Will it help or hurt (or neither) to showcase irrelevant talents such as musicianship on a software engineering resume?

Question

I am curious whether including a link to my music projects would help or hurt on my software engineering resume. Assume for the sake of the question that the music projects showcase a major talent. For the sake of generalization, suppose the showcased talent may be in any other area which is unrelated to the job that one is applying for.

Answer 1

A resume is supposed to be a targeted list of items / accomplishments which showcase why one is fit for a particular role. IMHO, unless a hobby or a skill is related to the job post / role you're applying for, it's better to leave it out of the resume.

For example, in general, hobbies like reading, travelling etc. help grow a person (mentally and physically), and a positive sign. They can be included in the resume.

• A hobby of watching cartoon series may not be relevant, even indirectly, to the role of a software development for banking sector.
• However, if the job role is for animation / VFX sector, having exposure to various cartoon series may be a plus.

So, the bottom line is: include the information only if relevant.

Real estate is limited!

Answer 2

Most likely, it would be neutral to negative.

If I'm reviewing a resume, I'm probably spending 60 seconds looking through it to figure out if this person is worth having a phone call with. If I spend 6 of those 60 seconds looking at irrelevant information that doesn't show me that you're worth having a phone call with, you've only got 54 seconds left to sell me. And that means that I probably won't see some other tidbit of information you've included in your resume that would be more likely to merit a call.

From an optics standpoint, having irrelevant information will tend to make a hiring manager question whether you're really right for the role. I'd rather not hire a software engineer that is really focused on being a professional musician and is just taking a software role as a way to pay the bills in the short term. If you're including irrelevant content, you're liable to needlessly introduce that sort of doubt.

Of course, it is possible that someone will see that link, think "great software developers frequently excel at their chosen hobbies", and conclude that excellent musicianship shows skills that are transferrable to software development. Fleshing that sort of thought out would be a good way to get a viral LinkedIn post. Practically, though, the vast majority of people are too busy during the day dealing with all the work they have to do and all the deadlines they're dealing with to invest a lot of time and effort reviewing the pile of resumes HR just dropped on their desk.

Answer 3

Answer from the Netherlands here, which isn’t as ‘hard’ as US work culture. I’ve been the interviewer for software development roles and I wouldn’t see this as a negative. If you have some interests outside of work, list them, but briefly. It provides an opening during the getting-to-know-each-other talks, and a way to let someone speak passionately about something they like.

And keep in mind software development is an employees market. People talking about sifting through resumes in a minute… well let’s say that doesn’t really match my experience as a developer of being approached several times a week. Software developers are in high demand, recruiters are desperate, don’t worry about letting them spend another few seconds, the resume is ALSO something a team lead or scrum master or whatever will read, and they have an important say about whether someone is a fit for the team and company culture.

Answer 4

I'm in the software industry for over 30 years and have had quite positive experiences working with musician-tinged software developers. I'd add it, but put it bottom e.g. "Other experience" or "personal". Tangentially I also happen to look positively at strong relatively current athletic achievements since that reflects discipline and drive.

Responding to some other answers about "not interested in people who first want to be a musician and the software development is just to pay the bills": I have seen that happen a couple of times. One of the persons made no bones about it but he was quite effective on the job so what's the harm? The second person was also quite effective and after fifteen years of software development as well as managing a wide variety of teams he went into composing for the motion picture and gaming industries. He's gone from software development but he was valuable for a number of years in it so again where's the harm in that? Note: i am [most certainly] not a musician so this is not self serving to promote these strange and wonderful folk.

Answer 5

Many talents can be a "plus" for aspects of many jobs.

If your involvement in "music projects" ws being responsible for backups of the digital material then computer knowledge or specific software may be a plus.

If the music project involved creation then concentration and focus may be a plus for the job.

So, it is worth listing talents, but make sure they are in the most suitable section.

Answer 6

Personally, I've never seen any value in, nor understood the reasoning for including superfluous information in a resume. If it isn't related to the job, your career, or your education then I don't see why you'd want to include it.

You: "I was a first chair flautist in my local symphony orchestra."

Person reading your resume: "This is a software development position. That isn't relevant and I don't care."

Answer 7

Listing hobbies is ok. In longer interviews, they can serve as ice-breakers or chit-chat topics to lighten the mood of the interview.

However, no one needs a link to your hobby page cluttering up your resume. If you want a section called "Other Interests: music, fast cars, dinosaurs", that's fine. None of those should begin with https://

Answer 8

Reporting in from Germany. It is common practice to include some things you are interested in into your CV. The most common things are traveling, exercising, learning about new technologies, etc.

They can serve as nice ice breakers during the interview and help to humanize you a bit beyond the spreadsheet of accomplishments and experiences you have. As for your specific example, I think including a link would be overkill. It almost feels like you are trying to sell your music, not you yourself. You can most definitely feel free to include the hobby but it shouldn't look like you are trying to sell your hottest mixtape to the recruiter.

Answer 9

I see no harm in mentioning hobbies, etc, on a CV - as long as it's no more than a sentence or two at the end.

Note one thing, however: if you list something on your CV, then you must be prepared to answer questions on it, no matter how niche and obscure it may seem to you.

This applies whether you once used an esoteric programming language, or did a course in underwater basket weaving. For all you know, your interviewer created the language, or is a basket weaving expert.

Obviously, musical skill is likely to be more mainstream. Your interviewer may ignore it completely, or may want to chat about it at the end of the interview. Either way, my view is that it's harmless.