Listing hobbies on job application forms

If I'm ever asked for my hobbies I always channel my inner Monty Python and answer 'Golf, masturbation and strangling wild animals'.

He may have let himself down there, golf is not that popular around here.

It's one thing to say you love playing football, but following a team is such a basic thing for a man to like - it gave off a whiff of being the office sports bore.

Oh, how i wish they existed in the singular... <smiles sweetly at new colleagues>

Thank you. I thought it was ludicrous too. So did my friend.

Her son put his proper/normal hobbies by the way, and managed to get a job, in a field he wanted it too!

Yeah, we had a similar ‘family friend in HR’ who was also completely wrong.

YANBU I hate it!

My friend's son was applying for jobs several years ago after leaving college, and he likes video games, sci-fi, and cinema and theatre. He was told by a family friend who works in HR for a big company, that he 'can't' put those hobbies and he needs to put football, and golf, and 'the gym' as hobbies and interests. 🙄

Why the F should he put what people allegedly want to see? He has zero interest in these things, so why pretend he does?! How stupid! He will be starting the place with lies, and as a person he isn't.

I'm an employer for a very practical/skills based roles, and this section of a CV is something I look at. I need to know people are physically fit and actually enjoy doing the kinds of things the job involves, as otherwise it's just not going to work out. Without giving too much info our work is based outdoors, so I need to know they're going to be comfortable in that environment.

That said its not the most important thing and I only really pay attention to it if I need to narrow down applicants. For example if I'm having trouble deciding out of two who to invite to interview, the 'keen hiker' is going to be a tiny step ahead of the 'film buff'. I realise that seems incredibly superficial but sometimes we have to be a bit cut throat in order to narrow down the applications.

YADNBU. I think it’s normalish for younger people to add to their CV to show teamwork or to include as additional qualifications, when their CV is otherwise quite short. It’s not really a thing IME in anyone over the age of 25 though.

I would be a bit put off to see it included on a job application form tbh.

I think it's a case of, if you have a hobby which shows skills that could help towards your application, put it on. If not, then don't mention it and no harm done.

I always had an immovable prejudice against men who described in a short paragraph their love of a named football team.

It's one thing to say you love playing football, but following a team is such a basic thing for a man to like - it gave off a whiff of being the office sports bore.

I tried not to discriminate but I can't say I ever shortlisted a man who named a team on his CV.

I had a friend check my cv recently and she commented on the lack of hobbies. I did say napping, going to brunch and watching the real housewives of Beverley hills weren’t going to impress the interview panel 🤷‍♀️

Your loss is Chipperfield’s gain.

Actually I knocked back a male graduate as his biggest achievement at uni was setting up a juggling club!

Hobbies and interests weren't anything we ever actually scored when I was on interview panels for my former employer, but as we were recruiting for posts in a rural area it did give us some idea about how good a fit someone might be. Generally we found that people without outdoor hobbies and a real desire to live in the countryside tended not to stay very long. After all, work is only part of your life and even if you really enjoy your professional role, if you don't enjoy life in the locality, can't pursue your hobbies easily and so on, you're not going to be happy and are likely to move on fairly quickly.
We'd always pick the best qualified/experienced person for the job, but in the event that there were two equally good candidates and one had clearly researched the local area and lifestyle but the other didn't seem to have, then the former might have the edge. However it could sometimes go the other way and we had the occasional candidate who seemed to only want the job because of the location and opportunities to pursue their hobbies, which was just as much of a red flag.
But mainly, as others have said, I used it as a way to get candidates talking about themselves and try to relax them bit.

This. I've been involved with things that have given me experience I haven't been able to get at work, including interviewing people, fundraising, managing budgets, training and mentoring people. I've learnt languages for fun. Yoga and swimming keep me vaguely fit and healthy, which keeps me functional at work.

Depending on what your hobby is, it can enhance your CV well. Probably wouldn't include going out getting pissed every weekend or something like that, but including hobbies can be good. A friend was asked about his fire eating at more than one interview, and I get asked about learning Welsh (being masochistic suits some jobs... though they don't say that, just ask if it's difficult.)

I put my hobbies on my CV as they are all loosely based around the sort of jobs I'd apply for.

So for example my hobbies of dog walking and working my allotment reinforce my interests when applying for animal/environmental related jobs.

Depends on the job.

If you have included certain creative hobbies and I'm sifting applications, you are more likely to get an interview with me.

There are other hobbies that wouldn't really fit in a regular section of a job application which would also get you an interview even with less experience than other candidates, because they tie in closely with the sort of job you'd be applying for and the sort of person I'd be looking for.

My DS puts his hobby (more of an all consuming passion these days) on his CV, against the advice of a friend who reckons she is the font of all recruitment knowledge. He says it makes a great opener and every interviewer has been very curious about it - plus it demonstrates skills like time management, mentoring, dedication etc.

I have a tiny section at the end of my CV listing my cat as my hobby.

DillydeClutter do you anything to help with your kids? Volunteer as a parent helper or anything? All valuable.

Yabu

I like when people include a hobby or something they do outside work like volunteering.

It can show:

• an ability to balance work and other commitments
• a respect for mental health - making time to do things that help to keep your mental health good like music, creative crafts & exercise
• skills & dedication. Someone who plays the flute in a community orchestra or sings in the church choir, or coaches the local under 12s hockey team, is someone who has worked hard to build those skills and commit to that.
• teamwork & community: our organisation values & respects people who contribute to society as charity trustees, school governors, scout leaders etc. Its a fit with what we value as an organisation - we give volunteering days for this reason.

I'd mention your interests on the scale if your life rather than what you're doing right now. I wouldn't expect people to be involved in their hobbies all the time but I would expect them to have a long-standing interest in at least one area.

I have no hobbies at the moment as my life seems to be completely taken over by small children, work and cleaning, but i have plenty of lust for life and curiosity around that. I wouldn't put the small children on my CV for fear of discrimination . . .. which would then perhaps mean you discounted me because I have no hobbies . . .

I thought this was a thing of the past tbh.

I didn’t think anyone put hobbies on CVs any more.

So education, experience, dedication,ability etc. are not quite enough , people now have to carefully curate their personal lives too ? Preferably maybe come in juggling on a unicycle through the door?

As a mum of a teen who is trying to get a weekend/summer job, it's really useful to include these to help boost his application as he has no current work experience!