Wednesday, July 23, 2014

RESUME SKILLS | Hobbies & Interests. The How to write them and the WHY.

The Rules to make sure you Ace The Interview with your Hobbies & Interests.
Most applicants know where they were born, what they did, their education, information about parents etc. 

Somehow when they get to the hobbies and interests part it all seems pointless.

Most have hobbies & Interests on the resume, because it came with the format they were copying . Some of them, choose to copy the interests and hobbies of friends or worse, what the college placement cell advised!

Be honest. Do you have one of the following listed under your hobbies and interests section?

Reading
Traveling
Music
Internet Browsing

If you do, you are only one of the 96% candidates out there.

Hobbies and Interests are something to talk about. 

It’s a window into your personality, that is beyond the standard work stuff. These are things you are supposed to be passionate about. 

You should be using this extensively to not just market yourself, but also to steer the direction the interview takes.

Here are the rules:

Make them true
Have something you are passionate about. Something no one needs you to work upon, or do. Something that excites you, something that makes your eyes sparkle when you talk about it.

Make them Unique
As far as possible mention your hobby in a way that sounds unique. 
Use this as a lever for the interviewer to remember you. 
Don’t say reading, when you can say ‘classics’ or ‘Indian art history’ or something more specific. 
If it is music talk about genre, artist or even a special decade!

Make them demonstrable
You may like to think, but really that is not a hobby. 
If you put something like singing, be ready to sing in the interview. 
If you put something like dramatics, be ready to emote. 
Put something that can give the interviewers a little break from the monotony of taking interviews. 
If you say coin collection, carry a unique coin with you!

Make them relatable
Be honest at all times, but if you have more than one hobby, choose the one that the interviewers may be able to relate to. 
Yes, you read that right. 
This like all other parts of your resume, this one needs to be customized according to the people you are sending it out to.

If you don’t have a hobby or interest, get one! 

It’s not just something to talk about in an interview, it is something to treasure and add value to yourself as an individual.

There you have it.

The Rules to make sure you Ace The Interview with your Hobbies & Interests.

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