Should I include hobbies and interests on my resume?

Question

Accepted Answer

This depends on your experience level and the role. For entry-level candidates with limited experience, a brief 'Interests' section adds personality and talking points: 'Marathon runner, volunteer English tutor, amateur photographer.' Keep it to one line at the bottom. It humanizes you and can create connection points with interviewers. For experienced professionals, interests are optional and should only be included if they're either: highly relevant to the job (applying to a sports company and you're a competitive athlete), demonstrate leadership or unique skills (founded a nonprofit, published novelist), or exceptional achievements (competed nationally, maintained a blog with 50K followers). Generic interests like 'reading, travel, hiking' add no value and waste space. Skip them if you need room for professional content. Never include political, religious, or controversial interests. Some interests can backfire: video gaming might reinforce negative stereotypes in certain industries, extreme sports might raise insurance concerns. The general rule: if you're struggling to fill one page, thoughtful interests can help. If you're trying to fit everything on one page and cutting professional content, remove interests. For senior roles, executives, or technical positions, interests are typically unnecessary unless truly exceptional. Make every line of your resume count toward demonstrating your professional value.

Should I include hobbies and interests on my resume?