What is your interest: Ideal Ways To Answer ‘What Are Your Interests?’

Ideal Ways To Answer ‘What Are Your Interests?’

Understanding the importance of answering “What are your interests?”

When preparing for a job interview it is important to be ready for the typical questions asked. Effectively explaining what your interests are during an interview can help you better convey some key points about your character to the interviewer. Knowing the value of providing an authentic response to this question can help you land the job you want. This article explores what qualifies as interests, why interviewers ask about some of your interests, how to provide a valuable response, and some example answers to help you formulate your own. 

What are interests?

An interest is something you are curious about and have a desire or will to learn more about it. An interest can be focused on an activity, idea, event, or topic and can be short-lived or can span a longer period of time. Interests show your desire to know more about something and having interests, whether they be grounded in your personal life or influenced by your profession, show that you have a growth mindset and are always seeking to better yourself and become a more informed individual.

Why do interviewers ask about your interests?

Interviewers can ask this question to understand how your lifestyle and values relate to the position you are seeking. Your response to this question can provide insight into the kind of employee you will be and how well you can fit into the culture of the company. Answering confidently about your interests will indicate your strong communication skills and show that you value learning in all aspects of your life. Relating your interests can also help interviewers understand better your complete skill set and how your abilities fit the needs of the position.

Discover real interview questions asked for thousands of job titles

How to answer “What are your interests?”

Effectively explaining what your interests are and knowing how that response is relevant to the position you seek can help you show a hiring manager that you are a viable candidate. Your response to this question is an opportunity to further convey the soft skills or transferrable skills you can apply in your role. Use the steps below to help you plan your own response to the question, “What are your interests?”:

1. Review the job qualifications and responsibilities. Revisit the official job description listed on the company website and identify the key components and skills required to successfully complete the job. Look at the company’s mission statement and familiarize yourself with the values of the company through their online presence on social media, any non-profit organizations they support, and other information found on their site or through external media releases, articles, and reports. This will help you determine the company culture.
2. Identify applicable interests. Select the interests you hold that align with the values and interests of the company.
3. Determine the skills you’ve acquired. Indicate how the interests you hold and the skills you have and will acquire through the pursuit of your interests can help you in the daily tasks of your job responsibilities. You should be specific and list your strengths like adaptability or responsive listening and other crucial skills that can help show you are a good candidate for the job.
4. Connect your interests and the position. When establishing a connection, you should be as specific as possible to express your knowledge of your interests and skills as well as your familiarity with the company. For example, you can indicate how an interest in the wellbeing of animals supports the company’s participation in the annual pet adoption telethon.
5. Use an example when possible. To further elaborate upon your interests, consider providing clear examples when possible. Give quantifiable information in the form of numbers, dates, and exact actions you have taken. Consider implementing the STAR technique where you present a situation and the task that needed attention. Indicate the actions you took and the results. This method helps to focus your answer and provide crucial details that highlight your abilities and knowledge and that you may otherwise miss.

List of example interests

Some interests you can consider when planning your own response to the question “what are your interests?” are:

• Environmental conservation
• Nature
• Animal rights
• Travel
• Foreign or new cuisine
• Reading
• History
• Foreign languages
• Art
• Music
• Research
• Meditation
• Volunteerism

Example answers to “What are your interests?”

Depending on the exact position you are applying for and the industry you’re in, there are many ways to properly address this question. You may even discuss an interest that doesn’t immediately seem to relate directly to the role but has a connection based on relevant skills. Here are some examples of good responses to the question about your interests to help you prepare for an interview:

Example 1: Sales associate

I have an outgoing personality and I am interested in helping others. I think one of the most gratifying things is to assist customers in selecting quality products that fill a need or satisfy a want. Besides helping people, I am interested in communications and persuasion. I am taking a persuasive writing class currently that has helped me see how careful selection of language can persuade others to make decisions and form opinions based on my presentation of ideas. I look forward to using my communication skills and persuasive abilities to up-sell products for the company and show customers the value of high-end products.  

Example 2: Teacher

I have always been interested in helping others feel a sense of accomplishment. To do this for my students, I focus on creating lessons that gain their interest quickly. This creates curiosity in the topic we are studying and inspires them to search for answers. Students, and adults, learn best from one another, and I take an interest in finding alternative ways to deliver lessons and help them accomplish their learning goals in an engaging way.  

One of my most recent experiences was an instance where one of my students was struggling with understanding rhetorical devices. It was challenging to create a lesson that piqued her interest in a topic she was hating. I used social media posts to harness her interest. It was a relatable vehicle for her and she felt comfortable. We worked together to analyze the message of each image and slowly she saw how those strategies are used to influence opinion. She passed the district benchmark examination testing that skill and could tutor other students struggling with the same concept.

Example 3: Marketing director

I love puzzles and competition. Right now I am finding chess very interesting. I enjoy trying to figure out different ways to solve some consistent problems. In chess, I am particularly impressed with how players must be able to somewhat successfully predict the outcome of a game before it is completed. I apply this skill in my work when planning out and creating campaigns.  

I try to find fresh ways to solve the problem of reaching our target audience and understand that the competition in our industry makes us all better because we are constantly changing. I think that keeping the mind sharp through problem-solving and critical thinking offered in games like chess and other strategy-focused puzzles makes me a better creator and leader for my team.

Example 4: Account manager

I am obsessed with organization. I want to know every possible way to order items and I am constantly looking for different methods to help streamline my life and work. I have a strong desire to work more effectively and efficiently, and being extremely organized is one of the best methods. I recently read a book about minimalist living and I found that when I applied those ideals to my workspace, my productivity increased immensely. I could communicate with multiple clients more rapidly daily, and I had the answers to important questions ready when asked.  

Example 5: Event planner

I love trying new cuisine. As soon as a new restaurant opens, I gather my friends and family to join in on the experience. Particularly when experiencing food from different regions, I like to see the new and inventive ways that flavors come together. It usually inspires me to learn about different cultures and see how history has really shaped and influenced food. 

My most recent client was hosting an event where he needed to be sensitive to many people’s different needs. He was having difficulty finding menu items that would appeal to his guests. I was able to suggest a good selection of appetizers for him to choose from. Because a lot of the food was new to his guests, they enjoyed the experience and were able to discover some new likes as well. The event was a success and helped my client land the project he desired.

Interviewers ultimately want to know who you are as person to understand who you will be as an employee. Explaining what are your interests in an engaging and relevant way during your job interview can show your true strengths and values. Share what your interview experience was like for any company. 

Answering “What Are Your Interests?” in an Interview

I’ve had some jobs I really hated. And I don’t just mean jobs that were a bit boring or had less-than-savory duties. I mean the kinds of jobs where each day is more spirit-draining than the last and you wake up every morning, fantasize about quitting, and check your bank account to calculate how long you’d have to find a new job before your life fell apart.

Sometimes the problem was that my coworkers constantly wanted to wax poetic about football when I’d much rather talk about dogs or books or, yep, anything but football. Other times the issue was that I could muster more excitement about watching paint dry than doing the job I was hired for. Let’s just say none of these were great situations for me, my coworkers, or my employers—and I didn’t last long.

Well, there’s an interview question that can help out both sides. Employers don’t want employees who’ve already checked out after a few weeks. So they ask interview questions like “What are your interests?” to try to suss out how engaged you’ll be in the position and on the team.

And you don’t want a job that feels like it’s eating away at your soul. So when you answer this question, be honest. Then pay attention: How does the hiring manager respond to your interests? Do they share them? Do they seem engaged when you talk about something that matters to you?

