This guide to CV interests explains when and how to add personal interests to your UK CV so they support your candidacy in the British job market. You will learn which interests matter to employers, how to present them, and examples tailored to common roles.
The guidance is practical and focused on small changes that increase relevance without oversharing.
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Why include CV interests
Including interests on your UK CV can give employers a quick sense of your personality and soft skills beyond your work history. When chosen carefully, interests can reinforce traits like teamwork, perseverance, or analytical curiosity that align with the role.
Use interests to complement, not replace, meaningful work experience and measurable achievements.
Which interests to include on a CV
Choose interests that add professional value or spark memorable conversation in an interview, such as volunteering, competitive sports, coding side projects, or leading community groups. Prioritise activities that show transferable skills like leadership, project management, consistent practice, or creativity.
Avoid listing passive or vague items without context, because they do little to differentiate you.
How to list CV interests
Place interests in a short dedicated section titled Interests or Personal Interests near the bottom of your CV so they do not distract from experience and education. For each interest, add one short phrase or a brief context sentence that explains relevance, for example Club Tennis, captain, organised weekly practices and matches.
Keep the section concise so hiring managers can scan it in seconds.
Examples of CV interests by role
For customer service roles, list interests that highlight communication and patience, such as volunteering or coaching youth sports, and add a short context line about the responsibilities you held. For technical roles, include coding side projects, open-source contributions, hackathon participation, or electronics tinkering with a note on languages or tools used.
For creative roles, mention portfolio-related interests such as photography, illustration, or writing, and include links when relevant to show work samples.
How interests strengthen your application
Interests can provide quick evidence of soft skills that are hard to quantify on a CV, such as discipline shown through regular practice, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability. They help demonstrate cultural fit, personal motivation, and resilience, and can serve as useful talking points in interviews.
Additional Tips
- 1Tailor your CV interests to the job description by linking at least one interest to a soft skill mentioned in the posting and be prepared to discuss it in interviews.
- 2If you have limited work experience, prioritise interests that demonstrate discipline and development, such as formal training courses, certifications earned through personal projects, or long-term volunteering.
- 3Link to public work when appropriate, such as a GitHub repository, portfolio, or blog, so recruiters or hiring managers can review your CV-related work quickly.