For school, college and university leavers it can be difficult to properly demonstrate your strengths as you may not have very much experience. That’s why we’ve put together this blog to help you think about the skills you’ve gained through your hobbies.

Your CV is an opportunity to show a potential employer your skills, achievements and experience. Writing a CV can be difficult anyway, but it can be even more challenging if you don’t have relevant experience. In this blog, we’re going to give you some skills and attributes that you may have gained from your different hobbies so you can write about them in your CV.

It can be good to mention your hobbies but cramming all of your hobbies into a CV isn’t always a great idea. You should only use the hobbies that are relevant to the job that you’re applying to and get help you demonstrate skills or interests required for the job. Remember, if you do list your hobbies make sure that you relate them back to attributes or skills you have gained that are relevant to the job you’re applying to.

For example, if you’re applying to a job with a charity, showing that you’ve done fundraising shows commitment and your values. Similarly, if you’re applying for a role in data analytics, mentioning that you do gaming can show that you’re analytical, resourceful and adaptable.

Here are some common hobbies and the skills and attributes you can associate with each one:

Art

Creativity, eye for detail, techniques, passion, patience, idea

Comedy

Initiative, resilience, creativity, idea development, humour, confidence.

Cooking

Creativity, attention to detail, patience, self-expression, multitasking, decision making.

Dance

Creativity, dedication, resilience, confidence, perseverance, motivation, discipline, self-belief.

Drama

Confidence, self-awareness, presentation skills, dedication, resilience, teamwork, communication skills, creativity

Gaming

Communication skills, analytical, resourcefulness and adaptability, technical skills and problem solving.

Make up & fashion

Creativity, following trends, research techniques, interpersonal skills, confidence, attention to detail.

Music

Dedication, creativity, teamwork (if in a band/orchestra), perseverance, memory, listening, collaboration and confidence.

Reading

Imagination, empathy, creativity and attentiveness.

Sports/fitness

Motivation, communication, passion, dedication, teamwork, leadership, time-management and competitiveness.

Volunteer work

Motivation, passion, personal values, dedication, communication, interpersonal skills, networking, sense of community and empathy.

If you do choose to include your hobbies in your CV, make sure that they are timely and relevant. If you include something that was more than 3 years ago, it’s likely to be considered out of date and will make your CV look less credible.

It’s also important to be truthful and realistic. It can be tempting to lie about something, but it is never a good idea and will almost always come back to bite you. It can be tempting to try to make yourself sound better at something to make a good first impression, but an interviewer may question you on different parts of CV, which they can do. Interviewers can easily spot a fib and if they do, you’ll probably be ruled out for an opportunity.

Also, try not to be boastful or brag about your achievements. An interviewer wants to know about your teamwork when you played football, not that you were better than everyone else on your team!

If you want more advice on writing a CV, you can read our CV guide and template blog which will help you when creating your own.
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