Hobbies on your CV – worth including or better left out?

In Germany the section „Interessen“ or „Persönliche Interessen“ is still widespread, but optional. There is no expectation that it exists, and no recruiter will reject an application because it is missing. Conversely, a share of hiring managers do read it – usually last and within a few seconds.

Its importance depends heavily on the industry. In administration, industry, engineering and healthcare, the section is mostly seen as an extra. In fields with a strong team culture, in sales, agencies, start-ups and social work, it is more often read as a signal of personality and fit.

Space is the key question. A German CV should run to one, at most two pages. If your professional experience already fills those pages, the hobby section is not a priority. If space remains at the end, it is a better choice than an artificially inflated list of standard skills.

One clear rule: hobbies never replace missing professional substance. If you do not cover the requirements of the job ad, no interest in the world will compensate.

Read more: German CV: structure and standards · Applying in Germany: the full process

An interest is valuable when it evidences a quality relevant to the role – through the activity itself, not through a claim. A club office shows you take responsibility. Years of team sport show reliability and teamwork. Volunteering with the fire service or an ambulance service shows resilience under pressure.

Interests close to your field work particularly well. If you apply for a software development role and maintain private open-source projects, you provide real proof of competence. The same goes for a marketing professional running a specialist blog. For international roles, language tandems, stays abroad or intercultural club work are relevant.

Endurance and competitive sport is often read positively because it requires goal orientation and self-discipline – marathon, triathlon, climbing or club-level chess, for example. The same applies to activities with an organisational element: leading a choir, organising tournaments, youth coaching, lay judge duties, parent council work.

For international professionals the section has an extra function: it can signal local ties and willingness to integrate. Membership of a local sports club, a German course or volunteering in your new city indirectly answer the question of whether you intend to stay long term.

Read more: Soft skills on your CV · CV for international applicants

Delete everything with no informational value. „Reading“, „travelling“, „listening to music“, „meeting friends“ or „cinema“ applies to the vast majority of people and therefore does not describe you. If you want to mention these areas, make them specific: „non-fiction on behavioural economics“ instead of „reading“, „solo travel through Southeast Asia“ instead of „travelling“.

Leave out political office and party activities as well as religious affiliation and engagement. These belong to protected characteristics and can trigger unconscious bias – a risk without a return. The exception is an application to a faith-based provider or a political organisation, where proximity to the institution's mission is welcome.

Be careful with extreme sports carrying a high injury risk: skydiving, free climbing, motorcycle racing or competitive martial arts. Professionally that says nothing negative about you, but some hiring managers will think about time off sick. If you would rather not take the risk, simply do not mention it.

Also critical are very time-intensive activities that look unrealistic alongside a full-time job – a second business that is effectively a side job, for instance. And finally: anything invented. If you list „chess“, you should not stumble over a question about your preferred opening.

This section is also the wrong place for details that belong elsewhere: language skills, certificates, training and software skills go in their own sections, where applicant tracking systems recognise them as such.

Read more: ATS-friendly CV: format and structure · Why ATS rejects applications

Instead of „sport“: „Handball, district league team at TV Musterstadt (since 2019), two years as team captain“. The addition turns a leisure note into evidence of reliability and leadership.

Instead of „volunteering“: „Volunteer youth coach, athletics, weekly training for 15 children“. Concrete, verifiable, with a scope of responsibility.

Instead of „technology“: „Own open-source contributions to Python libraries (GitHub profile on request)“. For technical roles, direct proof of competence.

Instead of „travelling“: „Several months in Spain and Portugal, Spanish at B2 level“. That makes the statement measurable.

Instead of „music“: „Second violin in the Musterstadt chamber orchestra, weekly rehearsals since 2021“. Shows continuity and discipline.

For international applications: „Member of a local sports club since 2025; volunteer translation support at a migration advice centre“. Signals settling in and a long-term perspective.

Formally: three to five entries maximum, one line each, no full sentences, no self-assessments such as „passionate“ or „enthusiastic“. The activity speaks for itself.

Read more: Hobbies on your CV: the full guide · CV length: one page or two?

For graduates and career starters the section is most valuable. With little professional experience to show, qualities such as teamwork, organisational talent or persistence have to be evidenced differently – and that is exactly what club offices, volunteering, student initiatives, working-student roles or university projects deliver. Here the section may be slightly longer and hold three to five entries.

For experienced professionals the balance reverses. After eight or ten years in the profession, positions, projects and results speak for themselves; hobbies are then an addition, not an argument. Two to three lines are plenty – and if space runs short, the section makes way for professional experience.

One exception is leadership roles: voluntary leadership positions, board roles in associations or organising larger events remain relevant even for experienced candidates because they evidence leadership outside employment.

Career changers follow a third logic: here interests can bridge to the new industry. Someone moving from a skilled trade into IT who has been programming privately for years should absolutely mention it – it makes the change plausible.

Read more: Applying as a graduate · CV for career changers

The practical recommendation for 2026: include the section if you can name at least two concrete, meaningful interests and space allows. If you cannot, leave it out entirely – an empty or generic section does more harm than good.

Mind the technical side too. The section belongs at the end of the CV, below experience, education and skills. Use a clear heading such as „Interessen“ or „Interests“ and avoid tables, columns or graphics. Applicant tracking systems read simple lists reliably, but frequently misread multi-column layouts.

Tailor the selection to the role. A position with customer contact calls for different interests than an analytical controlling role. Two versions of your CV are usually enough to fill the section appropriately.

And the most important point last: the hobby section practically never decides an invitation. What decides it is how well your qualifications match the requirements of the ad and whether the central terms from the posting appear in your documents. Check that before investing time in wording your interests.

Read more: Using ATS keywords correctly · Free ATS check

• Hobbies are optional – never a mandatory element.
• Only list what is concrete and meaningful.
• Three to five entries, one line each, no sentences.
• Leave out politics, religion and high-risk sports.
• More important for graduates than for experienced hires.
• Put the section at the end, as a simple list without columns.
• Adapt the selection to each specific role.

Hobbies on a CV are neither mandatory nor pointless – they are a tool that only works with concrete detail. Naming club offices, volunteering or field-related projects provides evidence for qualities that would otherwise merely be claimed.

Writing „reading, travelling, sport“, on the other hand, wastes space. When in doubt: leave it out rather than fill it generically – and use the line you gain for a qualification the job ad actually asks for.

German CV ATS-friendly CV Applying in Germany Free ATS check