"What Are Your Hobbies and Interests?" — How to Answer in an Interview

"What do you do in your free time?" can feel like a throwaway question, but it is a deliberate one. Interviewers use it to move from rehearsed answers to a more natural conversation, to see you as a person, and to find indirect evidence of skills and values. They are rarely trying to catch you out, but a weak answer is a missed opportunity.

• Personality and fit: do you seem like someone the team would enjoy working with?
• Transferable skills: hobbies often show commitment, teamwork, leadership, creativity or resilience.
• Energy and balance: do you have healthy interests outside work, suggesting you will sustain performance?
• Passion and curiosity: do you pursue things for their own sake and learn on your own?
• Communication: can you talk about something you care about clearly and with enthusiasm?

A simple structure keeps your answer short, interesting and relevant. Aim for 20–40 seconds.

Specifics are far more memorable than generalities. "I like reading" is forgettable; "I read about two non-fiction books a month and recently finished a biography of Ada Lovelace" starts a conversation. Always be ready for a follow-up question about the hobby, so only mention things you genuinely do.

There are no "right" hobbies, only hobbies you can describe well and connect to useful qualities. The table shows typical associations, which you should adapt to your own experience.

Graduate or student

Experienced professional

Creative or technical role

Limited free time

If your answer also needs to explain what energises you at work, our guide on what motivates you covers a related angle.

Whether to include an interests section depends on how much experience you have. Early-career applicants often benefit; senior candidates usually need the space for professional achievements.

• Include it when you have limited work history, when your hobbies show leadership or relevant skills, or when it fills a short page naturally.
• Skip it when your CV is already full, or when the hobby has no relevance or could be misread.
• Be specific. "Competitive swimmer (county level, 2023)" beats "swimming". "Treasurer of the university chess club" beats "chess".
• Keep it to one line or three bullets.
• Avoid generic filler like "socialising" or "watching films".

The graduate CV guide shows exactly where an interests section fits. Because applicant tracking systems read plain text, keep the section simple and clear. See also our ATS-friendly CV guide.

• Controversial topics. Politics, religion and anything divisive are best avoided unless directly relevant to the role.
• Risky or irresponsible activities that could suggest poor judgement, such as heavy drinking or gambling.
• Claiming you have no hobbies. It sounds uninterested; mention something small.
• Passive-only answers like "watching TV" with no energy or detail, unless you can talk about it with real enthusiasm.
• Exaggeration. Saying you are an "avid marathon runner" after one 10k will unravel with a single follow-up.
• Rambling. Keep to 20–40 seconds; the aim is rapport, not a speech.
• Forgetting the link to work. One sentence connecting the hobby to a useful trait makes the answer purposeful.

A useful test is the follow-up test: after you name a hobby, can you comfortably answer three more questions about it? For example, how did you start, what is the hardest part, and what have you learned? If so, the hobby is safe to mention. If you would struggle after the first sentence, choose another. Interviewers often use your enthusiasm for a topic as a quick signal of how you would sound when talking to clients or colleagues about work you care about, so energy and clarity count as much as the hobby itself.

Finally, match the register to the setting. In a formal panel or a bank interview, keep it concise and professional. In a start-up or creative interview, a bit more personality is welcome. Whatever the setting, the same principle applies: be specific, be honest and make a small link to the role.

Questions about your life outside work often arrive in clusters. Prepare short, genuine answers to these as well.

Prepare an answer you can give naturally, then practise it aloud so it sounds like conversation, not a prepared statement.