Interests section on resume? Forum

[JetsFan1990]

what about including surfing? it seems safe enough to me.

[BEAST_mode]

I think putting "personal interests" on a resume reeks of amateurism. Nobody really cares, when they are screening a mountain of resumes to pick out the few that they want to talk to further. Nobody is going to invite you for an interview based on your interest in contemporary art (unless you are looking for a job in the art field, representing artists or galleries or publishers, and in that case it's much better to have some work or volunteer experience demonstrating your interest in concrete terms).

Sometimes, when you are actually in an interview, the interviewer might ask what your interests are, or what you like to do in your spare time. Part of getting to know who you are as a person, and how you will fit into the culture of the office. At that point, sure, you talk about your (hopefully non-controversial) interests.

But leave it off the resume. It will make you look like a high school student applying for your first job.

You are wrong.

And most likely uninteresting.

[azntwice]

tmgarvey is completely wrong, at least in the world of legal hiring. interests are pretty much required on a corporate resume to differentiate you from the bazillion other kids with the same resume, although you should leave them off in pro bono or gov't hiring. for pro bono and gov't, they prefer to see strong background in relevant areas.

[ChikaBoom]

Interesting...I haven't had an interests section on my resume since I had enough work experience to fill a page. I had always thought of it as fluff. I've done interviewing/hiring in another sector and I don't see much of it- it's generally as the other poster said, confined to resumes lacking much of anything else to say. I guess if you're in law school, that's obviously not the case for this type of resume.

Oh well, different game, different rules. Glad to know. Guess I will have to come up with something eventually.

[akili]

tmgarvey is completely wrong, at least in the world of legal hiring. interests are pretty much required on a corporate resume to differentiate you from the bazillion other kids with the same resume, although you should leave them off in pro bono or gov't hiring. for pro bono and gov't, they prefer to see strong background in relevant areas.

I think PI/gov't have the same problems of separating hundreds of resumes. I am primarily gunning for that kind of work and I'm not taking my interests off my resume. Those offices are still looking for 'fit' as well and anything that helps employers see you as a real person (as long as that real person isn't bizarre), is going to help, IMO.

[kwais]

Interesting...I haven't had an interests section on my resume since I had enough work experience to fill a page. I had always thought of it as fluff. I've done interviewing/hiring in another sector and I don't see much of it- it's generally as the other poster said, confined to resumes lacking much of anything else to say. I guess if you're in law school, that's obviously not the case for this type of resume.

Oh well, different game, different rules. Glad to know. Guess I will have to come up with something eventually.

awesome subtle brag.

[Ludo!]

Talked about my interests section in every single interview. Some interviewers look at that section first. It won't HURT you not to have it but I think it makes interviews easier. And it certainly doesn't 'reek of amateurism'. That guy is most likely a 0l

Edit: according to profile not a 0l, even worse - graduated ls 30 years ago

[ChikaBoom]

Interesting...I haven't had an interests section on my resume since I had enough work experience to fill a page. I had always thought of it as fluff. I've done interviewing/hiring in another sector and I don't see much of it- it's generally as the other poster said, confined to resumes lacking much of anything else to say. I guess if you're in law school, that's obviously not the case for this type of resume.

Oh well, different game, different rules. Glad to know. Guess I will have to come up with something eventually.

awesome subtle brag.

Wasn't meant that way, but thanks

[jess]

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[Law Sauce]

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[JCFindley]

Interesting...I haven't had an interests section on my resume since I had enough work experience to fill a page. I had always thought of it as fluff. I've done interviewing/hiring in another sector and I don't see much of it- it's generally as the other poster said, confined to resumes lacking much of anything else to say. I guess if you're in law school, that's obviously not the case for this type of resume.

Oh well, different game, different rules. Glad to know. Guess I will have to come up with something eventually.

What she said. I haven't had personal interests on a resume since I was fifteen.

I can't see using the limited space you have on a resume and leaving something professional off so that I could state that I like long walks on the beach enjoying the moonlight on a midsummer's night. Seriously, the fact that I enjoy the gym, martial arts, dogs, photography, mountaineering, hiking, water-skiing, combat shooting, or any number of superfluousness things I like will probably not help me get an interview. Once IN the interview it is the connection that can get you the job and all these things might help there.

But, I learned something here as I wouldn't have dreamed of it before. I would at least think about it now.

