Interests section on resume? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Too many. Pick three or four you can really hold a conversation about.

Thanks, which 3-4 are the most interesting/compelling?

I'm worried that people might think "animal rescue"=PETA freak. But it is a big part of my life.

Kayaking, gardening, harmonium, art history, and salsa dancing.

Birding, hiking, and animal rescue are kind of redundant with kayaking in a general "outdoorsy" kind of way, and kayaking is the coolest one. Wii is lame. This list has a balance between indoor/outdoor and active/stationary and makes you sound well-rounded.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but it's a good one, and I didn't see one from the last month+ on this topic.

I'm trying to think of what to put in my interests section for all types of legal employers including firms and judges (for clerkship apps).

These are some of my thoughts:
linguistics
card games (e.g., Euchre)
spicy food
hostels OR staying in hostels
volunteering
personal growth
Myers-Briggs personality typology
historical fiction

Thoughts on which if any of these might be good on a resume?

[jaekeem]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but it's a good one, and I didn't see one from the last month+ on this topic.

I'm trying to think of what to put in my interests section for all types of legal employers including firms and judges (for clerkship apps).

These are some of my thoughts:
linguistics
card games (e.g., Euchre)
spicy food
hostels OR staying in hostels
volunteering
personal growth
Myers-Briggs personality typology
historical fiction

Thoughts on which if any of these might be good on a resume?

spicy food, linguistics, historical fiction

your interest is personal growth? lol. c'mon...that just comes across conceited

[A. Nony Mouse]

I'd put volunteering but with more specificity - like the local humane society, big brother/sister? Pick one or mabe two if you volunteer at a bunch of places. Also hostels sounds like a weird way to say traveling.

[A. Nony Mouse]

But really the best things to put are whatever you can have an engaging informed conversation about during an interview.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but it's a good one, and I didn't see one from the last month+ on this topic.

I'm trying to think of what to put in my interests section for all types of legal employers including firms and judges (for clerkship apps).

These are some of my thoughts:
linguistics
card games (e.g., Euchre)
spicy food
hostels OR staying in hostels
volunteering
personal growth
Myers-Briggs personality typology
historical fiction

Thoughts on which if any of these might be good on a resume?

spicy food, linguistics, historical fiction

your interest is personal growth? lol. c'mon...that just comes across conceited

Personal growth is the opposite of conceited! I like books, podcasts, etc. relating to personal growth/happiness/success (e.g., The Happiness Advantage & Mindset). Nevertheless, I can leave it off.

I'd put volunteering but with more specificity - like the local humane society, big brother/sister? Pick one or mabe two if you volunteer at a bunch of places. Also hostels sounds like a weird way to say traveling.

Hostels was definitely my attempt at being less generic than "travel."

thanks for the thoughts!

[jaekeem]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but it's a good one, and I didn't see one from the last month+ on this topic.

I'm trying to think of what to put in my interests section for all types of legal employers including firms and judges (for clerkship apps).

These are some of my thoughts:
linguistics
card games (e.g., Euchre)
spicy food
hostels OR staying in hostels
volunteering
personal growth
Myers-Briggs personality typology
historical fiction

Thoughts on which if any of these might be good on a resume?

spicy food, linguistics, historical fiction

your interest is personal growth? lol. c'mon...that just comes across conceited

Personal growth is the opposite of conceited! I like books, podcasts, etc. relating to personal growth/happiness/success (e.g., The Happiness Advantage & Mindset). Nevertheless, I can leave it off.

I'd put volunteering but with more specificity - like the local humane society, big brother/sister? Pick one or mabe two if you volunteer at a bunch of places. Also hostels sounds like a weird way to say traveling.

Hostels was definitely my attempt at being less generic than "travel."

thanks for the thoughts!

oh I see. I think you can put 'listening to podcasts' then, or something similar, and go more into detail if you get asked about it?

"personal growth" just struck me as odd because I think most people are, and should be, interested in their own personal growth

so, if I saw it on a resume, it would read to me as if someone had put "being a good person" as an interest.

of course you should strive to be a good person/grow as an individual! we all should!

listing it explicitly just seems like you're implying that most other people are not interested in their personal growths (as interests are a way to highlight non-law things that make you unique/interesting), and that just doesn't read well to me, but who knows, that's just my opinion. maybe I'm being cynical.

[clshopeful]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

[A. Nony Mouse]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

If they're on your resume, either people read them and just ask you about them directly, or they don't read them and ask you in the interview what your interests are, in which case there's no issue with reciting them because your interviewers didn't se them already - you don't need to come up with new ones (??). (Also you probably don't need the room for employment history.)

I get that some people don't like putting interests on but I don't get the above reasons.

[cavalier1138]

Also remove the Myers-Briggs bit. Yikes.

[rpupkin]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

Huge mistake. I think "Interests" is probably the third most important thing on your resume—after law school and class rank/GPA. Only cut "Interests" if your interests are super generic and boring (e.g., "reading," "traveling").

