With today’s slow-moving job market, you need to show off any special skills you have in order to stand out against the other job seekers. However, it may be difficult to feel like you can brag about your innate ability to crochet or put elaborate scrapbook pages together while you are in an interview. You may not be able to go into great detail about your latest creation, but you can translate your hobbies into desirable skills that can be placed throughout your resume.
If your hobby is crocheting, you can tell your employer that you are patient and persistent when it comes to weaving all the intricate parts of a task together to achieve a certain goal. Crocheting also indicates that you can often see the “bigger picture,” when presented with little details. On your resume, or cover letter, you can definitely describe yourself as “goal oriented,” someone who is motivated to get the job done in its entirety.
This is a similar way to present your skills if you are a scrapbooking guru. However, you not only achieve your goals, but you know how to execute a vision. You are creative with stickers and paper, as well as meticulous when choosing the best sources that will help you yield profitable results. In your “summary of qualifications,” you could mention that you have great attention to detail.
If you are an adamant reader or writer, you are a master analyzer. Besides knowing how to write, read between the lines on major documents, or analyze data, you can also tell the mood a potential client is in by the way they write your company an email. With this ability, you can meet the needs of others quickly and negotiate well. Great interpersonal skills should be on your résumé.
Nothing screams “people-person,” more than a sports fanatic or athlete. You can talk to people with your interpersonal skills and—this is extremely valuable, work in a team. Your ability to adapt to new surroundings and work with people you may have only just met makes you approachable to prospective clients. This will result in your boss loving you because you keep the workload flowing with new demand. Make sure you talk about your effective communication skills during an interview and give positive examples.
Perhaps the interests and hobbies listed above are too time consuming for you, and you love all things technology or social media. You have a great opportunity to demonstrate your ability to work in a fast-paced environment. You may also feel the pressure to post, like, tweet, or pin anything you seem worthy to share with the world in a certain amount of time. Therefore, working well under pressure or with a deadline can be what sets you apart from the competition.
These are just a few ways to take pride in your personal interests, thus allowing you to become more confident when marketing yourself to future employers. You can intrigue your potential employers with your creativity and ability to think on your feet. So, when you are revamping your resume for the next job interview, take the time to realize what strengths your hobbies give you that can be utilized in the work world.
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