Monday, March 2, 2009

work-appropriate hobbies

I never know what to write when a job application or job website suggests listing hobbies. It reminds me of high school, when everyone was running around trying to get the “right” extracurricular activities to impress colleges. I feel like I should have hobbies that indicate a healthy, well-adjusted lifestyle, but my hobbies aren’t really that impressive on paper.

I write stuff. Poetry, that novel that’s been gestating for a while and is temporarily stalled 2/3 of the way through, blog posts. I read voraciously – books, newspapers, blogs. I dabble in art, but strictly for my own amusement. When I find volunteer work that fits into an erratic schedule, I do that. I like to see stuff, whether that’s through travelling, hiking/enjoying the outdoors, or traipsing around museums.

My passion is for silly, childish stuff, as I’ve alluded to before. I love sledding and making snow creatures. I’ve got fancy, abstract coloring books that I fill in. I play role-playing video games (RPGs), which are essentially grownup “play pretend”.

But really, how relevant are my hobbies to a potential employer? Even if you deduce a particular “personality” from my hobbies (creative, adventurous, doesn’t stick to any one activity over the long term), those traits aren’t necessarily reflected in my “work personality”. I’m pretty serious and a bit of a perfectionist at work – let me be free to enjoy myself when I’m off the clock!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The advice I give our students is first avoid the use of the word hobby (use interests or something similar). Then make them skills relevant (captain of football team : - leadership, teamwork, management, responsibility, good communication skills etc. )