Here’s how to give an answer that sounds good and helps you avoid walking right into a job you’ll hate.

There are two different reasons an interviewer might ask “What are your interests?”:

• To find out what parts of your job or career you’re most passionate about. Are you a marketing manager who loves creating campaigns for clients in the healthcare space? Are you an IT professional who nerds out about all things cybersecurity? Or do you just love any opportunity to learn more, solve a problem, or come up with creative ideas?
• To learn more about who you are as a person beyond work. Interviewers want to see how you’d add to the existing team, and might be wondering if you’re “someone they can see themselves enjoying their time with,” says Muse career coach Leto Papadopoulos. How would the small talk be? What can they learn from you? You might “hit it off based on your response if you share interests,” Papadopoulos says. But if not, don’t worry. “At the very least, they can appreciate what you like to do,” she says, and know you’ll have something new and exciting to share.

So how do you know why this particular interviewer is asking about your interests? Most likely, “If this question is at the beginning or end of an interview, it’s a chance to share interests that you’d talk about at a polite dinner party,” as in outside-of-work interests, says Muse career coach Matthew Ford. But “if it’s in the middle, it’s probably more of an ask about what you feel driven to do in your career.”

And if you’re still not sure? Ask. Say something like, “Do you mean outside of work or are you asking more about my professional interests?” and respond accordingly.

Regardless of why the interviewer is asking about your interests, you need to be honest about what they are. “Be yourself,” Papadoupolos says. “It’s best to find a work environment that suits you.”

If you’re talking about job-centric interests

Look back to the job description or think back on what you’ve already learned about the role and company from interviews. What excites you most about the job? Why did you apply?

Choose something you’re actually interested in and can talk about with some emotion. If you say you’re interested in spreadsheets but can’t back it up with any explanation or a single shred of enthusiasm, you’ll sound either disingenuous or like some sort of job robot created to perform VLOOKUPs—neither of which is super appealing in a coworker.

That’s not to say you can’t be passionate about spreadsheets—you do you. It’s all about what you bring to the rest of your answer. You might explain that you love Excel “because it’s a powerful tool that most people only scratch the surface of. I’ve been able to streamline so many calculations by figuring out the right formula or function and it’s so satisfying when I can solve a problem or realize that I just made a five-step process into a one-step process. Plus, I love when I can teach my teammates how to do something new with it.” Boom, suddenly you sound less like an automaton and more like someone who’s interested in learning more, solving problems, and helping your coworkers with something they may find boring or confusing.

If you’re talking about outside-of-work interests

In this case, “What are your interests?” is very similar to “What are your hobbies?” except that while hobbies are generally activities, interests can be much broader (and you can speak about either or both in your answer, Papadoupolos says).

If you have an interest that’s directly related to the job or you know is shared by people at the company, you can certainly bring that up. For example, if you’re interviewing for a cosmetics company and you love trying out new makeup looks, mention it. If you know that the company hosts bimonthly karaoke parties and you love to sing, talk about that.

Choosing a genuine interest you can speak about with passion will help you make a stronger connection and find the right environment. Personally, a workplace where one of the main bonding activities is a fantasy football league would be a living hell. So I’d never say I’m passionate about fantasy football just to land the job—instead I’d answer honestly and see how the interviewer responds. If I say I love spending time with my dog and they reply with, “We’re a pet friendly office and our Slack channels are full of dog pictures,” great! But if they respond to my interest in current events by saying, “Cool, we’re not big on swapping headlines but we do keep up with Elon Musk’s Twitter feed,” I’m (politely and professionally) running for the hills.

Avoid talking about any interest that might not be appropriate for the workplace. Steer clear of religion and politics—unless you already know that this organization is cool with these discussions or it’s important to you to find out. Otherwise, think: Would you chat about your interest with your grandma over Thanksgiving dinner? If not, maybe choose something a bit more safe for work than your fascination with erotic fiction or how you love clubbing every weekend.

There’s no set structure for answering “What are your interests?” So think about what you really want your interviewer to know about you, Papadopoulos says, and let that guide you. No matter what kind of interest you’re talking about, you should always include:

• What your interest is and how you actively interact with it (a brief description)
• Why it interests you
• What you get out of the interest: It might help you learn or hone a skill, get exposed to new people or ideas, or give you a chance to unwind. “For example, if you’re really into swimming, talk about how that’s your reset time, or how working out helps clear your mind,” Ford says.

If you’re talking about a work-related interest, make sure it’s clear how your interest makes you a stronger candidate. If you’re talking about a personal interest, you might mention a few of the skills the interest has taught you, but you don’t need to directly connect it back to the job at hand.

The ways you can answer this question are as varied as the interests you might choose to talk about. But here are a few examples.

If you’re talking about a professional interest:

I’m really interested in what goes into crafting a sales pitch so that it really speaks to the customers as individuals. One of the great things about sales is getting to interact with so many different people, but with those different people come different wants and needs. So I love taking the time after an initial cold call or email to really think on what the lead said and figure out how to pitch to them in a way that makes the product I’m selling the obvious choice. In fact, I’m also taking a marketing class online in my spare time to learn more about how to tailor a message to a target audience. We’ve talked about how your company is launching a number of products in the coming months, and I’d love to help create sales script options for different kinds of customers or various pain points they express.

If you’re talking about an outside-of-work interest:

I’m really passionate about photography. From the time I got my first camera as a kid—it was Pokémon themed—I’ve loved preserving events and experiences through taking pictures. But lately, I’ve gotten more into exploring different elements of what makes a “good” picture—composition, color, lighting, all of that. I live near the park and every weekend, I’ve been going out into nature to take new pictures as I learn about new theories and techniques. Whenever I can, I also like to take photos at events like concerts or parties. It’s so satisfying when I can use artistic and design theories to capture the aspects of these experiences that make them truly worth preserving.

As you answer this question, remember that talking about interests—whether or not they’re shared—is a great way to make a connection. So be prepared to answer any follow-up questions the interviewer might have about your interest and let it unfold as a conversation. For example, if you mention your interest in art, and the interviewer starts gushing about her love for Frida Khalo, you might mention the exhibit you recently saw that displayed personal artifacts alongside her work and ask if they caught it as well. See how it flows from there. You always have a better chance of getting hired if the interviewer leaves feeling like they had a great time talking to you.

Updated 11/18/2021

List of Hobbies and Interests for Resume & CV [20 Examples]

—What are your hobbies and interests?

—Err… I like traveling and long walks on the beach…

Many experts will tell you that you should never, ever list hobbies and interests on a resume, and they have a point. But what if I told you there are times when you absolutely should? 

Listing hobbies and interests on your resume might be just the thing that helps you land an interview, but you have to do it right.

In this article, I will tell you:

• When you should include personal activities.
• What hobbies in a resume work best. 
• How to add interests to your resume.

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One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:

[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.

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Why Put a List of Hobbies and Interests on a Resume?

What are interests?

Interests are subjects that fascinate you and want to learn more about. Interests are usually more about learning and discovering ideas, concepts, and knowledge like history, animal behavior, or even pop culture.

For example, if your interest is history, going to museums would be your hobby.

So what are hobbies?

A hobby is an activity done for fun. Hobbies are done during your time off, not professionally and typically done for no pay. Hobbies include collecting things like stamps or Americana, engaging creative and artistic endeavors, playing sports, or exploring ideas and knowledge.

Notice a pattern?

That’s right: hobbies and interests are typically done for fun, for free, and don’t contribute to the proverbial bottom line. And that’s why in most cases focusing too much on what you do outside of work is not advised. However—

Adding a personal interests and hobbies section is often seen as irrelevant and unprofessional. Yet, the culture is changing.  

