Interests on a CV
Discussion
Going through a few CV guides and the 'interests' section that they cite has me slightly at a loss.
All of the usual teamwork blurb is covered with my previous part time jobs, which have all been team-heavy, so I imagine the interests bit is going to show off how rounded an individual I'm supposed to be.
My main interest is cars and the car industry, which is useful as I want to get into the automotive sector, but how would you word that on a CV?
I also do boxing training which I suppose could be turned into a 'motivated' and 'competitive' but again, I'm not sure how to go about this.
The other caveat is 'socialising'... I love doing the whole people thing and much as it already has and no doubt will continue to help me interacting with people on a professional basis, I don't think that translates well onto a CV.
What do those of you who spend your days reading through hundreds of desperate graduate CV's recommend for the interests section?
Thanks for any pointers
All of the usual teamwork blurb is covered with my previous part time jobs, which have all been team-heavy, so I imagine the interests bit is going to show off how rounded an individual I'm supposed to be.
My main interest is cars and the car industry, which is useful as I want to get into the automotive sector, but how would you word that on a CV?
I also do boxing training which I suppose could be turned into a 'motivated' and 'competitive' but again, I'm not sure how to go about this.
The other caveat is 'socialising'... I love doing the whole people thing and much as it already has and no doubt will continue to help me interacting with people on a professional basis, I don't think that translates well onto a CV.
What do those of you who spend your days reading through hundreds of desperate graduate CV's recommend for the interests section?
Thanks for any pointers
I am by no means an expert CV writer, but having very recently edited mine with some more recent career elements, I always make sure I go over sections like this so that I am still happy with the interests that I feel are most important and reflect me in the best way.
I describe my passion for music as a main focus, and also make reference to ice hockey, motorsports and modern art and design. I then provide a brief description of sports I take part in and any other specialist interests I have (I am teaching myself guitar basics, so I feel this may also show a bit of determination and focus).
The trick really is to give them enough information to build a more complete picture of you, without going overboard on minor elements. The focus is on your experience and your ability to perform in the role you're applying for, so I'd say interests only play a small part in the employer selecting you for interview.
I describe my passion for music as a main focus, and also make reference to ice hockey, motorsports and modern art and design. I then provide a brief description of sports I take part in and any other specialist interests I have (I am teaching myself guitar basics, so I feel this may also show a bit of determination and focus).
The trick really is to give them enough information to build a more complete picture of you, without going overboard on minor elements. The focus is on your experience and your ability to perform in the role you're applying for, so I'd say interests only play a small part in the employer selecting you for interview.
shirt said:
i don't put my interests on my CV, i use that space as 'additional info' which details why i am looking to move on and the sort of role/company i'm looking for. i think this is more relevant to the employer.
I'd suggest that much depends on the employer and the industry.I have found myself increasingly looking at interests with more focus on submitted CVs over the past 10 - 15 years. Everyone has a degree. Everyone has good relevant experience.......etc. Interests can help to build a better picture of individual's character which can sometimes be or equal importance to their qualifications, providing the interests are interesting. Reading, swimming and cinema aren't really interests. Reading Shakespeare, Competitive Swimming and Eastern European Cinema; are!
And 'socialising' is not an interest, hobby or pasttime!!!
Happy to have a look at how you've currently constructed it if that would help. Interests are best blended in to the whole CV rather than a list. Listing 'reading' for example tells me nothing. Listing reading of certain journals and contributing to journal articles of relevance to the job application does. Good luck!
paulrockliffe said:
shirt said:
i don't put my interests on my CV, i use that space as 'additional info' which details why i am looking to move on and the sort of role/company i'm looking for. i think this is more relevant to the employer.
Most people put that in their covering letter don't they?shirt said:
paulrockliffe said:
shirt said:
i don't put my interests on my CV, i use that space as 'additional info' which details why i am looking to move on and the sort of role/company i'm looking for. i think this is more relevant to the employer.
Most people put that in their covering letter don't they?
ds!What do they do if you send them a .pdf with the first page your covering letter and the rest your CV?
paulrockliffe said:
They don't? The bds!
What do they do if you send them a .pdf with the first page your covering letter and the rest your CV?
They ask you to send it as a word document. Expect them to have changed the CV too. ds!What do they do if you send them a .pdf with the first page your covering letter and the rest your CV?
