Do you have an other interests section on your CV?

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The last time I applied for jobs was several years ago. Do people still have an other interests section on their CV? I’ve been given so many conflicting answers that it’s hard to know what to do. A careers advisor recently told me to remove it, but I’ve had interviews in the past where they did ask me about it. It’s just one or two lines, not a big paragraph or anything.

Hello

I mean, it’s up to you. Some people do it to add a personal touch and depending on the role.
For example, if you were applying to work at a gym you would say part of a running club under hobbies.

Some people put Hobbies and Interests or Personal Interests as the title. The section is bullet points rather than a paragraph.

Ive had CVS come in where under that section it’s says
I love going on walks with my husband Geoff and dog. I love being with friends etc etc.
I don’t think this works to be honest I don’t think it’s needed-my opinion.

I think I would only use this section if it was relevant to the role but it’s all up to you at the end of the day.

Good Luck!!!

As the above poster said, only include if it is relevant to the role

Sometimes depends what you want to include and not going into too much detail.

I had a particular hobby that an interviewer asked me about, saying she has remembered it when she read my cv.

On the other hand, when I was helping a colleague apply for job, I had to tell him to remove his dog’s name from his CV.

Absolutely not. Your CV has limited, valuable space. Use it for skills, training etc if it’s looking bare.

I hire and interview a lot and would think it obvious the person had been out of the job market for a long time if I saw hobbies/interests, marital status, date of birth, anything about children or a photo.

Keep it simple: experience, education, skills, any professional awards if you have them, link to your LinkedIn, link to professional portfolio (if relevant) and at least two ways to contact you.

Best of luck!

If it’s relevant to the application, maybe- eg you’re applying to be head of comms for the National Gallery and you have a long-standing and well-evidenced interest in art (not just “I like art”).

Just a bit about how you like reading and seeing your friends- no.

I put it on (1 line with 3 hobbies listed) because it guarantees what my icebreaker question will be. One of my hobbies is a bit weird, but not in a causes judgement about my personality kind of way and makes for an interesting conversation. A friend had self improvement as a hobby on hers which I thought was really cringy, but she considered it an important part of her personality. I've found for tech companies skiing and climbing are useful because they tend to mark you as the right sort of person. I suspect member of extinction rebellion if you're applying to be steward at the golf club wouldn't go down well!

I would. But make sure you can talk about it and it is a proper hobby and not just something you put down to make you look more rounded.

When I was interviewing I always used to do a quick read of wiki of the hobbies and interests of people to learn something before the interview. Then I would ask them to talk about them.

Obviously some would be very into what they said they were. And some were obviously lying and putting down stuff to make themselves look more interesting.

If someone is bigging up one section of their cv, what other stuff may they be lying about ?

Definitely not involved with XR, and definitely don’t have the name of my family members or pets

In the past I’ve learned a slightly obscure language and people picked up on that, but I haven’t been to classes for years and have forgotten a lot of it, so I’ve taken it off.

Would it be okay to say Pilates plus an amateur drama group? Or is that too generic?

I never include interests (but would have an answer in my mind if asked). Of the CVs I see, about 50% have interests. And I generally pay no heed (except as a conversation starter if it’s hard work!) Am dram is vaguely interesting OP (it might indicate presentation skills for instance if this is relevant). But Pilates doesn’t really add much imo. I wouldn’t care - I just wouldn’t include it at the expense of relevant info.

I think it depends. If your hobbies and interests add depth or are relevant e.g. qualified football coach or referee, school governor, weekend shark monitor, RNLI lifeboat crew, St Johns ambulance volunteer etc. Pilates - not so much.

I'd say it's out dated to include these days. I do a lot of shortlisting and interviewing and I'd say no more than 10% include it. I think most people disregard it or are even put off by it as it's a distraction. Volunteering is a bit different, but I'd put it on only if it's giving you skills that you haven't got from work eg. Being a sports coach might give you leadership or being school governor might give you experience of finance

@Justbetweenus You said about 50% have them. Is there any pattern to it, like what sort of people are including it? Is there any connection between age group or career history, or is it just random?

It would be the first thing I’d chop off if short of space, but I think drama can show that someone won’t be intimidated by giving presentations. I had University Challenging team on there for a while, which was a great way to have something easy to chat about that was very likely to be brought up.

I think it's cringe-worthy and thought it used to be advised for school-leavers because they had little else to put on their CVs.

I've found for tech companies skiing and climbing are useful because they tend to mark you as the right sort of person.

We had unconscious bias training which advised against making small talk in interviews for this exact reason. There's a risk of forming a positive opinion of a candidate based on a shared experience or interest that isn't relevant to judging their work performance. And of course clever candidates can use that to their advantage...

I've never put any interests on CV.
Doubt MN'ing would qualify!

I’d say it’s an older age group habit, from my experience of reviewing applications.

Many large organisations now ask you to make your application ‘blind’ to prevent unconscious biases. So no dates for education, especially high school, or things that would identify you as male or female, from a specific place etc.

Random. I’m mainly interviewing people who are mid-career - so generally have enough on their CVs I guess. Honestly OP, I don’t think it’s a biggie either way!

In answer to the question, I'd say it's older people who add interests. It's also more common in the more privileged applicants ( eg. Those from middle class areas/been to Russel Group universities) so potential for discrimination if you take it into account. None of the agencies we work with would let you put it on your CV.

Thank you everyone. You know what, I think I might actually remove it from my CV.

That's interesting. I definitely agree about the bias and that it's better to avoid. Skiing, rowing, polo, lacrosse etc are clearly class markers but also so easy to game (I'm a cynical social climber who was on a bursary at a good university). Do you not find lack of small talk puts off candidates though? I'm looking to see if I'm going to be able to get along with my future boss just as much as they're seeing if I can do the job. If they came across as a cold fish with no conversation I'd probably not accept the job