A lot of companies are no longer looking for mere minions to sit and drink coffee and answer phones all day. They want them to fit in with their culture, so they need something more than just work experience. Take a look at this: Google hires people who are open and playful. If you want to work at Google, you should tailor your resume so that your best hobbies match their work culture.

On the other hand, if you are applying to a buttoned-up accounting firm, you might want to skip putting  hobbies in your resume altogether.

Candidate discretion is advised—to borrow from a TV disclaimer.

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Here’s What Your Hobbies and Interests Say About You

Most of the hobbies and interests you put on your resume will say something about you to the hiring manager. You can use them to (1) resonate with the interviewer, (2) give them an ice-breaker question, (3) signal character traits they might be looking for.

But here’s the problem—

According to Zety’s analysis of 133,000 resumes, the most commonly mentioned passtime activities were, you guessed it, watching movies, listening to music, reading books, and travel. Hiring managers have seen these hobbies a million times… and truly don’t care. (And neither would you if you were looking for a date.)

Selecting activities for your resume is about choosing what aspects of your personality you want to emphasize and communicate.

See the list below—

Examples of top 15 best hobbies and personal interests to put on a resume:

Volunteering and community involvement

There’s a reason we’re mentioning volunteering first—data shows that 82% of managers would rather hire someone with volunteering experience. Volunteering shows a lot of initiative and strong morals. It also teaches organizational and leadership skills.

Writing

Communication is the heart of every organisation. Writing novels or publishing scientific papers give a clear representation of your written communication skills.

Blogging

Blogging, just as any kind of writing, proves you have communication and writing skills. Data shows communication is the most important skill for people entering the workforce.

Podcasting

The podcast format has become incredibly popular. Podcasting allows to demonstrate you have industry expertize, know how build an audience (marketing skills) and connect with thought leaders (networking and research skills). It’s a good way to improve organizational skills, too.

Marketing

The percentage of US adults who use social media increased from 5% in 2005 to 79% in 2019. The rise of social media has created such new job professions as a social media manager, content creator, or SEO specialist. If you’ve ever made a Facebook page that drew engaged audience or owned an Instagram profile with a stable number of followers, it will definitely make a good impression on the recruiter.

Learning languages

Speaking English might not be enough if you’re planning on developing your career. The three fastest-emerging languages of global consumers are Russian, Hindi, and Japanese. Studies have found a correlation between learning languages and problem-solving abilities, intelligence, and memory skills.

Photography

Photography is so much more than just taking pictures. It develops conceptual skills and technical expertise, but also teaches how to collaborate with others. 

Travel

Curiosity, courage, and self-organization. Traveling can prove you’re not afraid of stepping outside your comfort zone and learning new things. And flexibility and adaptability are among the most important workplace personal traits.

Sports

It doesn’t matter what sport you do. Exercising in general develops self-discipline, patience, and helps bounce back from disappointment. Team sports create opportunities to improve leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, too.

Yoga

You might say yoga is a type of sport, but it’s much more than stretching. It also involves concentrating on breathing and is a great way to relax your mind. And data shows a relaxed employee is less likely to leave their job.

Dance

Dancing isn’t just fun. It’s a social activity that teaches collaboration skills. It also boosts cognitive performance and helps to unwind.

Art

Hundreds of jobs require creativity skills. Imagination and inventiveness are also parts of critical-thinking skills. And research revealed that 93% of employers value critical thinking over the candidate’s undergraduate degree. 

Reading

It doesn’t matter if it’s romance books that you read. Reading shows you follow your passions. It also prevents cognitive decline and reduces stress. And helps maintain work-life balance.

Making music

Making music is good for your brain. You might find it surprising, but research shows learning how to play instruments fosters math and science ability. It also helps improve your mental performance (making you better able to concentrate) and memory. 

Listening to music

Listening to music lowers stress and elevates your mood. It strengthens learning and memory abilities, too. In the ever-changing corporate world being able to learn new things on a daily basis is a top employability skill (especially in the rise of AI).

The list above is more-or-less sorted by how appropriate listing them on a resume is. The last four? Skip them unless you can be more specific and know for a fact that they will resonate with the hiring team.

They want to see through the hobbies and interests on your resume to find the soft and hard skills. And there are plenty of ways to achieve that, really. See for yourself:

Top Soft and Hard Skills to Read From Hobbies & Personal Interests on a Resume

Here’s what we mean—

Be specific to attract the hiring manager.

Let’s be honest, if you boil down your passions into a single word, they become a yawn fest. Listening to music, reading books, and watching movies? Saying you like these is like saying you like to breathe. Here’s what to do instead—

How to List Hobbies and Interests on a Resume

1. Find what specifically you enjoy about that hobby.
2. Focus on it’s unique aspects.
3. Don’t feel obliged to be too creative.
4. Create a separate section under a “Hobbies” or “Hobbies & Interests” heading.
5. List up to 5 personal interests.
6. Don’t list anything generic.

Take Shanice, for example. She’s applying for a junior position with an advertising agency. She noticed the company is laid-back and a bit geeky—at least juding by a photo she saw on the about us page. The team seems to love Rick and Morty. She does too! There you go, immediate connection.

Then there’s Mike. He likes reading books, sure, but his favorite writer is Wang Shuo. He could mention that on his resume: Reading books by Wang Shuo. Who is Wang Shuo, you ask? Bam—immediate conversation starter.

And Peggy—she’s played basketball since high school and noticed strong teamwork skills in the job ad. Now she can use her passion to signal that she’s a team player—quite literally!

Quirky hobbies like origami, calligraphy, amateur astronomy or breadmaking can stand out. But some will stand out for all the wrong reasons (think: amateur taxidermy or collecting photographs of famous killers).

Also, be careful and don’t try to game the system—

If you’re applying for a job in marketing, don’t say it’s your hobby. (And don’t double-down by saying Confessions of an Advertising Man is your favorite book ever.) If you’re a developer, don’t try to squeeze coding, programming, and computer science into your hobby section, and so on. It will look desparate and become a distraction.

Pro Tip: If you want to save time and find out how to write a resume for your profession, take a look at our guides and examples of resumes for different jobs.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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How to Find the Right Passions for the Company

1. Research the company

You should always start by researching the company. Do they have a particular work culture? Would they find a unique hobbies and interests section on your resume valuable? 

Where should you look to find out what to put in your personal interests and hobbies section? 

1. Start with the job description. Most job offers will have a list of traits that companies wish the new employee to have.
2. Second, take a quick look around their website. Especially pay attention to any employee profiles. 
3. Next, check social media accounts (LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook). 
4. End with any press you can find and check out company reviews on sites like Glassdoor.

Make sure you also pay attention to the skills that will be useful for the new position. What are the best skills to put on a resume? Read our guide: What Skills to Put on a Resume? [Examples+ 6 Tips]

2. Choose wisely

When you choose activities, try to match them to desired personality traits. 

For example:

If the job requires you to be “outgoing and a good team player,” sports are good hobbies to mention on your resume.  

Leave out the bit where you like to sit alone in sweatpants knitting.

At the same time, do try to choose a variety of activities. 

By providing a variety of unique activities, you can show that you are: 

First, flexible enough to be comfortable in a lot of different situations.

Second, relatable to a range of different people. 

Both are important, especially if you are applying for a client-facing position. 

Need more tips on how to use the information from the job description to quickly tailor your resume? Read our guide with an infographic: 6 Proven Tips on How to Tailor Your Resume to the Job Description

3. Use passions to highlight your skills and traits.

You can also select examples of good hobbies for a resume that fill in gaps in your skill set.

