Listing Hobbies on Your Resume: How to Add a Personal Touch

Key takeaways

Including your hobbies on a resume shares unique information about you that can highlight skills important to the job you’re applying for.

• Having relevant hobbies and interests can help you demonstrate to employers how you’re a good fit for their culture and possess valuable traits.

• Researching the company and position can help you learn how to tailor your interest section.

• You can add hobbies like chess to demonstrate your critical thinking and analytical skills, or painting to showcase your creativity.

Learn how you can use your hobbies to present yourself as a desirable candidate. If you’re ready to start gaining high-demand skills or prepare for a new career, consider earning a Google Project Management Professional Certificate. This certificate can help you qualify for entry-level roles with valuable skills, such as Agile project management and process improvement techniques.

Adding a hobbies section to your resume

A hobbies section on your resume is an opportunity to share more about you, providing a larger picture than your professional accomplishments alone may convey. Employers tend to be more interested in your professional experience and skills. Still, they may use details from a hobbies section to learn more about your personality, interests, and skills. 

When should you put hobbies on a resume?

When applying for a job, you have limited space on your resume to share the most important and relevant information. A general rule is to keep your resume to one page when you have less than 10 years of experience and to expand it to two pages once you’ve amassed over 10 years of experience. 

Your resume should always include certain sections, such as a header, education, experience, and skills. Depending on your goals, you may also want to include a resume summary or resume objective. Given the limited space you have to work with, a hobbies section isn’t always necessary. If you still have room after including all required sections, consider adding a hobbies section. 

You may want to use a hobbies section when: 

• You’re a recent graduate looking for your first full-time role

• You’re reentering the workforce after a significant gap

• You haven’t yet earned a lot of experience 

• You haven’t yet developed many skills 

• A company specifically requests one 

Read more: Resume Sections: Key Categories and What to Include to Stand Out

Interests and hobbies for resume building, and how to add them 

Follow the steps below to figure out what hobbies you should feature on your resume and how to format them. 

1. Make a list: Think of about five to ten hobbies and interests you enjoy. These can be things you do occasionally or frequently, but they should be activities that illustrate your personality. 

2. Review the job description: Read over the “required” and “recommended” sections to see if any personality traits stand out. For example, is the company’s ideal candidate someone who takes initiative or has strong attention to detail? Determine whether there’s a way to align any of the hobbies on your list with the characteristics in the job description. 

3. Review the company’s mission: Review the company’s “About” section on its website and see if any key traits stand out. Does the company emphasize collaboration? Do they value service or self-development? Again, think about ways to align your hobbies with the company’s mission.

4. Create a distinct section: Don’t include your hobbies under your “experience” or “skills” sections. Instead, create a new section titled “Hobbies” or “Hobbies and Interests.” This should be the last section on your resume. 

5. Choose up to five hobbies or interests. From your original list, figure out the best hobbies or interests to feature in your hobbies section. Aim to include between three to five examples. Use bullet points to list your hobbies, or create one to two sentences and use commas to separate them. 

Don’t have room for a hobbies section on your resume? Consider adding a few personal details to your LinkedIn summary. Learn more about creating a strong LinkedIn profile and how to add your resume to it. 

Let’s review three ways to build a hobbies section on your resume: 

Hobbies that align with a role

There may be times when the hobbies you list align naturally with the role you’re applying for, giving you a chance to showcase how well you fit the available position. 

For example, if you’re a graphic designer applying for a role that seeks a creative personality with strong attention to detail and comfortability leading projects, you might choose hobbies that support those characteristics.

Hobbies and interests 

• Volunteer lead at X

• Painting (watercolor, acrylic) 

• Cooking Mediterranean cuisine

• Learning how to speak Japanese 

Hobbies that build on your skill set

You may choose to include hobbies that highlight key skills. For example, suppose you work in social media and often have to develop new campaign ideas, including creating language and assets. In that case, your skills can emphasize your creativity, communication, and proactivity. 

Hobbies and interests 

• Creative writing

• Reading

• Sketching

• Teaching yoga

Hobbies that show off your personality 

Your hobbies don’t always have to coincide neatly with the jobs you’re applying for. They can truly stand alone, helping tell a bigger story about who you are. In that case, determine the best five hobbies or interests to share your personality. 

Hobbies and interests 

• Paddleboarding

• Volunteering at X

• Playing chess

• Podcasting

• Making videos

38 skill-based hobbies for your resume

Not sure what qualifies as a hobby? We’ve got you covered with the examples below, which align hobbies with many of the high-demand skills from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 [1].

Critical thinking and analysis 

• Chess

• Board games

• Crossword puzzles

• Event planning

Active learning

• Learning a new language 

• Speaking a foreign language

• Enrolling in a class 

Creativity

• Painting

• Drawing

• Photography 

• Writing

• Playing a musical instrument 

• Woodworking

• Knitting or crocheting 

• Making jewelry 

• Scrapbooking

• Pottery making 

Leadership/social influence

• Blogging

• Podcasting

• Making videos

Resilience

• Yoga

• Meditation

• Exercise 

• Hiking

• Rock climbing

• Kayaking

• Mountain biking

• Running marathons

• Paddleboarding 

• Scuba diving

Service orientation

• Volunteering 

• Teaching a skills-based class 

• Teaching a group fitness class

• Organizing 

Technology use

• Building websites 

• Designing apps 

• Graphic design

• Coding 

Explore our free resources for resume building and career development

Looking to make a career move? Explore free resources, such as our LinkedIn newsletter, Career Chat, for helpful tips, and these additional helps:

• Watch on YouTube: AI Quick Tip: Enhance Your Resume with GenAI

• Take the quiz: Career Test: What Career is Right for Me Quiz?

• Get expert tips: How to Use GenAI to Advance Your Career: Insight from Coursera's Former CEO

If you want to develop a new skill, get comfortable with an in-demand technology, or advance your abilities, keep growing with a Coursera Plus subscription. You’ll get access to over 10,000 flexible courses. 

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