reflects your personality - ie xxparty-girlxx1990@domain.com - you don't have to change it and let everybody know, just set up a new one for job seeking only - ie davidsmith@domain.com - You are serious about getting a job.


The same could be said of shared email addresses - ie -therobertsons@domain.com - you need your own account for a professional appearance.It is true that it is difficult to know what your CV should contain. It is tempting to put too much information rather than not enough. You could end up with more than two, three or four pages if you are not careful. Whilst this may be acceptable if you are a doctor or teacher etc, generally, you should not exceed two pages (one if possible.) What does that mean for you? If you are struggling with this, I recommend having a core document of all the experience that you would like to mention and then carefully select the relevant elements.


Advertising a job can be quite costly to a firm who is recruiting, how annoying it would be if the response they get suggests that the candidate has not read the criteria properly, after all, they did go to the trouble of advertising. Your CV should almost mirror (not word-for-word of course) what is asked for in the advertisement. I agree that it can be time consuming if you have to tailor each application to the ad, but it is worth it. When it comes to your CV, one size does not fit all.

This one is more of a judgement call. Abbreviations and numbers! You might have to use a mixture of full spellings and numbers if you are limited for space - for example - "Developed a team of ten staff.." or "...10 staff...." - if you can get away with it use written words rather than numbers in this case, but it is ok to say "£30000 increase" or "45% savings" - you don't have to spell that out. On no occasion should you use the term "etc" on your CV or even worse "see above" - this is just lazy.  If you need any help with any of these issues, just drop me an email. Happy hunting!


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Video CVs vs. Traditional CVs

I think it's fair to say that technology shapes the way we interact with each other.  No less so in the world of Human Resources and Recruitment.  I'm obviously far too young to remember the days that all applications were made in a person's own handwriting (although some old school employers like to see at least part of the application in handwriting,) then you would have typewritten CVs and letters, looking back this seems quite a laborious task.  Good old Word Processors came along and made the job so much easier, copy and paste, multiple copy printing, a variety of fonts to choose from.

There is now a generation who never knew the world without the internet.  Digital dependency is now the norm and so Digital CVs or Video CVs have become used more and more nowadays and are incredibly easy to create and send out.  Is this tool something for you to consider?  Perhaps, but there are a number of issues to address before you decide to take this option.  There are up sides and down sides to this job hunting tool.

As I am the eternal optimist, let's take a look at some of the positives first.

It would certainly make your application stand out from the crowd.  If there is anything a recruiter likes, it is a change from the norm.  If you can imagine sifting through dozens of fairly similar documents trying to differentiate between them and pick the best.  A visual CV would certainly jump out.

It gives you an opportunity to appear in person.  Let's face it, the whole idea of applying for work is to get in front
of the decision maker and pitch ourselves in a positive way.

It presents a professional image to support the application you have sent in and certainly it will be remembered.

However....

It would be wise to weigh the pros and cons carefully.  When you watch programs on TV such as X Factor and other talent shows, do you ever find yourself asking "what does this person hear when they sing?"  What we may think is good and will help our application stand out, is not necessarily good and may make our application stand out for all the wrong reasons....in short, if you do take this option, make sure you have a few good friends to give you an honest appraisal of it before you make it available for general viewing.

On the point about being able to present yourself in person is that a recruiter may be able to form a wrong opinion about you that he would not be able to do if you merely sent a traditional CV.  For example, we would never put our date of birth on a CV because it takes away the recruiters ability to discriminate.  They may have in mind someone of a particular age.  If we are outside that preference, our application may be discarded even though we could be otherwise perfect.

The other thing to remember is that a CV has just a few seconds to make a good impression, certainly under a minute.  A busy person may love to browse through five minutes of CV footage, but just doesn't have the time and for that reason, your application may not be successful.Really, the option of a visual CV would be better for those who wish to enter a job that involves presentation delivery or broadcasting, in which case a visual CV may be perfect for you.  I'm willing to go out on a limb and suggest that the good old-fashioned paper-based or email transmittable CV is here to stay and even if you think a visual CV is the route to take, it would always be as a complement of your CV which is on standby on your desktop...at least until holographic technology become cost effective.

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