Listing Hobbies And Interests On Your Resume
While every resume should include sections like education and professional experience, you might consider adding optional information depending on your background.
Adding hobbies and interests can support a resume with little to no professional experience or highlight important interests that extend beyond your work history and education. Some companies may look favorably on resumes that include hobbies and interests as they might help employers connect with you on a personal level.
1. Name and contact information2. Summary or objectivec. Description of role and achievement4. Education5. Skills6. Optional
In this article, we discuss how to list hobbies and interests on your resume, when you should include this section, what types of hobbies and interests work best, and which you should leave off.
Pick The Ideal Resume Layout
The hard part is over. Youve written your resume, and are feeling confident about getting that interview. Now its time to take a moment and consider your resumes design.
Depending on the industry you work in or the job you want, you may need to adjust your resume layout to fit the expectations of the hiring manager.
Add Them To Your Resume Introduction
Hiring managers only have seconds to look at each resume.
One of the best ways to immediately grab their attention is by highlighting your relevant resume skills as quickly as possible. Thats where your resume introduction comes in handy.
A strong resume summary summarizes your most valuable skills at the top of the page. This immediately shows employers that you have the base qualifications necessary for the job.
Heres an example of a strong skills-based resume introduction:
Additionally, consider adding a list of core competencies to your resume to quickly communicate your most relevant skills.
Recommended Reading: Can I Upload A Resume To Linkedin
Polish Up Your Grammar And Formatting
Resume writing is a unique style. It can be tricky to remember which tense to use or when to omit pronouns. How can you use language to tell a more compelling story? Which fonts and formats are ATS-friendly? Lets take a look.
Resume Fonts
Its important to use a font that is easy to read on screen, ATS-compatible, and commonly available. A few traditional resume fonts to consider include Helvetica, Garamond, or Georgia. Avoid using script fonts or custom fonts unless you are a designer. Dont use a font size below 10.
Tense and Pronouns
Use past tense when talking about jobs in the past, and present tense when describing the work you are currently doing. Traditional resume writing leaves out personal pronouns and gets right to the action. Ex. Spearheaded a new email marketing initiative that increased revenue by 10 percent.
Resume Action Words
Action verbs help liven up your writing, making your resume more readable for recruiters and hiring managers. Consider beginning each bullet point on your resume with an action verb and replacing generic verbs like managed or led with more engaging words like mentored or accelerated.
How To List Skills On A Resume
There are a few different schools of thought when it comes to deciding where to put the skills on your resume. According to our friends over at online resume-builder Zety.com, skills are so very, very important that they should show up all over your resume. Not just in the resume skills section.
In other words, it is imperative that there are elements of your skills throughout your resume, including your resume objective/summary and experience sections.
In addition, there isnt one right answer for where to include your skills, because just like everything else in the job interview world
It depends on the industry, company and position you are interviewing with/for.
For example, for a job where technical competencies are of the utmost importance, it is often beneficial to list the skills closer to the top of the resume, right underneath the resume objective or resume summary statement.
However, if through your research you determine that the hiring manager will put more weight into your experience, you may want to lead with your experience and put the skill section further down your resume.
At the end of the day, the selection of the skills themselves is the most important thing.
After all, most hiring managers will easily find your skill section regardless of where it is on your resume.
Also Check: How To Update Your Resume On Linkedin
Where To Put The Education Section Of Your Resume
Current students or recent college graduates will likely want to put the education section towards the top of their resume. This is because students typically have limited work experience and want to highlight academic success.
If you have been out of school for at least a couple years, you might move this section towards the bottom of your resume. By this time, you have enough work experience to highlight that you dont need to rely on your education.
List Of Relevant Skills Tools And Certifications
Your skills section should include relevant technical or hard skills and soft skills. You can include any tools youve mastered or certifications youve obtained as well.
The skills you include should be relevant to the job that interests you. For example, you may have excellent hard skills in different areas, but all of those skills may not be applicable to the job. If you are a skilled violinist, that may not be a good skill to put on your resume when applying for a job in construction.
You can learn what skills potential employers are looking for by reading the job description. As you read through job posts, write down keywords that match your skills and include them in your skills section as appropriate.
Your skills section might look something like this:
*Technical skills: Welding Electrical Systems Modern safety equipment Knowledge of major OSHA safety regulations OSHA Certification SMAW Welding Tools*
*Additional skills: Willingness to learn Attentive Organized Effective communicator Safety-conscious*
Related: The Best Job Skills to Make Your Resume Stand Out
You May Like: When Will Corvette Plant Tours Resume
Accomplishments That Reveal Sensitive Information
Be cognizant of the details you include with your professional accomplishments. Some information may be privileged or proprietary information. Make sure to check with your current and past companies to understand what information should be kept private. If youre not sure, keep your accomplishments general.
