A fifth-year graduate student asks—
I met with a recruiter who shared a version of their resume with a section about their hobbies and interests—apparently, they are really into hiking, swimming, and playing the clarinet. When I asked about it, they told me it is important to include an interests or hobbies section to make me look like a well-rounded and interesting candidate, and that it could really help if my specific interests happened to line up with someone on the hiring committee. It feels weird to get hired because of a shared hobby. What do you think about including an interests or hobbies section? I used to play quite a bit of tennis and have a regular Dungeons and Dragons game every month—should I include that on my resume?

I think your skepticism is well-founded! It's much more likely you’ll get hired because of your qualifications for the position than because of an unrelated hobby. Resumes aren’t really about appearing well-rounded, they’re specifically about your candidacy for the position. And because they’re so short, there’s probably a better use of that valuable space.  

It’s not worth it to remove something more relevant to create space for an “interests” section, but if you have an extra line, you could put interests that you would want to discuss further in an interview if asked about it. One way to think about what to include is to consider if there’s a way that your interest could, even tangentially, add value for the position. For example, I was a professional ballet dancer. Performing helped me develop comfort in front of audiences, which is a skill I use frequently in my current role. It might be harder to make the case for things like enjoying hiking, reading, or travelling, unless the position or company has a particular connection to them.  

-Ray Care, Program Director, Career Development Team for Researchers