Hobbies are great for unwinding after a long day of work or relaxing, but did you know they can also help you with your future employment? Hobbies can showcase your hard and soft skills on your resume, making you more appealing as a potential employee to employers. Some hobbies can even translate into side hustles or full-time jobs.
Hobbies Can Put Your Hard Skills On Display
Having hobbies can help develop or demonstrate your hard skills since some of them can align with the positions you are applying for. Demonstrating your hard skills on your resume makes it easy for employers to see that you are familiar with their positions’ associated areas of expertise.
For example, suppose you learned to use software such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom as part of making creative art. In that case, you can list this experience when applying for graphic design jobs since many of those require the same or similar software.
Blogging through making your website on WordPress is another example of showing your skills since it will show employers that you know how to use content management systems such as WordPress. Feel free to list links to a portfolio filled with examples of past work. This way, anyone interested in seeing how experienced you are can look at tangible examples immediately. These examples could be your own blog if you run one through WordPress or graphic designs you made in Photoshop and Lightroom for work and volunteer purposes.
Hobbies Can Show Off Your Soft Skills
Having hobbies on your resume can also show off your soft and social skills, including communication skills. Activities including public speaking, volunteering, and book clubs are great examples to list on your resume because they involve so much in-person interaction and communication to accomplish various tasks. If you won any contests with hobbies such as public speaking or gained any specific awards or achievements, feel free to list those as well. It will help show off your experience and act as marks of proficiency.
Another soft skill that hobbies can show off is critical thinking. Hobbies that make you think and analyze, like chess and puzzle solving, demonstrate that you are developing critical thinking skills to solve any problems. These hobbies appeal to employers who seek innovative employees willing to think outside the box to resolve any issues. One way to write about this on your resume is to list your hobby. You can then write what skills are involved in doing this hobby.
For example, with chess, you can list that you had to learn the rules of the game and think of strategies to outwit your opponent and win every chess match. If you participated in any chess tournaments or clubs, you could also list them on your resume. Since they will show that you practice chess regularly, strive to get better, and have accomplished awards or some accolades thanks to your experience.
Hobbies Can Become Possible Side Hustles Or Even Self-Employed Jobs
There are many opportunities for your hobbies to become side hustles or full-time, self-employed jobs. Not only would you have something that you’re passionate about and love doing, but you can also make some money on the side if you do not provide your full income with this way.
One example is creating arts and crafts – one can sell their creations on marketplaces, including Etsy, to potential buyers. Listing your side hustle on a resume can also be appealing to employers since it shows that you’re a hardworking self-starter and shows off your management skills.
It might not be so apparent as how to write about your hobbies on your resume; think about the hard and soft skills you acquired through practicing them. If you want to turn some of these hobbies into side hustles or to provide full or part-time income, do some research to see if others have done anything similar so you have an idea of how to do so.