[clshopeful]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

If they're on your resume, either people read them and just ask you about them directly, or they don't read them and ask you in the interview what your interests are, in which case there's no issue with reciting them because your interviewers didn't se them already - you don't need to come up with new ones (??). (Also you probably don't need the room for employment history.)

I get that some people don't like putting interests on but I don't get the above reasons.

Ok... well I actually did need room for employment history since I transferred law schools and therefore my education section takes up like 4 more lines than it should had I not transferred

[clshopeful]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

Huge mistake. I think "Interests" is probably the third most important thing on your resume—after law school and class rank/GPA. Only cut "Interests" if your interests are super generic and boring (e.g., "reading," "traveling").

So you think an interest section is more important than employment history?

[Nebby]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

Huge mistake. I think "Interests" is probably the third most important thing on your resume—after law school and class rank/GPA. Only cut "Interests" if your interests are super generic and boring (e.g., "reading," "traveling").

So you think an interest section is more important than employment history?

He must be joking

[rpupkin]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

Huge mistake. I think "Interests" is probably the third most important thing on your resume—after law school and class rank/GPA. Only cut "Interests" if your interests are super generic and boring (e.g., "reading," "traveling").

So you think an interest section is more important than employment history?

Often yes.

Look, if you're applying to be a patent prosecutor, then the three years spent working as an Engineer at Microsoft is extremely important. And you should of course list any significant long-term employment. But if you're listing minor jobs you worked at several years ago—or summer jobs you did in undergrad or something—then, yes, I think the Interests section is more important than those items.

[rpupkin]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

Huge mistake. I think "Interests" is probably the third most important thing on your resume—after law school and class rank/GPA. Only cut "Interests" if your interests are super generic and boring (e.g., "reading," "traveling").

So you think an interest section is more important than employment history?

He must be joking

I'm honestly not.

[mjb447]

Also remove the Myers-Briggs bit. Yikes.

^^^^^^

Be interesting, not weird.

[Anonymous User]

I'm with rpupkin. As an aside, learning something like how to play golf and listing that as an interest can do wonders, especially at OCI for screeners. In all my interviews I've had throughout law school, half to two-thirds have asked me about it. It's not that I'm even that good, but people's eyes light up when I tell them I shoot in the mid-80's and play as often as I can.

Anything that can help you connect with your interviewer is a plus. And for a lot of (male, at least) attorneys, golf is a good starting point. I can't speak for female attorneys, but I'm sure plenty of them enjoy the game as well.

[SeewhathappensLarry]

I took interests off my resume because I thought it was more natural to say my interests when I was asked, rather than recite the ones on my resume or have to think of new ones in the interview [also needed more room for employment history]

Huge mistake. I think "Interests" is probably the third most important thing on your resume—after law school and class rank/GPA. Only cut "Interests" if your interests are super generic and boring (e.g., "reading," "traveling").

So you think an interest section is more important than employment history?

He must be joking

I'm honestly not.

I'll defer to rpupkin's experience here, and when I went through OCI almost every interview asked about my interests. I had a few interviews where that is literally the only thing we discussed.

[Nebby]

I didn't realize this was about OCI interviews. Interests make sense in that context

[ladybug1989]

If I'm part of the craft beer society at my school (lol), is it okay to put as part of "activities"? I have more formal activities on there, but thought it might be unique and catch the interviewer's eye (hopefully not for the wrong reasons). Or should I just play it safe and leave it off?

[rpupkin]

If I'm part of the craft beer society at my school (lol), is it okay to put as part of "activities"? I have more formal activities on there, but thought it might be unique and catch the interviewer's eye (hopefully not for the wrong reasons). Or should I just play it safe and leave it off?

Definitely put this on your resume.

[ladybug1989]

If I'm part of the craft beer society at my school (lol), is it okay to put as part of "activities"? I have more formal activities on there, but thought it might be unique and catch the interviewer's eye (hopefully not for the wrong reasons). Or should I just play it safe and leave it off?

Definitely put this on your resume.

Not sure if being sarcastic.

Edit: NVM, read some your other posts above. Thanks. I think I'll keep.

[Anonymous User]

Any thoughts about putting interests on AUSA resume? I've had a lot of success with them for clerkships but a former AUSA told me he would take them off and seemed perplexed by the thought of even having them.

[Nebby]

Any thoughts about putting interests on AUSA resume? I've had a lot of success with them for clerkships but a former AUSA told me he would take them off and seemed perplexed by the thought of even having them.

Government doesn't give a shit about your interests. Interests are good in places that really only care about your grades and pedigree (biglaw/clerkship) and give the Associate/Partner the opportunity to make bullshit smalltalk to just make sure you're not a weirdo. In gov't & nonprofit, they will be much more substantive interviews where your passion for flyfishing likely won't ever be raised.