Should You Add Your Hobbies to Your CV?
Where do you start when applying for your dream positions? It is of course from preparing your CV…
Our CV is a summary of our life, a document to introduce ourselves to the company. It should be original and malleable according to the needs and culture of the company. In this article of #MiorecSuggests, we will focus on the answer to this question and share the opinions of our recruitment experts with you.
“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It is another thing to say that I am a person who wants this. “Saying that I am such a person is a very different thing.” – James Clear, Atomic Habits.
While adding your hobbies to your CV may sometimes make sense, sometimes it may seem unnecessary… The important thing here is that you can shape your skills and hobbies according to the position and company culture you will apply for.
The most obvious example here is when someone applying for a “Copywriting” position adds writing-related things to their hobbies, such as writing novels and keeping a diary.
There is something to remember here: Your CV is like the answer to the question you present to employers: “Why should you hire me?” So with almost everything written there, you should give the employer a reason to hire you.
To make your job a little easier, we have prepared a few examples of when you should add your hobbies and when you should not.
When Should You Focus on Your Hobbies in Your CV?
In some cases, mentioning your hobbies in your CV can have many advantages.
Here are those situations:
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If you are a new graduate or do not have much experience to add to your CV: No one can start their career with years of work experience… After all, everyone has a starting point. At this stage, it is better to write down the impressive hobbies you have and the soft skills you think will impress the employer, rather than leaving your CV blank. These skills are key competencies such as teamwork, analytical thinking and adaptability.
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When your hobbies prove that you adapt to the company culture: Company culture is actually a very broad subject on which even theses are written. Today’s employers tend to prefer people who they think will adapt to the company culture over more effective people in that field. Here we can say that research on the place you will apply is very important.
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If you are making a drastic career change: There is no specific time for a career change. Even someone who has worked in an industry for 10 years can make a drastic change in their career. In such situations, hobbies that will support this change will help you stand out. (Hobbies such as “writing a novel” and “keeping a diary” in the Copywriter example above are also good examples here.)
According to the results of a 2-year study on the impact of company culture on the hiring process, “Employers look for candidates who are not only competent, but also have leisure pursuits and are culturally similar to themselves in terms of their experience and self-presentation style.”
When Should You Not Mention Your Hobbies in Your CV?
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If the hobbies you have do not add an advantage to the position you are applying for.
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If you need to shorten your CV.
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If you are applying for higher roles in a field in which you already have many years of experience: Because in such cases, the professional experience of the person is generally taken into consideration. Professional skills are considered a bigger factor in specialist, senior specialist or managerial positions.
Sonuç olarak, hobilerinizi CV’nize ekleyip eklememeniz tamamen size, ihtiyaçlarınıza ve duruma göre değişen bir durumdur. Başvurunuzdan önce CV’nizin durumunun o başvuruya uygun olup olmadığına karar verip ona göre hobilerinizi ekleyip çıkartabilirsiniz.
So what do you think about this? Give us your comments!
Reference:
- Rivera, L. A. (2012). Hiring as Cultural Matching: The Case of Elite Professional Service Firms. American Sociological Review, 77(6), 999-1022.
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