[kalvano]

Everyone talking about prior work experience being more valuable...it's not. You can find 2 extra lines for an interest section, and you would be seriously remiss not to include it. I have work experience and I found a way to fit in an interest section, and both have been important in interviews.

[piccolittle]

How lame is including something general like "travel"? I know this has been mentioned before, but I lived abroad for a long time and have had an opportunity to go to some cool places - given the time I would probably be able to go on about the places I've been and my list of things I want to see. At the moment my interests list goes "horseback riding, historical fiction, animal welfare" - should I replace the third item with something travel related?

Those interests probably out me to anyone who sees my resume, but whatever.

[kalvano]

No, those three are good, interesting and specific. I'd leave them.

[AllTheLawz]

I once left interests off my resume when applying for a legal job and the organization called me up just to ask me what my interests were... so yes, always include them. This is only a legal job thing though. In my previous non-legal job, one of the directors who did hiring used to laugh at people for including interests.

Make sure you can actually keep up a conversation about your interest, however, because there is a huge possibility of it coming up. Also, for the love god, DO NOT put anything running or fitness related unless you are extremely fit. A lot of firms have former olympians or D-1 athletes and they will have them interview you.

[sbalive]

Make sure you can actually keep up a conversation about your interest, however, because there is a huge possibility of it coming up. Also, for the love god, DO NOT put anything running or fitness related unless you are extremely fit. A lot of firms have former olympians or D-1 athletes and they will have them interview you.

I disagree a bit on this -- you should just be able to talk about it -- like I'm not particularly fit, but included running since I do that + can talk about where I run.

Beware about musical interests -- if you list a musical interest, you may well be asked about it and expected to carry a 20-minute long conversation about that and nothing else. Actually, that's generally true of all the Interests. (And I assume that someone already pointed this out, but this is a must for legal hiring & every OCS will make sure you know that anyway.)

[akili]

Make sure you can actually keep up a conversation about your interest, however, because there is a huge possibility of it coming up. Also, for the love god, DO NOT put anything running or fitness related unless you are extremely fit. A lot of firms have former olympians or D-1 athletes and they will have them interview you.

I disagree a bit on this -- you should just be able to talk about it -- like I'm not particularly fit, but included running since I do that + can talk about where I run.

Beware about musical interests -- if you list a musical interest, you may well be asked about it and expected to carry a 20-minute long conversation about that and nothing else. Actually, that's generally true of all the Interests. (And I assume that someone already pointed this out, but this is a must for legal hiring & every OCS will make sure you know that anyway.)

Our CSO had a story about a guy who listed singing as an interest and was asked to sing during the interview.

I don't think you have to be super fit to have an athletic hobby listed, as long as you actually do it.

[dixon02]

How lame is including something general like "travel"? I know this has been mentioned before, but I lived abroad for a long time and have had an opportunity to go to some cool places - given the time I would probably be able to go on about the places I've been and my list of things I want to see. At the moment my interests list goes "horseback riding, historical fiction, animal welfare" - should I replace the third item with something travel related?

Those interests probably out me to anyone who sees my resume, but whatever.

I second that those are good interests- pretty much exactly the type you want on there.

But since it's come up a few times: travel is a good interest, but make it more specific. Mention a particular area of the globe if possible or combine with an activity you like to do when travelling. As you can see just from this thread, most people like to travel.

[Anonymous User]

I think putting "personal interests" on a resume reeks of amateurism. Nobody really cares, when they are screening a mountain of resumes to pick out the few that they want to talk to further. Nobody is going to invite you for an interview based on your interest in contemporary art (unless you are looking for a job in the art field, representing artists or galleries or publishers, and in that case it's much better to have some work or volunteer experience demonstrating your interest in concrete terms).

Sometimes, when you are actually in an interview, the interviewer might ask what your interests are, or what you like to do in your spare time. Part of getting to know who you are as a person, and how you will fit into the culture of the office. At that point, sure, you talk about your (hopefully non-controversial) interests.

But leave it off the resume. It will make you look like a high school student applying for your first job.

100% wrong. I did close to 40 screeners, 10 callbacks, multiple offers, and I can't tell you how many times I was asked about my interests section or how many times my interviewers said it was often the FIRST thing they looked at.

[JCFindley]

I once left interests off my resume when applying for a legal job and the organization called me up just to ask me what my interests were... so yes, always include them. This is only a legal job thing though. In my previous non-legal job, one of the directors who did hiring used to laugh at people for including interests.

