What to put in the 'further interests' section of job applications

Recruiters have so many applications to sift that choosing between them becomes incredibly difficult. Luckily, a well-crafted ‘further interests’ section on your CV can make all the difference.

On average, 57 per cent of students now have a 2.1 or higher, making degree classification of less use as a selection tool. Candidates need to find more innovative ways to stand out from the crowd and a good place to assert your personality is in this section. It is easy to revert back to clichéd answers enforced during your school years, such as ‘reading’, or ‘socialising with friends’. This type of generic response may not hinder your application but it certainly won’t do it any favours. Few skills can be extracted from these sorts of activities because little responsibility or personal development is demonstrated. At the same time, remember that anything wacky will be seized upon at interview so don’t invent things just to make yourself stand out.

It can be difficult to escape an employer’s unconscious bias if you state ‘lobbying for free tea from the taxpayer’ as your main diversion.

Employers can learn a lot about a person from the activities they describe. Group-based work is always impressive because it shows initiative and leadership. Sports and other team activities also look good because they demonstrate energy and commitment. You need to provide details to back up your inclusion of a particular hobby though; for example, if you’re into performing arts then your role demonstrates responsibility to the rest of the cast, commitment to rehearsals, team interaction and possibly production assistance (eg building a big talking plant for Little Shop of Horrors).

Keep it neutral

Be wary of citing anything too political or religious. Applications are very subjective and although equal rights are applied to all recruitment schemes it can be difficult to escape an employer’s unconscious bias if you state ‘lobbying for free tea from the taxpayer’ as your main diversion.

A few simple rules should always be adhered to:

NEVER use the word ‘hobbies’ on your application, even if the employer does. It has childish connotations so a more professional approach would be to use words such as ‘activities’ or ‘interests’.
Try to exercise balance. Keep information concise and only mention the activities that you would be willing to discuss in more detail during the interview process.

The cherry on the cake

You may think that the ‘other interests’ section is not of primary importance on an application form but it allows the employer access to further clues about your personality. Aim to show them that you’re more interesting than the other candidates with similar work experience and academic grades as you.

Print this article |

This article has been viewed 5414 times.
Rating: 3 / 5 (12 votes cast for this article)
Rate this article: