To ask what you've added to your CV from things outside of work that has been helpful.

[Manteo]

I was just wondering if anyone has done anything outside of work that has made a big difference when it came to your CV, job applications and interviews?

There's obvious things like qualifications and volunteering but anything else?

I feel like I don't get that much out of my actual job anymore as I've been stuck there so long so I wanted to see if I could come up with other ways to add to my experience.

I work in university admin for reference.

Volunteering, any non-work courses/ education.

Worked in a pub part time
Took minutes at the community council meeting
Volunteered at the covid test centre last year

I know a couple of guys who have hobbies that give them useful work skills.

One does some stuff involving coding, the other builds computers from bits etc.

My husband recruits grads for investment related roles and lots of them have hobbies he thinks are valuable including fantasy share trading, very strategic board games.

A friend did computer/app games on the side and it became his main job.

I'm in a committee position for a local preschool. My employer looks favourably on staff becoming school governors.

Being a town councillor, or pcso are also great on your cv.

Unless it has a direct relationship to the job you are applying for (ie voluntary role in a similar area), you are explaining a career break (took a year out to write a novel), or you were awarded a CBE or something, I honestly wouldn’t put anything non-work related on your CV. No interview panel cares that you enjoy reading and following Chelsea, or are on the PTA.

Are you looking to move to the private sector OP? In public sector your hobbies and interests usually wouldn't have any impact at all on recruitment.

Membership of chartered bodies, but this is very field-dependent. For me it's IET and IEEE,

Volunteering, if you play a team sport I think it can be good to add as it demonstrates team work, a relevant hobby that uses similar skills to the job.

Playing three sports reasonably well. Captain of one team.

in my early 20s, "hobbies and interests" were very much an expected part of the CV - I was in to parachuting at the time, which certainly opened doors to interviews, because otherwise my CV would have been v similar to anyone with only a year or two work experience.
In my 30s, people were v interested in the fact I'd qualified while at the Maxwell group.
Now interesting non-work related volunteering - "Dresser" "Cookery co-host" etc.

Anything relevant to the job spec

Volunteering always seems to interest interviewers and gets two-way conversation rolling. I can't think of any voluntary roles that would not be worth putting on your CV; they all give you worthwhile experiences and demonstrate attributes that most employers would value.

Caveat: I’m private sector, and for ages worked in a niche client services sector where personality/people skills and creative flair were important. It can also help evidence other soft skills eg resilience.

When pools of candidates are equally qualified, often it’s the interests/extra-curricular experience that can give en edge.

An organisation I worked for recently had automated shortlisting software. My understanding is that it picked out the responses to specific areas of the person spec, then presented them to the shortlisting panel, anonymysed and randomised for each question.
The idea was to avoid bias - but nothing other than direct responses to the Person Specification was considered.

Volunteering, first aid course, any particular skills that you have at a high level or that could be relevant

I don’t bother with hobbies but definitely volunteering including things like being a school governor or on management committee of village hall - have you campaigned for anything or been involved in a local or national initiative for example I’m on the service user forum for people with disabilities for a government green paper consultation
I’m also a director of a community interest company and a trustee of 2 charities

@Changechangychange

Unless it has a direct relationship to the job you are applying for (ie voluntary role in a similar area), you are explaining a career break (took a year out to write a novel), or you were awarded a CBE or something, I honestly wouldn’t put anything non-work related on your CV. No interview panel cares that you enjoy reading and following Chelsea, or are on the PTA.

You can't speak for all interviewers. In my experience, it really can help so I think it depends what kind of work you do.

I’m a secretary for an inner city allotment site - I put this down with “has taught me a lot about diversity, problem solving and conflict management”. It was the first thing they asked me about in my Civil Service interview.

I would second volunteering as a school governor as it exposes you to so many areas: finance, recruiting and other HR issues, H&S etc and builds transferable skills

I’ve been on both sides of this and obviously it does depend on the type of business but I’ve never worked anywhere that didn’t appreciate the non-job related aspects of a CV, especially if qualifications are similar between candidates. Anything that shows you have a community spirit would be a plus point. School governor, scouting leadership, that sort of thing. Make sure it’s something you enjoy though otherwise it becomes a chore.

What job would you like to have?

Anything at all that has transferable skills which could be useful for future jobs, whether that's volunteering, clubs & societies, hobbies, sports, or even household admin/management. Just link it to skills needed for whatever job you're applying for.

@JaceLancs

I don’t bother with hobbies but definitely volunteering including things like being a school governor or on management committee of village hall - have you campaigned for anything or been involved in a local or national initiative for example I’m on the service user forum for people with disabilities for a government green paper consultation I’m also a director of a community interest company and a trustee of 2 charities

Depends on the hobby. My OH was into model making, which shows he has patience, perseverence and attention to detail. I'd imagine other hobbies would be similar such as other arts and crafts.

@MrsPeacockDidIt

I’ve been on both sides of this and obviously it does depend on the type of business but I’ve never worked anywhere that didn’t appreciate the non-job related aspects of a CV, especially if qualifications are similar between candidates. Anything that shows you have a community spirit would be a plus point. School governor, scouting leadership, that sort of thing. Make sure it’s something you enjoy though otherwise it becomes a chore.

This is what I was going to say.

The point being though, OP, is that is is something you are doing / have done / have a passion for. Not much point in us all telling you about our extreme sports or life saving experiences if that isn't what you have in your locker.

I run a church hall type toddler group, which went down v well on job applications and interviews because it has lots of transferable skills I could talk about eg communication skills, writing risk assessments, working with kids, building relationships with their carers, coordinating volunteers, etc etc.

I also do amateur theatre which I talked about in interviews in terms of team work, enthusiasm, high energy levels and a love of singing and performing... all of that was quite relevant to the job I now do (at a special needs school) but probably not to most jobs!!

Never added anything else. None of their business. And in a project management job pls. don't call me in because you find bouldering or bass guitar interesting.
And when i was evaluating cvs -- never looked at the other stuff. don't care.