"Hobbies: reading, listening to music, going for walks." That line appears on half of all CVs — and it does nothing on any of them. A hobbies section either says something or takes up space. In this guide we make clear which one to write, and when.
First, the rule: a hobbies section is optional
An employer spends an average of 6-7 seconds on your CV. In that time they scan your experience, skills and education long before your hobbies. If space is tight (see our how many pages should a CV be piece on the single-page rule), hobbies are the first section to go. If you do include them, do so on one condition: they must send a signal about the role.
A good hobby = a hobby that signals something
Three kinds of hobby genuinely work on a CV:
- Ones that overlap with skills: blogging for a marketing role, photography for a design role, open-source contributions for a software role. These read as an extra portfolio, not a hobby.
- Ones that show discipline: running marathons, swimming regularly, reaching grade level on an instrument. A signal that you can work towards a long-term goal.
- Ones that carry social proof: captaining a team, running a society, coordinating volunteers. Evidence of leadership and teamwork.
Examples by role
- Sales / marketing: debating, content creation, amateur theatre (stage confidence), community management
- Software / technical: open-source projects, robotics club, chess, electronics hobby projects
- Design / creative: photography, illustration, ceramics, video editing
- Operations / management: captaining team sports, event organisation, mountaineering (planning + risk management)
- Recent graduates: running a society, volunteering, university teams — when experience is thin, these stand in for it; for the full strategy see our recent graduate CV guide.
How to write them: concrete, not generic
The difference between two ways of writing the same hobby:
- ❌ "Running"
- ✅ "Long-distance running — completed the 2025 London Half Marathon"
- ❌ "Photography"
- ✅ "Street photography — Instagram portfolio with 12k followers"
A hobby you can't make concrete is a hobby you won't be able to talk about at interview — and interviewers love to ask about hobbies.
What not to include
- The cliché trio: reading, music, films. Everyone has them; they tell no one anything.
- Passive activities: "watching box sets", "social media" — zero signal, high risk of a poor impression.
- Polarising topics: political and religious activities, controversial groups — don't carry the risk of an employer's bias onto your CV.
- Made-up hobbies: they collapse at the interview "what did you read last?" question. Never put on a CV something that isn't true.
Build every CV section the right way
In CVLayer you drag sections to prioritise them and show or hide optional ones like hobbies in a single click. The AI analysis tells you which section is coming across as weak.
Build my CV →