When Should You Use A Resume Objective
Are you relatively new to the job search market or lack work experience?
Are you changing industries?
Are you targeting a specific job or position?
If you answered YES to any of these above questions, then the resume objective is perfect for you!
If you answered NO to all of the above questions, you might not need to have an objective on your resume and can consider trying out the alternative Resume Summary Statement.
Remember, more on that laterbut keep reading anywaynot only is this article well written, snappy, and occasionally funny, you might just learn something that can help you with your resume regardless of your experience level.;
For those of you in the middle of a career change or who might just be starting out, a resume objective statement allows you to define your goal to a potential employersomething that your work history might not otherwise be able to do for you.
Makes sense, right?
Imagine how confused a hiring manager would be if they were looking for candidates to fill an office coordinator position and you sent in a resume with 10 years of experience in marketing.
Without an objective statement, the hiring manager might just assume your resume has been accidentally sent to them and simply discard it.
An objective statement on a resume being submitted for a career changing position can only help you.
Overall, and most importantly, the biggest reason to put an objective on your resume isits better than having nothing.
Also Check: How To List Bilingual On Resume
Things You Should Always Include In A Cv
Nine essential CV details and some that should be removed.
So, you’re looking for a job and want to know how to write a CV? Take a look at the top nine things you should always include in your CV plus what details you should remove to ensure your job applications impress every employer.
Why Should You Know What To Include In A Resume
It’s important to know what to include in a resume because a good resume can help you secure an interview. A resume is a written compilation of your credentials, accomplishments, education and work experience. When applying for a job, candidates usually submit their resumes alongside a cover letter or job application form. A resume helps your prospective employer learn who you are and assess whether or not your experiences and skills match their job opening. Therefore, it is essential to include all of the information they need to make that judgement.
Recommended Reading: How To Put Ged On Resume
Old Or Irrelevant Achievements
While you likely have many achievements from your past that you are proud of, some may no longer be beneficial on a resume as you grow in your career. For example, accomplishments from childhood or high school might not be valuable information for employers if it does not apply to the role.
If youre a recent college graduate, it is helpful to include accomplishments from your time in school such as academic awards and leadership positions. If youre several years into a career, you should focus on relevant professional achievements rather than accomplishments from college.
List Your Skills On A Functional Resume
If you are changing careers or industries and do not have extensive professional experience, you might decide to feature them at the top of your resume. This type of resume is called a functional resume.
3. Skills grouped by theme4. Any relevant professional experience5. Education
To include skills on a functional resume, create a separate skill section that lists your successes with key skills relevant to the position for which youre applying. Any professional experience you do have should go below your skills section.
Heres an example of how to list skills on a functional resume:
Skills
Process Streamlining
Complaint ResolutionAnswered an average 50+ calls per day from unsatisfied customers related to delays in shipment, order mistakes and lost orders. Achieved 97% average customer satisfaction rating, surpassing team goal by 12%.
Service-Based SellingConsistently exceeded application targets by 10% with innovative upselling techniques. Pioneered development of improved system for following up with unsatisfied customers, reducing customer churn by 6%.
Don’t Miss: Word Resume Template 2010
Tips For Writing An About Me Resume Section
Here are a few additional tips to remember when writing your about me section in your resume:
- Be brief.;It is important to make sure you are not rambling in your about me section. This section should include clear statements of what your skill strengths are, with specific examples of accomplishments that showcase those strengths.
- Be honest.;It is very important to be truthful in your about me section. You should be able to back up any claims you make about yourself in your about me section with specific and clear examples. If you dont have relevant work experience, write about related skills and strengths developed through volunteer work or throughout your education.
- Proofread and read aloud.;Reading the about me section of your resume out loud can help you identify grammatical errors, phrases that sound strange or statements that need supporting evidence.
- Keep your about me section updated.;As your work experience changes, the information that is most relevant and helpful for your about me section will likely change too. Be sure to review this paragraph regularly and change it as appropriate.
- Tie it into the job description.;The skills, experience, accomplishments and strengths you choose to include in your about me section of your resume should all relate to keywords the employer used in the job description.
How To Make A Resume
Before you even start working on your resume, you need to decide how youre going to build it.
And no – you shouldnt use a basic text editor. While this IS the most popular method for creating a resume, its very far from the best.