Meet Jack.

Jack has gaps in his skill set because he’s only had a handful of internships in the past.

Now, Jack is applying for a position as a graphic designer. 

It might be a good idea for Jack to prove he has an eye for visuals by choosing relevant hobbies to list on his resume. 

For example: Photography.

Choosing a related hobby reinforces the fact that Jack has the skills necessary for the job. 

Also, Jack has done enough research to know that the company hires family-oriented and entrepreneurial employees.

So, he’s decided to write about how he is an occasional freelance photographer for weddings.

Be like Jack.

Take your resume to the next level by matching your list of hobbies to the work culture of your chosen company.

And if you want to save time on formatting and write a great resume and cover letter in a few minutes, check out our resume builder.

The tool will give you loads of useful tips for every section of your resume. Take a look at some our 18 resume templates:

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4. Push down your personal activities to the bottom.

Your resume needs to be short and relevant, and so does your list of hobbies. 

A good rule of thumb is to make sure your resume doesn’t exceed two pages (read more). To keep it short, only include two or three relevant resume hobbies. 

If you need to make cuts, your list of hobbies and interests should be the first things to go.

You may feel tempted to list your best hobbies in a resume: 

• Football, reading, traveling.

Don’t!

It’s more effective if you provide a brief, specific description:

• I teach ballet classes three time a week for children with disabilities.
• I volunteer at my local soup kitchen on weekends.
• I enjoy playing chess, and I started a chess club for the elderly in my community. 

Adding a list of interests and hobbies at the bottom of the page is a great way to end your resume. And it may help you make an impression on the recruiter. 

If you want to know how to start your resume with a bang, read our guides about resume summaries or resume objectives. They include a lot of actionable examples that you can quickly use to write a perfect opening for your resume.

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Three Rules You Should Never Forget [These Work for Dates Too]

Be specific:

Reading is not a unique interest. Reading complicated Russian novels is more specific. List some of your favorite authors. It will also help a recruiter remember you. 

Be honest: 

Stay away from using examples of hobbies for a resume that aren’t true to you. It could come back to haunt you.

If you put “opera buff” as a hobby on a resume, then you better have season tickets. 

It won’t be fun when the recruiter turns out to be an Offenbach enthusiast, and it comes out that the closest you’ve ever been to a stage was the one time you watched Phantom of the Opera on Netflix.  

Keep your level of weird low:   

It is one thing to be unique, but be careful not to cross the line into the Twilight Zone. 

It’s okay to volunteer at an animal shelter, but we all know what cat hoarding implies.

The golden rule of dinner parties is also applicable for examples of interests to mention on a resume: 

Always avoid politics, religion, or sex. 

Why?

This is an easy way to alienate someone whose views are different from yours. 

Remember, you want to be relatable and likable.  

right	wrong
I volunteer at my local animal shelter.	I collect cats compulsively.

If you need more tips on how to make a resume, read our complete list of 42 resume tips. We divided all the tips into quick 2, 5 or 30-minute fixes: 42 Amazing Resume Tips That You Can Use in 30 Minutes [Examples]

4

How Putting Examples of Interests and Hobbies on a Resume Benefits You

Adding a unique interests and hobbies section has hidden benefits. 

Recruiters, searching for candidates, shuffle through hundreds of resumes looking for the right people.

It is important for the interviewer to be able to create a full image of an applicant.

A list of interests on a resume can help you stand out from the crowd. They can also make you more attractive and memorable to your potential employer. 

You are a champion cupcake decorator. That will stick with a recruiter and get your foot in the door before someone else.  

It also works in reverse:

If you know who will be conducting your interview, put on your Sherlock cap and do some snooping. Find out if you have personal interests in common with them by checking their LinkedIn profile. 

Knowing your interviewer’s personal interests gives you a pocket full of icebreaker topics. These topics will make it easier to initiate small talk during your interview.

Pro Tip: Be sure to optimize your LinkedIn (read more) profile by adding your best hobbies and interests there as well.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here’s what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Just like in dating, listing personal interests should be done with caution and for a reason. You want them to resonate, reflect the company culture, and become a conversation starter for all the right reasons. You can use your personal interests to signal character traits, but it’s a bit of a long shot. In the end, the most important aspect of the perfect resume is it’s relevance to the job on hand. Learn how to build a professional resume here.

Frequently Asked Questions about Hobbies and Interests on a Resume

What are personal interests?

Personal interests are activities enjoyed in a person’s free time. They can include hobbies, sports, artistic expression, leisure activities, volunteering, cultural activities, spiritual practices, traditional activities, learning pursuits, and personal development.

Common personal interests include:

• Crafts, such as sewing, embroidery, scrapbooking
• Cooking and baking
• Sports and fitness activities
• Dance, such as Latin, ballet, hip-hop
• Art
• Photography
• Film
• Literature, including novels and non-fiction books
• Martial arts
• Music, including playing instruments and attending concerts
• Board games
• Blogging
• Video games
• Travel

Employers often ask candidates about their personal interests to get a better understanding of their character. Listing personal interests on a resume can be beneficial for the candidate, as long as the included list of hobbies and interests is related to their profession. For example, a software developer’s resume may list interests such as writing reviews of video games or recording tutorials for beginner programmers. 

As candidates from Gen Z expect a good work-life balance, their personal interests also matter to them more than they mattered to previous generations of workers. Having personal interests can also contribute to better mental wellbeing, managing stress, being less afraid of retirement.

What are examples of hobbies?

There are countless types of hobbies a person can pursue in their free time. They can be divided into several categories, such as: sports, creative activities, art, self-development, group activities, collecting, outdoor activities, music, food, games and puzzles, literature, travel, and more.

Examples of Hobbies: Art

• Creating art
• Visiting museums and galleries
• Artists’ biographies
• Purchasing art
• Reviewing exhibitions

Examples of Hobbies: Collecting

• Stamps
• Coins
• Postcards
• Seashells
• Rocks and minerals
• Fridge magnets
• Travel souvenirs
• Vintage items
• Designer clothing or accessories
• Dolls

Examples of Hobbies: Food

• World cuisines
• Baking
• Diets
• Food blogging
• Culinary tourism
• Reviewing restaurants
• Food photography
• Wine tasting

Examples of Hobbies: Creative Activities

• Embroidery
• Knitting
• Sewing
• Drawing
• Painting
• Sketching
• Woodwork
• Scrapbooking
• Photography
• Writing
• Blogging
• Dancing
• Macramé
• Crocheting
• Pottery
• Sculpting
• Singing
• Acting
• Film

Examples of Hobbies: Games and Puzzles

• Chess
• Board games
• Video games
• Poker
• Card games
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Sudoku
• Crosswords
• Mobile games
• Scrabble
• Arcade games

Examples of Hobbies: Group Activities

• Volunteering
• Clubbing
• Paintball
• Bowling
• Bar crawls
• Trivia nights
• Pub quizzes
• Escape rooms

Examples of Hobbies: Literature

• Reading books
• Writing stories
• Writing book reviews
• Writers’ biographies
• Book clubs
• Comic books

Examples of Hobbies: Music

• Listening to music
• Playing instruments
• Concerts
• Reviewing music albums
• Singing

Examples of Hobbies: Outdoor Activities

• Camping
• Hiking
• Trekking
• Climbing
• Gardening
• Going on walks
• Mushroom picking
• Foraging
• Horseback riding
• Outdoor photography
• Fishing
• Sailing
• Kayaking
• Birdwatching

Examples of Hobbies: Self-Development

• Cooking classes
• Online courses
• Language classes
• Self-help books
• Journaling
• TED talks

Examples of Hobbies: Sports

• Football
• Basketball
• Hockey
• Running
• Skiing
• Cycling
• Gymnastics
• Yoga
• CrossFit
• Weightlifting
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Table tennis
• Baseball
• Boxing
• Martial arts
• Golf
• Archery

Examples of Hobbies: Travel

• Sightseeing
• Camping
• Cruising
• Off-road driving
• Backpacking
• Travel blogging
• Writing hotel reviews
• Agritourism
• Motorcycle touring
• Scuba diving

If you want to include hobbies on your resume, try to mention the ones which are relevant to your profession. This way, they can boost your application! For example, if you’re writing a line cook resume, mention hobbies such as food blogging, reviewing restaurants, attending cooking classes, and so on. According to our 2021 resume trend study, the top 5 interests listed on resumes include reading, blogging, traveling, music, and sports. This means that mentioning a more specific and unique hobby can make you stand out from other applicants.

