Interests section on resume? Forum

[bk1]

Just don't list cooking. It's not a hobby for most people that think it is

I feel like enough people at big firms have their meals predominantly cooked by others that it's fine there.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Just don't list cooking. It's not a hobby for most people that think it is

This seems arbitrary.

Aren't all interests

Right...which Is why if you consider cooking a hobby/interest there's nothing wrong with listing it.

[TheSpanishMain]

Never put an interest section on my resume, didn't suffer for it in the slightest. I know I'm swimming against the tide here but they strike me as dumb and contrived, especially if you're not a k-jd. YMMV.

[lolwat]

Never put an interest section on my resume, didn't suffer for it in the slightest. I know I'm swimming against the tide here but they strike me as dumb and contrived, especially if you're not a k-jd. YMMV.

To be fair though, I think it's difficult to tell when the lack of an interests section has any negative effect (it most likely doesn't), but far easier to tell when it has a positive effect. If you don't have an interests section on your resume of course there's just nothing on that piece of paper to catch an interviewer's eye to talk about, so they'll either ask about whatever else is on your resume, or if they ask about interests they'll start with a generic "so what are your hobbies/what do you do with your free time" kind of question. It's all these stories about people putting shit like "fly fishing" on their resume and some interviewer shooting the shit with them for 30 minutes, and them getting a CB/offer after that, which makes it easy to say that having an interests section generally seems like a no-lose proposition. Either it helps or no one cares. If you're smart about it.

[TheSpanishMain]

Never put an interest section on my resume, didn't suffer for it in the slightest. I know I'm swimming against the tide here but they strike me as dumb and contrived, especially if you're not a k-jd. YMMV.

To be fair though, I think it's difficult to tell when the lack of an interests section has any negative effect (it most likely doesn't), but far easier to tell when it has a positive effect. If you don't have an interests section on your resume of course there's just nothing on that piece of paper to catch an interviewer's eye to talk about, so they'll either ask about whatever else is on your resume, or if they ask about interests they'll start with a generic "so what are your hobbies/what do you do with your free time" kind of question. It's all these stories about people putting shit like "fly fishing" on their resume and some interviewer shooting the shit with them for 30 minutes, and them getting a CB/offer after that, which makes it easy to say that having an interests section generally seems like a no-lose proposition. Either it helps or no one cares. If you're smart about it.

I get that. I just roll my eyes a bit when people talk about them like they are a firm "must have." Like if you are having to boot relevant work experience off of your resume to make room for a standard list of three generic hobbies, then by all means skip it. If your resume is a little sparse or you have really interesting unique hobbies, go for it.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Eh, it's not hard to stick a line with hobbies in there.

[Barrred]

Lets think about it from the interviewer's point of view. Most interviewers dont so much care to talk about your academic achievements or relevant work experience--all of that stuff speaks for itself. What interviewers are really trying to do is to get a feel for you as a person, to see if they think you would be a good fit, and whether they ultimately want to work with you.

While there are some gifted interviewers out there who are able to start-up great conversations with interviewees and extract whether they are interesting/cool people, there are far more bad/lazy/introverted/socially-awkward/tired interviewers out there. Anyone who has been through OCI can attest to the myriad awkward pauses, which are often caused by the interviewer, not the interviewee. For interviewers like this, an interests section is a cheat-sheet for good/interesting conversation topics.

Thinking about it from this perspective, its really a no-brainier to include an interests section on a resume. Sure, if you and your interviewer are good conversationalists, the interests section will be superfluous. But if your interviewer is a bit socially awkward (or just tired), the interests section can save you from a terribly short and awkward interview.

Consider this strained/hyperbolic analogy: Not including an interests section on your resume is like not including your 4.0 law school gpa on your resume. Sure, a good interviewer would ask about your law school gpa if it were not listed anyway, and when they do you will have an opportunity to blow them away with your "4.0!". But what if the interviewer is tired, and doesn't think to ask about your gpa? You cant just blert out at the end of a 34-second awkward silence "by the way, I have a 4.0 in law school!" Similarly, if your interviewer never opens the door by asking about your interests, you cant just blert out "I am a classically trained pianist and I hiked the Appalachian Trail last summer!" at the tail end of an awkward interview.

ETA: interests sections are like awkward-interview insurance.

[rpupkin]

Never put an interest section on my resume, didn't suffer for it in the slightest. I know I'm swimming against the tide here but they strike me as dumb and contrived, especially if you're not a k-jd. YMMV.

