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Let's suppose I'm working on my resume to apply for some jobs. I think I should only include details that are relevant to the job I am applying for, but others think that it would be helpful to also include non-related accomplishments, such as, say, obtaining fluency in three languages, acheiving the Eagle Scout rank, getting a black belt in some form of martial arts, and so forth.
Will potential employers even care about such details? Is it a good idea to include them?
Fluency in three languages is a useful skill. Doesn't matter how much it appears irrelevant to your job, most companies have dreams of expansion and may envision a time when your language skills might come in useful to them. I suggest including that.
I guess some would argue that the other things show a positive determination to succeed. I suspect most hiring managers will just pass over it, but I think you'd have had to have had a deeply unsettling experience involving ninjas to discount an applicant for achieving black belt.
So, that stuff can't hurt, but don't include it at the expense of something genuinely important and relevant or if your resume is looking a little too long. But the languages ... include those. Seriously.
The answer is not entirely clear-cut. If you have an interviewer that happens to enjoy one of those same hobbies, that commonality may work to your advantage and make it easier to connect to your interviewer and leave a positive impression that you'd be a fun coworker to have on their team. Or even if they don't share those hobbies, they may see positive personality traits in those skills: you have a well-rounded life (helps prevent burnout) or generosity, interest in staying fit (good for health insurance costs), or leadership skills and so forth.
But on the other hand, if the interviewer happens to be of a different political viewpoint, different religion, on a different side of any hot-button issue that you mention, thinks your hobby is too dangerous (risk for healthcare costs?), or the like, including such a hobby may actually work against you.
And some interviewers will prefer to only focus on the office side of your resume, and find hobbies irrelevant.
So if this portion of your resume is small and not controversial, it could be seen in a positive or neutral light, but there is risk to including a hobby section if which hobbies to list are poorly chosen.
Everything on the resume has to be useful to selling you. Between the resume/CV and the cover letter you want to make it clear that you have the skills they desire.
Some parts you will focus on because they are directly related: looking to fill a position as X, and you have 3 years experience with X.
Others are included to complete the timeline. Don't skip mentioning an employer, because it will leave a big hole in the job history.
Other accomplishments are included because they tell the company that you have other traits: Intelligence (3 Languages), Drive (Eagle Scout), ability to complete tasks (unrelated college degrees).
Assuming you have these Skills
obtaining fluency in three languages -- Absolutely. That's a standard mention on a CV anyway.
achieving the Eagle Scout rank -- You can, but use it when you need to. For example if your next job is working with Children.
getting a black belt in some form of martial arts --- Well, stuff like this is Sports, so i would say Yes and NO. Its up to you. if you feel is something you need to put down on your CV then by all means, but you could Generalize it and Put it in the interests part on your CV and say "you like Sports". if you are asked on your interview about your interests then you can say "I do Judo and i have a black Belt". that way a good conversation will spark Up and probably get you the Job. Never know, the Boss may be a Tiger Crane kung fu Instructor in his spare time.
To Sum up, When it Comes to Extra Skills on a CV think of the relevance to Each Job you are be applying to. Skills like in Computing and Software would be regarded as a good thing to put on your CV because everyone nowadays uses a Computer at work and companies would save cash in training someone to use one.