What hobbies should I put on a resume?

All the information in your resume must be relevant to the job you want. When choosing hobbies to include in your job application, pick the ones that match your profession. Some hiring managers use the information about interests in the resume as conversation starters to break the ice. But don’t try to impress the recruiter too much with fancy personal interests! And, of course, don’t lie on your resume. Remember that the hiring manager may ask you to elaborate on the hobbies you included. If you write that you love learning languages, but in fact, you haven’t moved beyond beginner level in any of them, it won’t work to your advantage. This may result in a job hunting nightmare for you—but it will be your fault!

Should you add hobbies to a resume?

The short answer is: yes!

The long answer: it depends. First, check if you have enough space left in your job application. Remember that a resume should fit on one page only. It may seem like a lot of space, but in reality, it’s not. It might be more important to list other additional resume sections, such as certifications and licenses, or language skills. But if you have enough space to add a list of interests—then go for it! 

Hobbies on resume can show a different aspect of your personality than the other sections. They prove that you also have a life beyond work, and you possess additional skills apart from the ones you use for your job. Of course, remember to include only those hobbies that are relevant to the job you’re pursuing. For example, if you’re writing a hair stylist resume, you can mention interests such as running a beauty blog, writing reviews of cosmetic products, and following fashion trends.

“When your interest becomes the interest of another person, you need to appreciate it and be grateful” – Karina

Singer KARINA , under the clear guidance of the producer Alexei Romanof , confidently goes to her goal, while remaining a woman and completely trusting men. The piggy bank of new victories includes the song “Jazz” by Konstantin Meladze and work on the third album, where three famous composers were the authors. In an interview for publication “Lifestyle. Moscow , the singer told the details about her collaboration with Konstantin and the new song, for which a video has already been shot, her main rules of life and feeling like a real woman, thanks to which, it seems, nothing is impossible for her at all.

WHAT IS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF YOUR ART? WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE AN ARTIST?

I realized that I want to be an artist, not like, probably, most of my colleagues in the shop, who grew up from childhood with the realization that they would definitely connect their lives with music. I didn’t have this and, probably, there is a certain amount of good in this, because I am a person who can do a lot. Therefore, I am very grateful to my parents that they were able to give me a choice of what to do with a sufficiently versatile education. If suddenly someday it happens that I no longer want to make music, there are different things in life – I can not only do this. But now I am completely in music, and for me creativity is the most suitable way for me to express myself. I enjoy the opportunity to express myself and my feelings in music, and it’s easier for me to express them this way. Plus, one way or another, the sphere of show business is the sphere of beauty, in the big sense of the word. There you need to look good and be able to create this beauty in the form of music. This is very close to me, I understand this, I have developed a very good sense of beauty, a sense of beauty and … well, it’s just me. Maximum I. This is the area where I can be myself, where I don’t have to put on any masks. And the main goal, as, probably, the goal of any creativity is a kind of help. In our world, music very often becomes the soundtrack of one or another moment of life, and when exactly your music becomes an accompaniment to episodes of someone’s life is very important. It’s a really cool opportunity to help people like this. There are doctors who perform operations and save lives physically, and there are artists and their music, which gives the feeling that a person is not alone, a feeling of celebration, and this is very important. Artists are people who are associated with something very good, with something bright, music in general is a very bright story, because it is created by creators at high vibrations, which give such a blessed state. It is worth being a part of this.

YOU ARE NOW WORKING ON CREATING THE THIRD ALBUM. WHAT THEME DOES IT DISCOVER? IS THE TITLE TRACK READY?

I don’t like the phrase “title track”, especially since I always have a fairly large number of songs that fit this phrase. Considering that we have three very big people on this album, three very talented and brilliant composers in their own way, then each of them has at least one, say, title track, this is very noticeable and it’s really very cool. The album itself turned out to be danceable, it has less lyrics than it was on the second one, and given that not only Lesha (Alexey Romanof – producer of KARINA) wrote them, it is very felt that more than one brilliant person worked here, and everyone did it of their own free will and wanted to do it (laughs). For me, this is a big job, because there is not a single performer who could say that he has at least one song from each of these composers in his repertoire, and for me, as an artist, this is very valuable, and speaks about my certain level, first of all, as a person, and the ability to communicate with people. So the album is really important.

EVERY YOUR ALBUM IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, HIGHER LEVEL OF POETRY AND SOUND. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE FUTURE ALBUM? WILL THIS BE A NEW FORMAT?

I would not say that this is a completely new format, but more fashionable music, as they say. The album will be danceable and full-fledged, consisting of 12 songs, we have been writing it for a whole year, and literally at the end of March we sent it to our beautiful Stuart for mastering in Britain. He worked and works with very outstanding people. In particular, if about contemporaries, then this is Ed Sheeran, if you take it further – Michael Jackson and George Michael. He is very cool, in terms of his professionalism, first of all. We’re really enjoying the album and what comes out of it. I sometimes let a small “focus group” listen, which also, let’s say, did not expect such danceable material. From me, anyway. This is an interesting story.

IN GENERAL DO YOU EASILY AGREE TO EXPERIMENTS IN CREATIVITY OR APPEARANCE?

Depending on what is considered experiments. I probably would not dare to experiment with the genre, but such experiments as collaboration with other people and composers … To be honest, this is always a difficult moment for me, I need to decide for myself whether I really need it, exactly whether I want it, and I always advise. It’s so arranged with Alexei that we are a team, and we always consult with each other, not even with regards to creativity, in general in life. And if Lesha had said “no” about both composers, I would not have insisted, to be honest. Probably, I would regret it, or maybe not, but the fact itself. It is very difficult for me to make decisions on my own. If we talk about appearance, then I quite easily decided to change my hair from blonde to brunette, it didn’t cost me anything at all, and then I went back to blonde. I have had both long and short hair, which was not there, and I very easily agree to such experiments, if there is any expediency in this.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE SOMETHING IN YOURSELF?

At the moment, everything suits me, to the maximum. The only thing, probably, one trait of my character: I’m a little lazy. I like to do everything measuredly, as much as possible – comfortably for myself. I’m probably wrong about this, sometimes you need to put yourself in not very comfortable conditions, because I “harness” for a very long time.

IN TERMS OF APPEARANCE, MANY GIRLS ARE CHASING THE “IDEAL”, EVEN THE MASKS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS CARDINALLY CHANGE THE FACE, AGAIN REMINDING WHAT WE SHOULD BE. IN YOUR VIEW IS THIS CORRECT? WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ON ACCEPTING YOURSELF AS YOU ARE?