To be fair though, I think it's difficult to tell when the lack of an interests section has any negative effect (it most likely doesn't), but far easier to tell when it has a positive effect. If you don't have an interests section on your resume of course there's just nothing on that piece of paper to catch an interviewer's eye to talk about, so they'll either ask about whatever else is on your resume, or if they ask about interests they'll start with a generic "so what are your hobbies/what do you do with your free time" kind of question. It's all these stories about people putting shit like "fly fishing" on their resume and some interviewer shooting the shit with them for 30 minutes, and them getting a CB/offer after that, which makes it easy to say that having an interests section generally seems like a no-lose proposition. Either it helps or no one cares. If you're smart about it.

I get that. I just roll my eyes a bit when people talk about them like they are a firm "must have."

Why are you putting "must have" in quotes? Has anyone said that?

I think an Interests section is generally an under-appreciated part of a resume and can make a difference, especially when you're applying for a job that has a limited number of slots for a bunch of similarly qualified applicants.

Here's the thing: about 90% of the time, you could submit no resume and still end up with the same hiring outcome. Most law-firm hiring decisions are based on law school + GPA + interview. So statements like "I never put an interest section on my resume, didn't suffer for it in the slightest" are pretty dumb. You have no idea whether it hurt you in the minority of cases where you were on the line for one reason or another.

[Anonymous User]

I put my interest as covfefe just to see what happens

[Nebby]

I put my interest as covfefe just to see what happens

If your grades and school is good enough, you can probably land tons of offers with this. The only drawback is if someone doesn't get the reference, but if they don't, so you really want to work for them?

[Branch]

I put my interest as covfefe just to see what happens

If your grades and school is good enough, you can probably land tons of offers with this. The only drawback is if someone doesn't get the reference, but if they don't, so you really want to work for them?

"What is this covfefe interest?"
"whatever you want it to be! The only limit is your imagination. And 140 characters."

[Nebby]

I put my interest as covfefe just to see what happens

If your grades and school is good enough, you can probably land tons of offers with this. The only drawback is if someone doesn't get the reference, but if they don't, so you really want to work for them?

"What is this covfefe interest?"
"whatever you want it to be! The only limit is your imagination. And 140 characters."

"What is this covfefe interest?"
"It's a game! Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" wins the game. Right now, only the President and a small group of people know exactly what it means."

[Branch]

"What is this covfefe interest?"
"It's a game! Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" wins the game. Right now, only the President and a small group of people know exactly what it means."

Sorta like his plan to combat ISIL.
Or any other plan he has, really.

[Anonymous User]

I'm thinking of revising my resume and this thread has persuaded me to add a short interests section. I want to add something about programming (I know java and I've been teaching myself to program android apps), fitness (lots of gym), and traveling (lived in Korea teaching English for a few years and traveled around Asia during that time). Fitness and traveling are pretty generic and safe, and they could show that I'm well rounded. However I'm not sure about programming; it's kind of nerdy. Any thoughts?

[ilovesf]

Programming seems more interesting than "fitness" imo and could be also seen as a useful skill set.

[grand inquisitor]

is "potent potables" an acceptable way to flag you are an alcoholic in your interests section or is that too cute?

[BVest]

I agree that programming is more interesting than fitness. I'd suggest "app programming" or "programming for apps" (also can you narrow down fitness somehow).

[downing]

I agree that programming is more interesting than fitness. I'd suggest "app programming" or "programming for apps" (also can you narrow down fitness somehow).

Thank you for the suggestion; "app programming" sounds much better! "fitness" should be pretty easy for me to narrow down.

*edit* oops, there goes my anonymity. Not that it mattered for my question.

[lolwat]

I'm thinking of revising my resume and this thread has persuaded me to add a short interests section. I want to add something about programming (I know java and I've been teaching myself to program android apps), fitness (lots of gym), and traveling (lived in Korea teaching English for a few years and traveled around Asia during that time). Fitness and traveling are pretty generic and safe, and they could show that I'm well rounded. However I'm not sure about programming; it's kind of nerdy. Any thoughts?

Traveling is far too generic, but you could work your living-in-Korea into your resume somehow without just saying "I TRAVELED! YAY!"

Re programming and fitness. Tons of attorneys are nerdy; tons of attorneys are into fitness; tons of attorneys are both. Try to tailor to what you know about your firm. You're worried about programming being "kind of nerdy," but if you're applying to a firm that has any sort of tech or IP practice I'm not sure how that could ever hurt you? Also, personally I would subtract points from somebody who put "fitness" down as an interest unless it's something specific. Because (1) your physical appearance, assuming you're wearing a relatively well fitting suit, will probably say everything needed about that and (2) I believe everybody should have a basic interest in keeping themselves healthy, but someone who took the time to put "fitness" down as an interest without anything more specific will come off as way too "bro-y" for me. The exact opposite spectrum of what you're concerned with re nerdy.

is "potent potables" an acceptable way to flag you are an alcoholic in your interests section or is that too cute?

Can't speak for everyone but this and "covfefe" noted above on this page would at least be amusing to me. Probably not worth th erisk though.