When it comes to looking for a job or internship, the most important thing is getting your CV right. Without a great CV that shows off your skills and experience and impresses employers, you'll never get the job application stage.

There's one CV area, however, that is often neglected or even added as an after-thought and that's the hobbies and interests section. Do employers really need to know about your hobbies? What does playing in your local football team have to do with your career?

Well, you may be surprised to hear that your hobbies and interests can make a big impact on your application. Why? Because they reveal more of your personality and can highlight desirable traits and skills to employers.

That being said, you should carefully consider which of your hobbies and interests to include in your CV. Here are a few common examples and what they tell employers about you.

 

Playing sports

Sports or active hobbies are usually a big tick for employers and well worth including on your CV. Team sports are particularly good as they will suggest that you are a team player as well as competitive and committed.

If your sport is more of an individual activity, you can still use it to your advantage. Do you have any achievements that you can highlight, for example winning competitions or awards? How have you improved or achieved goals you set yourself? Citing your achievements and progression demonstrates that you are proactive, self-motivated and driven and have excellent traits in a lot of job roles.

Traveling

Traveling is a valuable life experience and if you're just entering the world of work after university. We're not talking about a week's holiday to Tenerife or Lad's trip to Magaluf. We're talking about at least a couple of months away.

From an employer's perspective, a well-traveled individual is likely to be adaptable, curious, independent and open-minded. These sound like some great traits to have in the workplace!

University clubs / societies

If you are a student, you have a lot of work experience, highlighting what clubs and societies you can go in your favor. Participating in clubs or societies that you are outgoing, friendly and passionate.

Furthermore, if you undertake a position of responsibility within a club or society that's even better! For example, you could highlight how you were able to develop your leadership and organization skills.

Blog writing

Blogging is a great way to show off your written communication skills, creativity and what you're passionate about. You can also demonstrate your marketing and promotional skills by generating lots of readers for your blog.

Bringing it all together

There are so many interests and hobbies that can enhance your CV, these are just a few common examples. The main thing is to put yourself in an employer's shoes and personality traits they can see from your interests. As long as your hobbies include relevant skills that are transferable to the role you are applying for, they should be on your CV.

Do not have any hobbies or interests to write about? It's never too late to start something new that will boost your employability while having fun at the same time!

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