With a basic text editor resume, youll need to spend hours playing with the formatting. You make a minor change and BAM! Your entire resume layout gets messed up.
Instead of using a text editor, we recommend choosing a resume builder, such as Novorésumé. Our resume builder is fast, easy, and to put the icing on the cake, a Novorésumé looks much better and can fit more information than your average, cookie-cutter resume…
To get the most out of this guide, you can head over to the resume builder and start building your resume on-the-go as you read this guide.
Recommended Reading: What Happens If You Lie On Your Resume
Align Your Linkedin Profile
Your is just as important as your resume. You want to make sure youre presenting yourself in the same way. But dont just cut and paste from your resume. LinkedIn is a different beast altogether so you want to make the best use of the platforms features. You dont have to use bullet points; you can be more narrative, and even more casual, says Heifetz. You also want to tweak the tone. Theres a greater expectation that youll demonstrate personality, she adds. For example, the summary section should be written in the first person. It gives you the opportunity to present yourself as a living, breathing human being. Heres my colleague, , after she got some help revamping it from a professional.
How Far Back Should You Go On A Resume
CareerBuilder | January 28, 2021
Should you include those early years on your resume? Here’s how to determine what to keep – and what to ditch.
Today’s hiring managers have stacks of applications to get through quickly, so job seekers need to make each moment count when presenting themselves to prospective employers. While every candidate wants to give a thorough picture of accomplishments and skills, is it necessary to list every single job ones ever held on a resume?
Determining how many years of work history to include on your resume can be a tricky task and is highly dependent on the unique situation of every job seeker. While the standard rule of thumb is to include roughly your last 10 years of work experience, this may not always make sense. Its critical that you consider how relevant and important older pieces of work experience are to the jobs that you are currently looking for. If some of your earlier jobs are able to effectively communicate the strengths and abilities that you want to emphasize to your future employer, then by all means include them on your resume. On the flip side, if some more recent positions that you’ve held are completely irrelevant to the jobs you are now seeking, it may be best to leave them off your resume.
Here are some scenarios to consider and tips for what to include.
An example of how to do this:
Customer Service Operator, 1998 2003 Company 1, Company 2, Company 3, Company 4
Company ABC
Read Also: Include Coursework On Resume
What If I Have No Hobbies Or Interests That Are Relevant
Okay, you may be reading this and thinking âI canât think of any professionally relevant hobbies or interests that would fit in with my resume.â Relax!
If you canât find anything that would be of relevance, itâs just fine. How you spend your free time isnât the focus of your resume.
If you feel like you do need to add something, though, we have some suggestions.
-
Look for local organizations or associations in your field you can join
-
You can set up a website and blog on any topic in your industry
-
Volunteer your time, in person or online, to nonprofits with missions you care about. Many nonprofits need help with web development, social media, editing or writing blog content, or contacting volunteersâall things you can do from the comfort of your own home. Check out Volunteer Match to find something that matches your skills and interests!
Leveraging the right interests and activities can give you a leg up over the rest of the candidates.
What Are The Best Skills For 2021
The best skills for resumes in 2021 are skills that make you look qualified for the specific job youre applying for. However, it also helps to take into account recent changes to how companies operate.
Showcasing your knowledge of remote working software and emphasizing that youre self-sufficient is a great way to prove to employers that youre ready for the modern workplace.
Read Also: How Many Jobs To Put On Resume
Good Skills To Put On A Resume
When somebody says the word skills to you, what immediately comes to mind?
For most people, the answer is things I am good at.
Typing. ;Woodworking. ;Public speaking; Cartwheels.
Yes, all of the things listed above can be considered skills, but when it comes to the job hunt, you have to be selective as to;which of these to include on your resume. Why?
Because the company you are interviewing with AND the job you are interviewing for both require a very specific set of skills in order for you to get the job done effectively.
Filling up the;skills section of your resume with a bunch of skills that have absolutely nothing to do with the job you are applying for is basically just a waste of space.
This is why it is important that you understand how to choose the correct skills to include in your resume for 2021.
Using The Same Objective For Every Job Application
EXAMPLE: To obtain a job within my chosen field that will challenge me and allow me to use my education, skills and past experiences in a way that is mutually beneficial to both myself and my employer and allow for future growth and advancement.
Your goal is to be the ideal candidate and that means making sure youre exactly what the hiring manager is looking forand unless youre applying to a cookie cutter factory in a cookie cutter job town where every job every employer is listing is exactly the same then I guarantee you 100% that your statement will NOT be a one size fits all statement.
Next!
Recommended Reading: What Font Should Your Resume Be Written In