At the end of your resume or LinkedIn summary, mention that you practise yoga or are a passionate photographer. It gives the recruiter a sense of the kind of person you are. But this information speaks more about your personality than you know.
Put hobbies on your resume? Pfff, many agree that this is the first thing they look at on a full CV. However, hobbies, as long as they are not too vague, have value and can get you points with recruiters.
Resumes hate to be vague
“The CV is an advertisement to get you interviews.” States Mathieu Guénette, career advisor and director of professional services at Brisson Legris. This is why, we try to avoid superfluous information when we don’t have enough space to describe our achievements. Nevertheless, if we have enough space to describe our hobbies, why not do it brilliantly?
Each hobby more or less reveals a candidate’s skills. Being a sports team’s captain demonstrates strong leadership skills and enjoying video production shows the ability to concentrate and a love for quality work. Practising extreme sports shows an interest in pushing limits, being at ease with uncertainty, and the ability to take calculated risks. Practising yoga indicates an ability to breathe and relax even during tense times. Passion for gardening shows an interest in nature: a characteristic increasingly sought after by businesses wanting to reduce their environmental footprint. Even better, some hobbies confirm qualities described in the resume. A branch manager candidate can demonstrate problem solving by saying, in addition to his original professional achievements, that he has been scrapbooking for five years.
But, be careful not to be too vague! Guénette highlights, “As for opening doors, it can help open them completely.” He recommends writing down elements resembling achievements. “I run marathons” and “I’ve been in a spin class for 5 years” are worth more than, for example, simply writing “sports.” This demonstrates an iron will, dedication, and motivation that is very useful in business or sales development positions. Instead of writing “reading” a common and vague hobby, Guénette recommends adding an element that distinguishes the candidate like “I read weekly science magazines.”
Hobbies show that you are likable
Although they aren’t essential, these facts make a resume friendlier. A little like “a cherry on a sundae” this small touch of colour improves your portrait and shows that candidates are more than just a sum of skills. Hobbies can also establish a sympathetic connection between the recruiter and applicant. For example, it can create an opportunity to develop an affinity with each other before the interview. When we lack experience in a particular sector or first try to enter the job market, the CV hobby section puts some meat on its bones. “For 17-year-olds, this can fill the gap.” Says Guénette. He further remarks that all in all, as a rule of thumb, the worst that could happen with hobbies is that they will occupy space without being read. Generally, “These are neutral consequences.” Unless you really want to intentionally reveal something like your passion for the extreme, radical right…