Make sure you can actually keep up a conversation about your interest, however, because there is a huge possibility of it coming up. Also, for the love god, DO NOT put anything running or fitness related unless you are extremely fit. A lot of firms have former olympians or D-1 athletes and they will have them interview you.

Everyone talking about prior work experience being more valuable...it's not. You can find 2 extra lines for an interest section, and you would be seriously remiss not to include it. I have work experience and I found a way to fit in an interest section, and both have been important in interviews.

And these kinds of things are WHY I read the threads here. For all my prior work experience I would not have considered putting interests on a professional resume but I am here to learn...... Now, some of my interests/hobbies have been worked into my resume because they became a part of a job or in the case of photography a business in and of itself but I guess I will start finding space for an interest section.

Thanks.

[Ozymandias]

How lame is including something general like "travel"? I know this has been mentioned before, but I lived abroad for a long time and have had an opportunity to go to some cool places - given the time I would probably be able to go on about the places I've been and my list of things I want to see. At the moment my interests list goes "horseback riding, historical fiction, animal welfare" - should I replace the third item with something travel related?

Those interests probably out me to anyone who sees my resume, but whatever.

I would remove animal welfare because you already have something animal-related (horseback riding) so if someone wanted to talk to you about animals, they have that, plus it avoids people thinking you're a crazy PETA red paint splasher (maybe you would want that for something more liberal, but going for a firm I think it's better to just play it safe). I would absolutely put something about travel and the country you lived in. I have a specific country listed that I've been to a lot/where my extended family lives and people always ask about it in legal interviews and are interested in it. Plus, if they've been somewhere even remotely near the country, it gives you something slightly in common.

[piccolittle]

How lame is including something general like "travel"? I know this has been mentioned before, but I lived abroad for a long time and have had an opportunity to go to some cool places - given the time I would probably be able to go on about the places I've been and my list of things I want to see. At the moment my interests list goes "horseback riding, historical fiction, animal welfare" - should I replace the third item with something travel related?

Those interests probably out me to anyone who sees my resume, but whatever.

I would remove animal welfare because you already have something animal-related (horseback riding) so if someone wanted to talk to you about animals, they have that, plus it avoids people thinking you're a crazy PETA red paint splasher (maybe you would want that for something more liberal, but going for a firm I think it's better to just play it safe). I would absolutely put something about travel and the country you lived in. I have a specific country listed that I've been to a lot/where my extended family lives and people always ask about it in legal interviews and are interested in it. Plus, if they've been somewhere even remotely near the country, it gives you something slightly in common.

Thanks for that - it's exactly what I was thinking. Riding + animal welfare can either be seen as too similar (both animal-related) or too incongruous. Anyone else want to weigh in on that? How should I frame the travel thing? I lived in Europe so I was able to spend a lot of time in some different countries and I have a huge wish list (not just European).

[PennBull]

Pretty sure the only reason I have a 1L summer biggov internship is because I had "baseball history" in my interests section. My interview was a more or less a thirty minute strategy session for the approaching fantasy baseball season.

Reminds me of a story a recruiter told us this year in an info session:

A guy put "Yankees expert" on his interests or whatever, and it turned out a partner down the hall at the firm was an actual Yankees historical and current expert. They brought him over to chat with the interviewee thinking they would connect and have a great convo--turns out the interviewee knew nothing about baseball and was just trying to look like a true New Yorker.

Whoops.

[Ozymandias]

Reminds me of a story a recruiter told us this year in an info session:

A guy put "Yankees expert" on his interests or whatever, and it turned out a partner down the hall at the firm was an actual Yankees historical and current expert. They brought him over to chat with the interviewee thinking they would connect and have a great convo--turns out the interviewee knew nothing about baseball and was just trying to look like a true New Yorker.

Whoops.

Lol serves him right. I bet that was unbelievably awkward.

[ilovesf]

How lame is including something general like "travel"? I know this has been mentioned before, but I lived abroad for a long time and have had an opportunity to go to some cool places - given the time I would probably be able to go on about the places I've been and my list of things I want to see. At the moment my interests list goes "horseback riding, historical fiction, animal welfare" - should I replace the third item with something travel related?

Those interests probably out me to anyone who sees my resume, but whatever.

I spent a long time living abroad and backpacking, so I put backpacking: then listed a couple of the most interesting countries I went to that I thought might be asked about. Travel is really broad, so I thought listing some would help give them a better idea what I meant. It's been asked about in my several interviews, so I think it's a pretty good idea.