This includes plastic surgery, and for many it’s a long way to realize they don’t really need it. It takes someone a month, someone ten years to understand that these are psychosomatic things, and you need to deal with your head, with your inner self. You need not just to realize whether it is necessary or not, but to understand the reason why the desire to do something for yourself. For example, rhinoplasty is a very pressing issue, because now it is quite a fashionable topic. Many have health indications, and it is clear that here they are rather faced with a choice: to live a full life or not. But it happens when it concerns the sphere of beauty, and a woman has an idea in her head that she needs to do rhinoplasty, and she begins to come up with arguments for herself in favor of the operation. It is important to understand why this idea appeared at all, and to work on the cause of the complex. It’s easier to go under the surgeon’s knife, to look like a fictitious ideal, than to work on yourself from the inside. These are psychosomatic things, and usually they come from childhood – from the upbringing of parents, and to a greater extent this applies to dad. I haven’t come across anything like this, I have a dad who loves me very much, and it so happens in life that everything comes through men for me. I am, in this sense, a happy woman, my environment is 90% of men who, like a steel mountain, protect me and love me very much. Therefore, there are no moments for me to want to change my appearance or be like someone else. Each person has his own path and someone probably needs to do these plastic surgeries, you need to bring yourself to some kind of ideal that he painted for himself. It’s not good or bad, it’s a person’s choice.

THEY SAY YOU HAVE TO TRY EVERYTHING IN LIFE.

ARE THERE THINGS YOU WILL NEVER TRY?

Extreme things – skydiving, for example – this is not about me at all. But if you really want something, then I’d rather try than not try and regret it. Some time ago, it was a very popular theme to try something new every day. For me, this is also incomprehensible, I love comfort and do everything in harmony with myself.

DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL RECIPE FOR SUCCESS?

I always say that the secret of any success, no matter what you do – build houses, factories, ships, eat, play sports – these are the people who surround you. And besides the fact that you need to find these people and admit that these are your people, you need them, and they need you, it is important to be very grateful. Gratitude works wonders. And when the whole team really is grateful to each other, then everything works out, because everyone treats each other with respect, everyone feels that they are a team, they adapt to each other, and this is very important. Here, for example, there is me, I have a big team, even by the standards of show business. I have heard from my colleagues in the shop that they do not see the point in this, but for me this is my main asset. My success, which one way or another comes gradually, comes only thanks to the people who are next to me, and, oddly enough, these are mostly men who help make my dream come true. And they do it not because someone forced them, and not even because I asked them, but because for them it also became a dream. And this is very sincere, you can never confuse it with anything. It’s such a strong interest. When your interest becomes the interest of another person, you need to appreciate it and be grateful. The main success of any business is people.

HOW DO YOU TAKE CRITIQIC IN YOUR ADDRESS?

Once upon a time, I took any criticism very close to my heart, although Lesha always taught me that it was wrong to do this. Now I look at it from the position that people who write something, by and large, cannot do anything to me. I return to the story that I am a woman, and I am surrounded by self-made – real men who, seeing stories of criticism and hatred against me, stand up for me. No matter what happens, my men protect me and always tell me not to worry. It is very important for me, for my personal awareness. I have a favorite man’s phrase: “do not worry, I will solve this issue.” And this is my motto in life is simple (laughs). I perceive criticism as follows: if it is justified and comes from an outstanding person who has really achieved a lot, then of course I will listen and, perhaps, take certain points into account, but if it looks more like hatred, then it makes no sense at all to pay attention to it Attention.

WHAT WAS THE BEST, MOST SIGNIFICANT GIFT FROM A MAN IN YOUR LIFE?

Probably the most touching gift in my life, and the most sincere one, is, of course, a song. This happens to me several times a year on certain holidays, and each time, surprisingly, I hear that this song was a gift. Such songs are somehow magically different, in their fullness. Probably because it has a little more significance, from the person who writes and gives it.

WHAT’S THE MOST PERFECT DATE? WHAT WAS IT?

I am generally a person who does not like to go anywhere. Therefore, the best pastime, including all sorts of dates, is at home, these are some simple things. After all, what are dates for? In order to spend time together and to feel some inner happiness. It is enough for me to have a person next to me. Even just to sit together. I don’t need to go somewhere, dress up beautifully and eat in a restaurant very pretentiously, this is not about me at all. It is important for me to just feel physically the person next to me.

DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN RULES FOR LIFE?

Of course, I have my own laws and some rules of life. One of the main things: it is very important, when receiving, to give something. You will never get anything without giving. Also, I need to always be comfortable for people. Now I very often hear that people are comfortable just being around me, even if they don’t talk. I always try to educate myself in such a way that I am not a burden, but a joy. It is clear that when people are close, different moments happen, life is long, it happens in different ways, you are not in the mood, or something else, but in everything good there is bad, and in everything bad there is good. And I need to realize that even in a bad mood you are not a burden, but a joy to a person. You also need to be decent in relation to people, because this is your reputation: first you work for her, and then she works for you. These are some basic things. Partnership is also the rule of life, I am a person of partnership, always with someone. I never get involved in anything. We recently had a video shoot in Moscow, and when I came to the team the day before filming to say hello and see how the construction process was going, I realized that I never got involved in this alone in my life, under any circumstances. I took part in this only because Lesha had a clear understanding of what kind of video he wanted, a clear understanding of the script, and he completely controlled the entire process: from the moment the idea of ​​the song and the video arose, and until the moment of complete implementation. I participated only in discussing some things with him. At that moment, I realized that from now on I shoot clips only in this format. For me, this is a life rule – I never get involved anywhere.

Source: Lifestyle. Moscow»

7 questions that will help you find your true interest / materials

The problem with determining interest most often arises when you think that everyone in life has hobbies: your friends, your loved one, your mother, and even your cat, and only you are not interested in anything and nothing inspires you. Sounds familiar? It’s time to fix it.

Waiting for you below 7 questions , which will help you find your true interest and finally leave your pets and nerve cells alone. So, let’s begin?

1. What will you do knowing that success is guaranteed?

If you take failure out of the equation, what would you bet on? Imagine that any business that you undertake right now will turn out to be a success without a doubt. What will you do? Fear of defeat – is the main reason for the inaction of the majority. And this is the most wrong strategy – Waste your talents and hide them from the world simply because there is a chance to fail. Don’t be afraid to act – if your favorite performer would rather sit in the bushes and start singing, fearing criticism, today you would not have the opportunity to listen to his album. So think, what will you decide on, knowing that success is guaranteed?

2. Who inspires you?

Our life — is a unique collection of memories, feelings and emotions that people give us in many ways. Take a closer look, for sure there is someone among them who inspires you: photographers, bloggers, famous entrepreneurs or even relatives – everyone who followed the path of their hobbies. Ask yourself what exactly do you like about them? What qualities or strengths of these people inspire you? Focus your attention on what traits of them you envy. Yes, that’s how you envy – . After all, envy – is an excellent marker of what really fascinates you. The main thing here – is not to confuse trends with real interests.

3.

What do people thank and praise you for?

Even if you categorically declare that you have nothing to offer the world, let me disagree with you. Each of us has something in which we are definitely better than others, and our potential and opportunities have been allocated to us just for the implementation of this task. Someone is good at cooking, someone is good at setting clear goals, and someone is – in the ability to listen and give the right advice. Think about what requests are being made to you. How do you help people and what do they thank you for? Basic principle in the search for interest – an honest look at yourself. And in this you can be helped by others – for people who look at you from the side, the situation may be more obvious. Ask your friends what they think you’re great at? They will accurately point to several qualities that will most likely point you in the right direction.

