Interests and hobbies section of CV. Advice?

Mkjackary

So putting together a CV for the armed forces, and I have done all the sections appart from interests and hobbies.
As it is an officer position in the Raf I will make sure to put things down that boast my history in team sports and leadership skills (like being captian of football club etc etc. That bit I'm fine with.
Stuck on how to put my guitar playing onto it, should I link it to hand eye coordination etc so that it could be more applicable or keep it simple and to the point about how long I have played and such?

I'm thinking of keeping things like reading listening to music etc off as they are fairly generic, tempted to put cooking down, but if I do I don't have much to say and it would only be around a sentence, whereas guitar and sports I could write paragraphs about (I won't, dont worry

BTW I am (as of 2 days ago) 19 if that helps

Cheers
Jack

octatonic

I wouldn't bother mentioning it- employers don't give a shit about your hobbies.

Sporky

Are you required to have such a section?

My CV hasn't had that for 20 years or so.

strumjoughlamps

I recently did a Cv and followed online guidelines, 2 sections that apparently is the thing to do nowadays are a 'Misson statement' and 'hobbies and interests'

littlegreenman

I'd mention it if you have genuinely been a band leader, as it's Officer stuff. Otherwise, I'd leave it out.

As advised by a mate in work who was a RAF officer in logistics at Basra in GW2. If it's very relevant put it in, if not, don't bother.

Hertz32

Having just applied as an Officer in the RAF myself and recieved an invitation to a P2 presentation next friday I'm not entirely sure why you are filling out a CV at all given that it isnt required!

Check out the RAF recruitment website and go to the application zone. You fill out a large online form which details all this stuff anyway once you register your interest in applying.

PM me and I'll help as best I can given that I'm about 2 steps ahead of you and only 9 months younger than you, we're in practically the same boat!

Phil_aka_Pip

Sometimes I think it's best the keep schtumm about your hobbies, especially if a prospective employer sees "gigging" as meaning you'll be in late for work still stoned from the night before. Other advice would suggest that if you include them the employer may see you as a self-starter (indeed I got one software engineering job because, as the Engineering Direcotr said "You're the lead guitarist in a rock'n;'roll band so you know hoe to cooperate with people and work as a team" - which knowing how some LGs behave is a bit optimistic but I'd like to think he was right in my case).

My cv just says:

Extra-Curricular Activities: Music: Playing, writing, recording

and if I'm asked about it at interview time I'll judge how much information to give away depending on the type of bloke who's doing the interview.

richardhomer

I'm job hunting at the moment and have been thinking about exactly the same issue. It strikes me you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. No hobbies makes it sound like all you do is watch TV/drink/order takeaways - but bring honest about your hobbies can open you to accusations of being a nerd....

I've decided to admit to 'a keen interest in current affairs' - but not sure whether to mention guitar playing, train spotting and Morris dancing.....

Phil_aka_Pip

strumjoughlamps said:

I recently did a Cv and followed online guidelines, 2 sections that apparently is the thing to do nowadays are a 'Misson statement' and 'hobbies and interests'

"Mission Statement" = Bullshit and everyone knows it.

"I am a hard-working conscientious individual who always takes his job seriously and gives it 110% effort" ... yeah right, everyone puts that down and there's no point in writing it.

Some kind of profile summary is not a bad idea. Mine goes:

Profile Please allow me to introduce myself as a well-seasoned software engineer who has specialised in real time embedded C, after several years of writing assembler for a variety of different cpus, with additional experience in software Quality Assurance, Requirements Analysis and technical leadership.

Key Skills Software engineering. Full life cycle, including requirements analysis, design, coding, testing and post release support. Engineering standards, process definition and technical documentation.

Technical Embedded C, various assemblers, RTOS, ICE, and RCS. Development hosts: PC with DOS and Windows, UNIX and derivatives.

I trust that this would sell them what they want.

thomasross20

Quite a few people going into the RAF!
Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I have two lines St the end of mine mainly talking about my guitar interest. Don't know if relevant/needed anymore.