As far as the OP goes, I'd be wary. "Boxing and Socialising" could be construed as "Drinking and Fighting" which is not ideal. "Keeping fit" would be better than boxing and not an outright lie, and perhaps if you go with "Visiting friends" it would sound a little friendlier, whilst still not being untrue.
paulrockliffe said:
shirt said:
paulrockliffe said:
shirt said:
i don't put my interests on my CV, i use that space as 'additional info' which details why i am looking to move on and the sort of role/company i'm looking for. i think this is more relevant to the employer.
Most people put that in their covering letter don't they?ds!What do they do if you send them a .pdf with the first page your covering letter and the rest your CV?
maybe just me but i think putting why i have picked that company or why i'm looking gives more to the manager than what i do on a weekend [which is usually racing and/or whoring
].We've seen a load of CV's at our place and I have to say that if you are going to put keeping fit, browsing the Internet, socialising, reading, travelling, watching films etc. then you may as well not bother unless you can make them stand out. So many C.V.'s have exactly those and they have in my opinion become meaningless. If you individualise/qualify what you have written with a little example, they become a lot more interesting - 'I enjoy keeping fit and have completed the London Marathon in support of the x charity after months of training' or 'I enjoy watching films and could be considered to have a fantastic if useless knowledge of 80's action films' or 'I enjoy travelling, often to watch the Rallying/F1/MotoGP'.
I would certainly include boxing training on a C.V. and maybe include something along the lines of 'I hope to compete in the x y z tournament' if applicable. I would also have the C.V. proof read to ensure that it sounds professional.
I would certainly include boxing training on a C.V. and maybe include something along the lines of 'I hope to compete in the x y z tournament' if applicable. I would also have the C.V. proof read to ensure that it sounds professional.
I have interests on my CV, one of which includes brewing. Got asked about this at my last interview, nicely broke up the interview and added a bit of light hearted nature to it, and got invited back for a second interview later this week.
That reminds me, I must finish off that lager I made.
That reminds me, I must finish off that lager I made.
My 'interests' section looks like this, so far;
Interests said:
Cars – My main interest is the automotive industry, having from a young age been passionate about everything from the aesthetics of cars, to the business of making and selling them. My dissertation on production processes in the industry pays homage to the level of interest I have in the subject.
Boxing – To maintain my fitness, I regularly train at a local amateur boxing club, a sport which requires a very high level of motivation, dedication and concentration.
Cricket Club – As an active member of the local cricket club, I often utilise my IT skills to create promotional materials, financial data and club information for use by members and the local community.
Like people above have said about having a section that fails to 'add value' to the CV, the last thing I want is to have a chunk at the end that just tells an employer "I like cars and boxing and drawing posters and spreadsheets because they're fun" Boxing – To maintain my fitness, I regularly train at a local amateur boxing club, a sport which requires a very high level of motivation, dedication and concentration.
Cricket Club – As an active member of the local cricket club, I often utilise my IT skills to create promotional materials, financial data and club information for use by members and the local community.
Wattsie said:
My 'interests' section looks like this, so far;
Cars – My main interest is the automotive industry, having from a young age been passionate about everything from the aesthetics of cars, to the business of making and selling them. My dissertation on production processes in the industry pays homage to the level of interest I have in the subject.
Boxing – To maintain my fitness, I regularly train at a local amateur boxing club, a sport which requires a very high level of motivation, dedication and concentration.
Cricket Club – As an active member of the local cricket club, I often utilise my IT skills to create promotional materials, financial data and club information for use by members and the local community.
I think that looks OK and the links to dissertation, dedication and IT skills etc are good in my book. Cars – My main interest is the automotive industry, having from a young age been passionate about everything from the aesthetics of cars, to the business of making and selling them. My dissertation on production processes in the industry pays homage to the level of interest I have in the subject.
Boxing – To maintain my fitness, I regularly train at a local amateur boxing club, a sport which requires a very high level of motivation, dedication and concentration.
Cricket Club – As an active member of the local cricket club, I often utilise my IT skills to create promotional materials, financial data and club information for use by members and the local community.
As someone who recruits in tech (software engineers), I always look at the interests section and think it is important to have something that is a talking point there.
The only comment I would make is that I don't like the "pays homage to" - to me it sounds a bit pretentious and naff.
I would change the last sentence of para 1.
Bob
Okay, thanks for the heads up - it now reads:
Interests said:
Cars – My main interest is the automotive industry, having from a young age been passionate about everything from the aesthetics of cars, to the business of making and selling them. It was the extent of my interest in the subject which led me to conduct my undergraduate dissertation on production processes in the auto industry.
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