4. When do you lose track of time?

Think about what activity absorbs you so much that you lose track of time? What do you do when you feel enthusiastic and joyful at the same time? It can be anything: reading, photography, exercise, etc. To find your true interest, look for those tasks and activities that absorb you 100%. Having carefully listened to yourself, you will definitely find that “vent” that gives you positive energy, fills and enhances the feeling of inner significance. Analyze these moments and determine what brings you into a similar state.

5. What topics do you discuss and what do you view on social networks?

Remember your last discussion with friends, what did you discuss? What was your position and opinion? What makes you want to defend your point of view may well indicate the area in which you are interested. The topics that most often attract your attention in the feed can also help you find it. Think about what content you mainly consume and posts on what topics you read? Among them there may be things that really interest and inspire you.

6. What can you do even for free?

Appoint yourself as the main philanthropist for a second and imagine the kind of work that you would be happy to do absolutely free. Anything come to mind? Start the search for your interest with what you like to do not for some purpose, not for wages, but just like that – because you cannot do otherwise. If there is an activity in your life that does not require additional motivation in the form of money, and you just love what you do, we can probably already talk about it as your hypothetical interest.

7. What were your childhood/teenage dreams?

Due to age, childhood dreams are often irrational, but they also have their value in determining the interest of your whole life. Remember who you wanted to be as a child? What talents were noted by your parents and teachers? Did you manage to fulfill your main childhood dream? Growing up, we are often frightened by the scale of our past desires, and real life makes us leave maximalism and do something more rational. No, we are not asking you to drop everything and reattach yourself to the “I want to be an astronaut” model. But if old dreams still evoke awe and slight nostalgia in you, maybe you should think about just trying it?

Remember, no one is born with a clear understanding of their interest and the possibilities they have. This realization – is the result of a whole journey, consisting of an individual collection of experiences, understandings and acquired skills.

In our 12SPACE app you can find tools that will help you reach your true purpose and true interest faster, as well as understand what really drives you — outside the imposed priorities and rules.

“The arrow does not fly at you”: how to answer difficult and unpleasant questions

How to properly respond to an inappropriate comment and how to tell stories so that listeners cannot tear themselves away? The Alpina Publisher publishing house publishes a book by TV journalist, business coach and teacher of the Skolkovo School of Management Nina Zvereva “The Magic of Communication”. Forbes Woman publishes chapter on technologies for answering difficult and uncomfortable questions

It is clear that difficult questions are those that you do not want to answer at all. Moreover, you don’t want to hear them addressed to you. Very often they are offensive. Dishonest. They hit the sick.

This is what happens in a family, with children and partners.

This is what happens with parents and friends.

But now we will focus on business communication, on issues that relate to YOUR business!

These questions can come from the boss, partners, employees, customers, resellers, drivers and canteen workers.

There are many different ways to answer such questions without saying anything you don’t want to say. But first of all, you need to realize that the question is not being asked to you!

If you are a boss, manager, leader, then this question is not for you!

Even if they shout: “Ivan Ivanovich, I am addressing you personally!” This is not a question for you as a person.

This is a question about the function you are performing!

When you hear an unpleasant question, the first step is to separate the person from the function. It will be much easier for you to find the perfect answers: you can turn off emotions and turn on your mind

Whoever works as the head of the administration (you or not), he will still be bombarded with questions from residents.

No matter how well the head of administration works, there will still be those who are dissatisfied with everything.

Whoever is at the head of the company (you or not you), there will be employees who are dissatisfied with wages, working conditions, customers and contractors.

Therefore, when you hear an unpleasant question, the first thing to do is to separate the person from the function. The arrow does not fly at you, but at the sign with your position. Once you realize this, it will be much easier for you to find the ideal answers: you can turn off emotions and turn on your mind.

Then you can already look for a suitable answer. There is no single scheme for working with complex questions (because the questions themselves, the situations in which they sound, and the people who ask them are too different). But there are three “not” that must always be considered.

Do not comment on the words and actions of third parties.

If you are asked: “What would you say to Ivanov’s phrase that you are a thief?” – answer: “I did not hear Ivanov’s statement and I cannot be sure that he spoke exactly like that. Accordingly, I can not comment on this statement. But you can always ask Ivanov himself what he meant.”

The person asking the question may have misunderstood Ivanov’s words. He could misplace the accents. He could even invent that he heard it from Ivanov! Do not give in to provocation.

Do not answer without thinking.

You always have time to think. You can write a question. You can ask a clarifying question. You can repeat what they ask and ask again: “I understood you correctly, right?”

It is no coincidence that they say: “a storm of emotions”, “resentment blinds the eyes”. We need time to separate our identity from our position. Five seconds

All this gives you time. You can not answer immediately, on emotions: you will say too much. It takes only a few seconds for feelings to subside – but they are fundamentally important. Sometimes during trainings I deliberately take a student by the hand. I’m asking a nasty question. And I shake his hand exactly five seconds after the question. This is a sign: you can answer. Mayors, governors, company executives are shocked by how much more accurate and balanced their answers are then.

It is no coincidence that they say: “a storm of emotions”, “resentment blinds the eyes”. We need time to separate our identity from our position. Five seconds.

By the way, sometimes you need to clarify information just so that the person himself understands what he is asking about.

I’m sure you have also met such “questioners”: they ask about one thing, get excited, jump to another… Emotions drag them along like the wind blows an empty package.

If you start to clarify the details, perhaps people themselves will be grateful to you – simply because you helped them to understand the essence of the issue.

It is important to clarify the source of the information. Perhaps the person who asks you the question is himself misinformed by incorrect numbers. Or maybe he deliberately distorts reality.

Don’t answer a question if you don’t know the answer.

This is also the law. Never compose or pretend that you know everything. In this case, it is very easy to get into trouble.

Be honest, “I hate to admit it, but I’ve never heard of it. I will definitely look into it and give you an answer. Here are my contacts. Give me yours, please!” Contacts can be your assistant’s phone number, email address, reception phone number. I do not advise you to give your mobile phone number to the author of provocative questions.

It’s important to exchange contacts and promise to look into it. In fact, this exchange is your answer to the question. And so that you understand how dangerous it is to pretend to be a know-it-all, I will give a real example.

Once, at a meeting between the mayor and the residents (I will not specify the city), an extremely angry young man jumped up. He was indignant that pipes were being repaired in a small square on the outskirts of the city and the workers had not put the square in order after themselves.

– This is outrageous! the mayor replied. “I will punish the head of the district administration!” Yes, it’s a shame! You can’t work like that!

And then a woman came up to the microphone.

– Ivan Ivanovich. Her voice sounded a little confused. – So after all, everything was buried in our park. And new asphalt was laid. Look, – she began to flip through the photos on her phone, – the day before yesterday I walked there with my granddaughter, took pictures: everything is clean, beautiful. And you can’t even see where it was excavated…

Ivan Ivanovich turned out to be the loser. He was both embarrassed by the situation itself and uncomfortable in front of the head of the administration, whom he publicly insulted. What should have been done to avoid getting into trouble? Immediately clearly answer:

— I am very sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the park looks like now. Tomorrow morning, before work, I will go there, look with my own eyes and give you an answer. Please give me your contacts.

As you say. How to win over any interlocutor

Answer technologies

Let’s move on to the technologies of answering difficult questions. Remember, your main goal is not to say what you don’t feel like saying. Let’s arrange these technologies in order of increasing their universality.

Option 1: Refuse to answer the question

You can do this directly by saying:

— Sorry, I don’t discuss three topics on principle: religion, politics, and my family, and this has long been known.