Heartfeltdawn

"I like bombing terrorists, not complaining at government cutbacks in the military, and singing the National Anthem". 

menamestom

I look at quite a few CV's and hobbies can show a bit of personality. You're recruiting people after all and it's nice to see something beyond work experience. Personal statements are largely waffle though, I prefer 2 consise pages with no shitty meaningless word salads.

octatonic

'Member of nation front' Whoops, I mean national trust.

littlegreenman

Phil_aka_Pip said:

strumjoughlamps said:

I recently did a Cv and followed online guidelines, 2 sections that apparently is the thing to do nowadays are a 'Misson statement' and 'hobbies and interests'

"Mission Statement" = Bullshit and everyone knows it.

"I am a hard-working conscientious individual who always takes his job seriously and gives it 110% effort" ... yeah right, everyone puts that down and there's no point in writing it.

Some kind of profile summary is not a bad idea. Mine goes:

Profile Please allow me to introduce myself as a well-seasoned software engineer who has specialised in real time embedded C, after several years of writing assembler for a variety of different cpus, with additional experience in software Quality Assurance, Requirements Analysis and technical leadership.

Key Skills Software engineering. Full life cycle, including requirements analysis, design, coding, testing and post release support. Engineering standards, process definition and technical documentation.

Technical Embedded C, various assemblers, RTOS, ICE, and RCS. Development hosts: PC with DOS and Windows, UNIX and derivatives.

I trust that this would sell them what they want.

@Phil_aka_Pip, you do know that the 3 sections you just put there are in fact your "Mission Statement"? And a pretty good one at that

Reverend

I work well on my own and as part of a team...

Every cv ever.

Oh, and for some reason a lot seem to say they liken using the Internet.

Deijavoo

"Socialising with friends." Yeah don't put that. 

Honestly man, the best thing to do with a CV is add anything you want to, if you don't feel like it should be there, take it out. If you want to add it to tick a box then do it. If you want to add a section and link your hobbies to the skillset an employer looks for then do that.

The whole point is that it will give an employer the overall impression of what you will offer. Go with your gut dude.

EDIT: Don't add a photo of your gut. No matter how much you play with it.

UnclePsychosis

octatonic;949966" said:

I wouldn't bother mentioning it- employers don't give a shit about your hobbies.

This is absolutely not true in my experience.

I know of at least three hiring managers who will openly admit that they use things like "plays team sports" as a guide as to whether you may be a normal human being who can get on with people. It's rare to find someone who is in a sports club who is completely antisocial, for instance.

Fair enough as you get on in your career it becomes less important, but for a 19 year old or those in the early stages of their working life (like recent graduates) these extra things can make a difference.

Deijavoo

UnclePsychosis said:

octatonic;949966" said:

I wouldn't bother mentioning it- employers don't give a shit about your hobbies.

This is absolutely not true in my experience.

I know of at least three hiring managers who will openly admit that they use things like "plays team sports" as a guide as to whether you may be a normal human being who can get on with people. It's rare to find someone who is in a sports club who is completely antisocial, for instance.

Fair enough as you get on in your career it becomes less important, but for a 19 year old or those in the early stages of their working life (like recent graduates) these extra things can make a difference.

You know, I hired a 19 year old lass recently as my new administrator and she starts next week. Gotta be honest I looked on the CV for professional layout, relevant experience or qualifications and no instances of "socialising with friends" or similar. I normally hire someone a wee bit older due to some of the aspects of the job but she did a great interview and convinced me she will be a great choice. It has to be said though that she wouldn't have got to that stage without a well laid out CV.

FelineGuitars

I would have thought that if playing guitar meant enjoying the discipline of learning scales and patterns and putting in repeated practice means that you already value learning skills, and surely that is good if it can be presented properly.

It would also point towards manual dexterity and use of both hemispheres of the brain

Hertz32

Having checked my own application, there's a drop down list of interests to choose from. "Playing a musical instrument" is as close to talking about guitar as you will get. 

EricTheWeary

Never had a CV  in my life ( although I may soon so I'm taking an interest). Appointed dozens of people and read hundreds of job applications though. Always looking for evidence that someone can do the job, if they can't do that through their work experience but can do so through a hobby then that's relevant. If you're doing a CV for a specific employer, rather than firing hundreds off, then I guess you can make that judgement.Although it looks like the OP doesn't need one after all!