Hobbies in Resume: 5 Examples and When to Include Them

By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published 2026-10-07 · Updated 2026-10-07

8 min read

Hobbies in resume sections earn their place when they show a skill the job needs or give the reader a genuine reason to remember you, and they are left out when they only fill space. For most Australian resumes that means two to four specific interests in a short section at the end, or none at all if your experience already fills the pages. The one constraint is relevance: every line competes with your work history for the reader's attention. The Fair Work Ombudsman's rules on discrimination, quoted below, also explain what you never have to share. Five complete examples follow. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

Every interests section in the pile says "reading, travel and spending time with friends". Somewhere out there is a person who does not enjoy spending time with friends, and they have the decency to leave it off.

When hobbies belong on your resume

Add a hobbies or interests section when at least one of these is true:

• You have little work experience. School leavers, graduates and career changers can use hobbies to show skills that are not yet in a job history.
• The hobby is relevant to the job. A cyclist applying to a bike shop, a coder with open source projects applying for IT support, a volunteer coach applying for a youth role.
• It shows a skill the ad asks for. Leadership, teamwork, discipline, organisation, creativity.
• The employer values culture fit and asks for it. Some small businesses and startups read this section closely.

The UK's National Careers Service gives guidance that holds in Australia too: "You can also include your interests and hobbies that show some of the skills you have. For example, if you're a captain of a sports team, this demonstrates leadership and organisation skills."

Here is the most common case: a school leaver with a short work history.

Tailor my CV to this job

How to write the hobbies section

Make each hobby specific. "Sport" says nothing. "Club netball, captain of the under-18 team" says leadership, commitment and teamwork in seven words. A good line has three parts: the activity, how you do it, and if possible a result or responsibility.

Keep the section to two to four lines, call it "Interests" or "Hobbies and interests", and put it last, after education, skills and referees, unless you have no work history at all.

Hobbies and interests on a graduate resume

Graduates often have more activities than jobs. Choose the ones that show workplace skills, and move anything with real responsibility, such as a club committee role, into its own "Leadership and activities" section where it carries more weight.

Both interests point back to the job: hands-on mechanical work and attention to safety. Neither is padding.

What to leave out

Some hobbies tell an employer things they should not use to decide. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains: "Under the Fair Work Act, an employer can't take adverse action against an employee or a prospective employee for discriminatory reasons." Its list of protected attributes includes race, religion, political opinion, pregnancy and family or carer's responsibilities, among others.

You are allowed to mention these, and some roles make them relevant, such as a church youth worker or a party's campaign officer. But for most jobs, leave out religious, political and health details. Also skip:

• Hobbies that only fill space, such as watching TV, socialising or "going out".
• Anything dangerous without context, unless the job values it.
• Anything you cannot talk about for two minutes. Interviewers sometimes ask, and "I put that because it sounded good" is a hard sentence to recover from.

Interests on a career change resume

If you are moving into a new field, a hobby can be the strongest evidence you have. Treat it almost like a job: what you did, how often and what came of it.

Here the interests are the bridge between the old job and the new one. They show the work is already happening.

Mid-career and senior resumes

With ten or more years of experience, most people do not need a hobbies section. If you include one, keep it to one line and choose something that shows character or a link to the organisation, such as a board seat, a sporting commitment or a community role.

One line, two strong signals: trust with money and a commitment to safety. That is enough.

Hobbies, the resume length and referees

Australian resumes are often longer than American ones, and the interests section is usually the first thing to cut when you need space. Before you add it, make sure your resume skills section and experience already match the ad, and that your referees are ready. If you want a more personal way to introduce yourself, our guide to interesting facts about me covers what works in interviews and introductions.

Tailor my CV to this job

Frequently asked questions

Should I put hobbies in my resume in Australia?

Only if they add something: a skill the job needs, evidence for a career change, or substance for a short work history. Many experienced candidates leave the section out. If you include it, keep it to two to four specific lines at the end of the resume, after your experience, education, skills and referees.

What are good hobbies to put on a resume?

Hobbies that show workplace skills: team sports and coaching for teamwork and leadership, volunteering for reliability and community focus, creative projects for initiative, technical projects for problem solving, and endurance sports for discipline. Describe each one specifically, with your role or a result, rather than a single generic word.

Where do hobbies go on a resume?

At the end, usually after education, skills and referees, under the heading "Interests" or "Hobbies and interests". If you have little or no work history, you can move it higher, or put substantial activities such as club leadership in a separate "Activities" section closer to the top.

What hobbies should I not put on a resume?

Leave out vague fillers such as socialising or watching movies, anything you could not discuss in an interview, and usually religious, political or health details, which are not relevant to most jobs. Anything that might seem risky or controversial should only appear if it clearly supports the role you are applying for.

How many hobbies should I list?

Two to four is enough. One strong, specific interest is better than six generic ones. For senior roles, a single line is usually best. Every line should either show a skill the job needs or tell the reader something genuinely useful about how you work.

Related articles

• Accounting Executive Resume: 5 Examples by Career Level
• Administration Resume Examples: 8 Samples, Entry to Manager
• Aged Care Resume: 6 Australian Examples and a Template
• Another Word for Resume: CV, Bio and 10 More Options

More articles

• Hospitality CV Example: 7 UK CVs for Bar, Hotel and Kitchen
• Hospitality Resume Examples: 8 US Samples, Hotel to Kitchen
• How to Add Contract Work to Resume: 5 Examples by Situation

Looking for a worked example for your job title? Browse the resume examples by job title.

Get your free ATS score · All articles