How hobbies can help your CV | iQ Thrive Academy 

When you’re a graduate with less career experience, your hobbies and interests can play a valuable role in showing off who you are in your CV.  

Here's how your hobbies can be beneficial.

1. Demonstrating transferable skills 

Most hobbies involve some sort of developing skills that are transferable to the workplace. For example, if you play a team sport like football, it shows that you're a team player with strong collaboration and communication skills. Hobbies like painting or photography demonstrate creativity and attention to detail. If you’re into coding, that show you’re analytical and have programming skills. These are all things that can be useful in a career. 

2. Highlighting leadership abilities 

Most companies will want to hire people that are strongminded and can take charge. Hobbies that involve leadership roles, such as captaining a sports team or organizing community events, show off your ability to take initiative, motivate others and manage projects. These qualities are highly valued by employers. 

3. Showing commitment and dedication 

If you consistently participate in hobbies over time, you’ll show yourself to be someone that’s capable of commitment and dedication – something your employer is gonna want, because they’ll want you to stay for a while. Whether it's learning a musical instrument, mastering a new language or training for a marathon, employers appreciate candidates who demonstrate perseverance and the ability to set and achieve goals. 

4. Cultural fit  

Hobbies can also provide insights into your cultural fit within an organization and your well-rounded personality. Sharing hobbies like travelling, volunteering or participating in cultural activities can indicate that you're open-minded, socially engaged and will fit into the social vibes of a company. 

5. Conversation starters in interviews 

Including interesting hobbies on your CV can serve as conversation starters during job interviews and get you talking about something you’ve got lots to say about. Interviewers might ask about your hobbies to learn more about you as a person, allowing you to showcase your personality and interests beyond your professional qualifications. 

6. Standing out from other candidates 

Your hobbies can help you to stand out from other candidates with similar educational backgrounds and work experience.  

When including hobbies on your graduate CV, it's important you choose activities that are relevant, genuine and positively reflect your character and abilities. Avoid listing hobbies solely for the sake of filling space and make sure that they instead align in some way with the values and culture of the organizations you're applying to. Ultimately, your hobbies should complement your professional qualifications and contribute to painting a comprehensive picture of who you are as a candidate.