Interests for a Resume: What to Include + Best Examples

Interests on a resume are personal topics, passions, or activities that give employers a fuller picture of who you are beyond your job history. A resume without them isn't necessarily a bad one, but if yours already feels a little thin, or you're just starting out, this small section can do a lot of heavy lifting.

Yet, most people either skip the interests resume section entirely or fill it with the blandest picks imaginable, such as "reading," "traveling," or "hanging out with friends." That doesn't tell a hiring manager much, so the goal of this guide is to help you choose interests that are specific, authentic, and quietly impressive.

Here, we cover some good interests to put on a resume (along with real examples sorted by category), ways to format them, and specific interests you should steer clear of. Let's get into it!

What Are Interests on a Resume?

Personal interests on a resume are subjects or topics you're passionate about that give employers a glimpse of your personality outside of work. Yet, there's a bit more nuance worth knowing when it comes to this.

Namely, a lot of people use "interests" and "hobbies" interchangeably, and that's fine in practice. But technically, they mean slightly different things:

• Interests represent topics, ideas, or subjects you follow, study, or think about a lot.
• Hobbies are activities you actively do and enjoy.

Let’s see a few examples:

On most resumes, the two appear together in the same section, and that's completely fine. What employers actually look for in an interests section is traces of your transferable skills, a sense of who you are as a person, and cultural fit.

Should You Include Interests on Your Resume?

Yes, you should include interests on your resume when they add value to your application, especially if you have limited work experience or want to highlight cultural fit. That said, it's not always the right call.

When to Include Interests

• When you're a recent graduate or entry-level applicant with a new resume that needs more substance.
• When the job description hints at company culture, values, or personality traits.
• When you have interests that map directly to the skills and qualifications the role requires.
• When the employer explicitly asks for them in the application.

When to Leave Interests Out

• When your resume is already two pages full of strong experience; space is better used elsewhere.
• When the industry is strictly formal (corporate law, investment banking, government contracting, etc.).
• When your interests don't signal anything relevant to the role, and don't demonstrate transferable skills.

If you'd feel awkward mentioning an interest out loud in an interview, it’s probably best to leave it off the page.

54 Best Professional Interests for a Resume (With Examples by Category)

The best interests for a resume are specific, authentic, and tied to skills the employer is already looking for. Let’s see what they are and which categories they belong to.

#1. Volunteer Work & Community Service

Employers love volunteering because it signals empathy, time management, and genuine community investment. It's one of the few resume additions that tells a hiring manager you give your time without expecting a paycheck for it.

Furthermore, AmeriCorps-cited research found that volunteering was associated with a 27% increase in the odds of employment, with even stronger effects for people without a high school diploma and for those living in rural areas.

Some of the most common volunteering activities include:

#2. Sports & Physical Activities

Interests that include sports tell prospective employers that you’re big on teamwork, leadership, discipline, goal-setting, and resilience. You should definitely mention the context or achievement (not just the activity) when listing such interests or hobbies on your resume.

Here’s what to put for interests on a resume from this category:

#3. Creative Arts

Having creative arts in your Interests section means you boast creativity, attention to detail, patience, and design thinking. This is especially useful for UX/UI, marketing, content, and education roles, but creative thinking is particularly valued across every industry.

These types of interests might include:

#4. Technology & Coding

If you’re interested in technology and mention that on your resume, hiring managers will assume that you possess solid analytical thinking, self-directed learning, and problem-solving skills.

Listing technology interests alongside your hard skills reinforces that you genuinely enjoy the work within that field. Some prominent ones include:

#5. Writing & Content Creation

Mentioning your writing or content creation skills works best when you’re applying for marketing, journalism, PR, and teaching roles. Yet, strong writing ability is rarely a liability in any field, as it means a candidate is good at communication, research, creativity, and thought leadership.

Here, you can refer to:

#6. Travel & Cultural Exploration

If your interests are closely related to travel and getting to know other cultures, this signals adaptability, open-mindedness, communication skills, and cultural awareness. When listing these, you should be as specific as possible, e.g., "solo travel across 12 countries in Southeast Asia". You can also mention:

#7. Music

A candidate with this interest might have great discipline, focus, and collaboration skills. Music is one of the safest interests to include across any industry since it shows commitment and creative thinking without raising any red flags.

Here are some subcategories you may want to consider adding to your resume:

#8. Reading & Lifelong Learning

This category represents intellectual curiosity, self-improvement, and communication, but you should be specific, or your entry will look just like dozens of others from the pile of received resumes. Therefore, you can mention:

#9. Environmental & Social Causes

Being interested in the environment and social causes shows that you value alignment, initiative, and long-term thinking. It’s particularly effective to add this to your resume when applying to nonprofits, sustainability-focused companies, or corporate social responsibility roles. For instance, you should include something along the lines of:

#10. Leadership & Professional Development

If you want prospective employers to see your ambition, communication skills, and management potential, you should mention some of these. They map directly to the skills for resume sections employers scan first, so having them in your interests section reinforces what's already there.

These interests entail:

How to List Interests on a Resume in 5 Easy Steps

You can list interests on a resume by adding a dedicated section at the bottom of your resume, titled "Interests" or "Hobbies & Interests". It should have three to five specific entries, each with a short description.

Here's the process broken down step by step:

Step 1: Research the Company First

Before you pick relevant interests for a resume, spend ten minutes on the company's job description, LinkedIn page, and "About Us" section. What personality traits do they mention? What do their employees seem to value? The answers will tell you which of your interests to highlight and which to leave out.

Step 2: Choose 3–5 Relevant Interests

Aim for variety, and don't list five sports or three types of reading. Additionally, mix categories so your interests paint a fuller picture, and make sure they complement the skills you've already listed in other sections rather than repeat them.

Step 3: Be Specific, Not Generic

Here are some examples of how to turn generic interest entries on your resume into ones that will catch a hiring manager’s attention:

Step 4: Add a Short Description

One sentence per interest is enough; you just need enough context to make the interest feel real rather than listed. Tie it to a skill or value when the connection isn't obvious.

Step 5: Place the Section Correctly

Your interests section always goes at the bottom of your resume, after work experience, skills, and education sections.

6 Interests to Avoid Adding to Your Resume

You should avoid listing interests that are controversial, overly generic, or potentially off-putting to employers. Here's what to steer clear of:

Interests for a Resume: Industry-Specific Examples

The best interests for your resume depend on your industry, since what impresses a startup recruiter may not resonate with a law firm. Let’s see a breakdown of which interests play well where:

No matter which industry you're in, the same rule applies: interests mentioned in your cover letter and resume work best when they tell a coherent story. For instance, if your cover letter mentions your passion for environmental issues and your Interests section backs it up, that's alignment that hiring managers notice.

How ResumeBuilder.so Makes Adding Interests Easy

Adding an Interests section is simple in theory, but getting the formatting right, choosing the correct placement, and ensuring it's compatible with applicant tracking systems are where people tend to second-guess themselves.

The resume builder at ResumeBuilder.so walks you through every section of your resume, including this one. Once you tell us your interests and hobbies, our tool will generate a solid, well-formatted section on them, all within an ATS-friendly resume template. You’ll also be able to check out some examples and see how other professionals write this part!

Final Thoughts

As you can see, interests are the finishing touch on a well-built resume; they won't carry a weak application, but they can absolutely tip the scales on a strong one. The section is optional, but for entry-level candidates, career changers, and anyone applying to culture-forward companies, it's worth the few minutes it takes to do well!