The only condition is that it must be true. If just yesterday you posted photos of your children on social networks and argued about politics, your phrase will be perceived as insincerity.

Option 1a. Avoid answering question

To leave is not to refuse to answer, but also not to answer. An example of such a “avoidance” was given to me by my mother. She was very pretty, bright, lively, and, of course, she always had enough fans. One of the most dedicated and active was the director of the school where she worked as a teacher. He showed his mother signs of attention for a very long time. She pretended not to notice them for a very long time: she didn’t want to leave school at all, and the director himself was a good, interesting person, so she wasn’t going to raise a scandal, and the concept of “harassment” did not exist in those years.

Once, at a teacher’s party, the headmaster seized the moment and found himself alone with his mother. And abruptly, one might even say, with pressure and resentment, he asked:

— Tell me! Well, tell me honestly – you had lovers, didn’t you? Were they?

His question sounded like a statement. Mom later said: “I realized: I need to answer in such a way that he would never raise this topic again, so that he would be a loser. But at the same time, I should not offend him in any way in my words.

According to her confession, she herself did not understand how her brilliant answer came to her mind:

— If I tell you the truth, dear Pavel Yakovlevich, you won’t believe me anyway!

She smiled and went to her cheerful colleagues. The director really never allowed himself anything extra. She outplayed him, and he admitted defeat.

As you understand, such a phrase can suggest both the complete absence of lovers and their incredible number.

Mom answered but didn’t answer! And this phrase is almost universal. It can be used, if not in all, but in many situations.

One day my clerk students gave me the idea to make a list of such phrases. I repeat: they do not fit all possible situations, but you definitely cannot call them disposable either.

— You have known me for 10 years on real business. I can only say one thing: I will not let you down.

– You probably won’t like the answer to this question, so let’s go to the next one.

— The people elected me, and I will answer to them.

— Thanks for the info. I will not comment, because there is nothing to comment on here.

— I can only answer this question with your help: you clearly know the situation better than I do.

– You say you need to do it faster, but we both know that it won’t work out quickly and well.

– Pass us by and forgive us our happiness! (By the way, this is a quote from Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot: the phrase was spoken by Prince Myshkin in an argument with the consumptive Ippolit.)0252

Option 2. Refer to the source

Very often, officials are confused when they are asked about their salary. Firstly, they are not too eager to name the amounts: whatever you name, there will definitely be a person in the hall who will find it gigantic, and a person who will find it funny. And the official himself for someone will become a “snickering rich man”, and for someone – a “cheaply sold simpleton”.

Secondly, my experience of communicating with officials shows that many of them really do not know how much they have on their payroll. Additional allowances, bonuses, payments for overtime work are added to the base salary… And it is extremely uncomfortable to explain all this to the same journalists.

Therefore, you can go the other way and say:

– You can go to the administration site. All income declarations of our employees are posted there, including mine.

Option 3. Answer part of the question

As a rule, when people ask a difficult question, they put all their pain into it. And it rarely fits into a short “Why did this happen?”. Accordingly, in one question you will hear many theses, conjectures, assumptions at once … and sometimes several questions at once.

Choose the one that is easiest for you to answer. And answer it clearly and consistently. The remaining parts of the question can either be completely left out of the brackets, or give brief superficial answers to them.

Option 4. Make a joke

This option is one of the most effective. A joke wins over any person, even the most angry, especially if it is spontaneous and successful.

She cuts the ground from under your opponent’s feet and makes you the winner.

People often say to me: “But I can’t joke!” Surprisingly, the ability to joke is akin to an ear for music. It is given to someone by nature, to someone it is not, but everyone can develop it. The main thing is to set yourself a goal.

Play on the polysemy of words, on the variety of meanings. A joke is always a break in logic. This is the choice of the most non-obvious option of all possible. Moreover, pay attention, the option should still be on the list of possible ones, but it should be the last one on the list of obvious ones.

Saying “The neighbors’ new room was white as a Christmas tree” would not be funny. The tree is never white. Where to laugh? If you say “The neighbors’ new room was white, like my envy”, there will be irony, especially if you really envy the bright walls of the neighbor’s apartment with white envy.

You can also joke in response to questions. By the way, Vladimir Putin is well versed in this scheme. Once he was asked live on CNN:

– How do you feel about the fact that European leaders did not accept Trump?

Putin smiled:

— I am not one of the European leaders. Then he paused, pausing, and added, “At least they think so.

The hall burst out laughing. The CNN reporter didn’t push the question further: the answer, which caused laughter in the hall, already suggests that the issue is closed. Listeners will not understand if you return to the discussion.

We have to move on to the next question – in a situation where the journalist loses and the speaker wins.

In general, everyone plays on the polysemy of the word “relate”, and this game does not become outdated.

Back in the 1980s, the guys from Vzglyad traveled around Soviet cities.

They collected stadiums: people did not come to the concert, but just to listen to Listyev, Lyubimov, Zakharov… They sent them notes with questions.

If suddenly the questions turned out to be too boring, Listyev took out a previously prepared trump card. He unfolded the paper, saw that the question was boring, and read his own instead:0011

— How do you feel about homosexuals?

For the perestroika USSR, this was a sharp, fresh and unexpected question: just yesterday, discussing such a topic seemed like a sign of bad taste, and suddenly – you can! Listyev allegedly re-read the question. Allegedly thought. He looked into the hall, as if formulating an answer. And he said:

– You know, we do not belong to them!

The hall exploded with laughter.

Boris Nemtsov knew how to joke very well. He was the same person with an absolute sense of humor, jokes were born from him completely spontaneously.

He was the first politician who, in response to the question “How much does your dacha cost?” said:

— Yes, by the way, about the dacha. If someone finds it, please take it for yourself.

Then this answer was used by many politicians and officials. But Nemtsov was the first – I myself was present at this. Of course, he had no dacha. But he would never have been able to prove it so easily if he had not joked: people do not believe such answers in advance. I would have to make excuses, refer to the salary …

There are many witty phrases that will help you, if not answer, then put the audience in a good mood. And even then, with a good disposition, to give an answer.

— We thought about it, and I decided…

— We have to think about it: I know it helps sometimes. ..

— It’s better to be silent and seem like a fool than to speak up and dispel all doubts. (This phrase is attributed to Mark Twain.)

– First you look for justice, and then – another job.

In general, I strongly advise you to seriously spend time and find great aphorisms that suit you! Mankind, represented by the best minds, has tried for us. We must know how to use this wealth.

The gift of persuasion: how to prove to your opponent that your decisions are correct

Option 5. Answer general to specific or specific to general

Answers built according to this scheme look very convincing. They show that you are in control of the situation, and to a much greater extent than the person who asks the question.

Let’s say the question is private: “When will trees be planted in our new building block?”

You give a private answer, and then rise to the general level and compare, for example, the degree of greening of your city and the neighboring one – of course, in favor of yours. Or tell how many trees were planted in the whole city this year, and how many will be next.

If you are asked a general question, for example: “Why is there so little greenery in our city?” – start with general figures and compare your city with the neighboring one, and end with a specific example: a microdistrict of new buildings, where just yesterday an alley of young lindens was planted.

Option 6. Answer sincerely

I will make a reservation right away: in the previous answers, I do not urge you to deceive. But the “sincerity” option suggests that you demonstrate not only knowledge, but also feelings. First of all, feelings. And, of course, it is better not to play sincerity!

Once employees of a small organization complained to their boss about low salaries.

“Friends, it really hurts,” their boss replied. — We all know what the average salary is now in our market segment.