120 Examples of Personal Interests

John Spacey, May 24, 2022

Personal interests are optional activities, memberships and pursuits that you have adopted on your own. These are often communicated to potential schools and employers to demonstrate that you are a well-rounded person who goes far beyond the minimum expectations in life. Personal interests can also communicate character, ambitions, commitment, knowledge, talents, experience, resilience and social status. The following are illustrative examples of personal interests.

Animals	Animation
Aquariums	Archery
Architecture	Art
Artificial Intelligence	Astronomy
Baking	Beekeeping
Biology	Bodybuilding / Weight Lifting
Botany	Boxing
Business	Calligraphy
Camping	Canoeing
Carpentry	Cheerleading
Chess	Climbing
Coaching	Coding
Comic Books / Manga	Computing
Concerts	Cooking / Culinary Arts
Cosplay	Crafts
Cultural Activities	Cycling
Dance	Debate
Design	Diving
Diy	Documentaries
Drawing	Electronics
Engineering	Entrepreneurship
Environmental Action	Exercise
Farming	Fashion
Festivals	Film
Filmmaking	Fishing
Fundraising	Game Mods
Gardening	Geocaching
Go	Golf
Gymnastics	Hiking
History	Horseback Riding
Iconography	Improv
Information Security	Interior Design
Investing	Journaling
Journalism	Kayaking
Kite Flying	Languages
Live Action Role-playing	Low Technology
Maintenance & Repair	Martial Arts
Media Production	Museums
Music	Music Performance / Production
Musical Instruments	Nail Art
Orienteering	Origami
Painting	Performance Art
Photography	Poker
Political Participation	Pool
Public Speaking	Reading
Reuse	Robotics
Running	Sailing
Science	Simple Living / Minimalism
Skateboarding	Skating
Skiing / Snowboarding	Small Business
Snorkeling	Songwriting
Surfing / Bodyboarding	Swimming
Table Tennis	Team Sports
Technology	Tennis
Theatre	Track & Field
Travel	Tutoring
User Experience	Video Games
Visual Communication & Design	Volunteering
Windsurfing / Kitesurfing	Woodworking
Wrestling	Writing

Personal interests can include hobbies, leisure activities, arts, sports, community activities, volunteer positions, cultural activities, traditional practices, recreation, extracurricular activities, research topics, self-learning and classes that you have taken.

Generally speaking, active interests that involve other people tend to be more impressive on a resume, application or in an interview than interests that appear passive or isolated. For example, watching television or collecting stamps on your own may be viewed as passive and isolated.

120 Examples of Personal Interests

Personal Development

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