Whilst many hobbies are interesting, you need to assess whether your hobbies add to your character and/or provide added value for a potential employer.
If you are running the local kids football club, or you coach tennis at the weekends, volunteer as a leader for Duke of Edinburgh Awards or Chair the local Women's Institute, then you will probably have amassed a considerable number of transferable skills that you can apply in the workplace.
Let's look at running. If you go for a quick run after work every evening, that shows a degree of commitment. However, if you have a gruelling training schedule and you are planning to run the London and New York Marathons next year then, hey, that's really something special. It illustrates commitment, ambition, determination and perseverance - which could all be valuable to a potential employer. And if you are doing it to support a worthwhile cause, better still!
Coastal walking is another interesting one. Do you just enjoy occasional walks at the seaside or are you executing a lifetime ambition to walk the entire UK coastline to raise funds for your favourite charity?
Do you attend personal fitness classes as a social activity or do you have a goal to lose 3 stones and climb Mt Kilimanjaro?
Think hard about your hobbies, how they affect your character and how they can translate into worthwhile attributes that will add to your employability. If you have little or no work experience, then these transferable skills become even more important.
If your interests are solely partying and drinking to excess, then these are probably best left off your CV unless you are applying to become a holiday representative for the 18-30s club where the ability to party is a pre-requisite!
If you really can't see the value in your hobbies, then an employer is unlikely to see them either. So perhaps you should leave them off your CV entirely.
This is an area which we always explore with our CV clients. What we discover is often amazing and heart-lifting - which helps make what we do so worthwhile.
If you are running the local kids football club, or you coach tennis at the weekends, volunteer as a leader for Duke of Edinburgh Awards or Chair the local Women's Institute, then you will probably have amassed a considerable number of transferable skills that you can apply in the workplace.
Let's look at running. If you go for a quick run after work every evening, that shows a degree of commitment. However, if you have a gruelling training schedule and you are planning to run the London and New York Marathons next year then, hey, that's really something special. It illustrates commitment, ambition, determination and perseverance - which could all be valuable to a potential employer. And if you are doing it to support a worthwhile cause, better still!
Coastal walking is another interesting one. Do you just enjoy occasional walks at the seaside or are you executing a lifetime ambition to walk the entire UK coastline to raise funds for your favourite charity?
Do you attend personal fitness classes as a social activity or do you have a goal to lose 3 stones and climb Mt Kilimanjaro?
Think hard about your hobbies, how they affect your character and how they can translate into worthwhile attributes that will add to your employability. If you have little or no work experience, then these transferable skills become even more important.
If your interests are solely partying and drinking to excess, then these are probably best left off your CV unless you are applying to become a holiday representative for the 18-30s club where the ability to party is a pre-requisite!
If you really can't see the value in your hobbies, then an employer is unlikely to see them either. So perhaps you should leave them off your CV entirely.
This is an area which we always explore with our CV clients. What we discover is often amazing and heart-lifting - which helps make what we do so worthwhile.
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