Spicing up your CV to help you stand out from the crowd is generally encouraged if you want to give a prospective employer something to remember you by.
Many people list hobbies and interests on their CV so help provide a picture of who they are as a person outside of work and school. The idea is to put across the image of a cultured, well rounded prospective employee who can balance work with all kinds of meaningful hobbies and projects.
Manchester recruitment firm Stark Brooks says that including volunteer projects and sporting activities on your CV can indeed be beneficial. These things set you apart from other applicants and make you more likely to get a job interview.
That said, Stark Brooks says that “far too many candidates list frivolous leisure interests which are guaranteed to set employers’ alarm bells ringing”.
It advises against putting down strange or uninteresting hobbies, which will give off a bad first impression.
Stark Brooks has compiled a list of the top 10 least impressive entries into the ‘hobbies interests’ section of real CVs and LinkedIn profiles.
1. Raving
2. People watching
3. Skinny dipping
4. Watching bikini football
5. Colleting Pokemon cards
6. Justin Bieber
7. Petting cats
8. Sunbathing
9. Sleeping
10. Eating
Sven Hanger, an associate director at Stark Brooks said: “A surprisingly high number of people pepper their CVs and social media profiles with hobbies and interests which they hope will make themselves sound a bit different but have the negative effect.”
Mr Hanger stressed the importance of including some hobbies which show that you have the right skills and experience for the job at hand, and show that you are good at undertaking challenges.
Charitable and sporting activities, volunteer activities and challenging projects such as Duke of Edinburgh can make you more attractive to employers.
However, Mr Hangar makes it clear that prospective employees would be better off leaving out “Trivial or ill-considered postings”, and reminds candidates that “some things are best unsaid.”
