Reasons to add your personal interests on your CV:

• You will be joining a school community, where your future friends from work will socialize and do activities together outside of work. You might enjoy playing ultimate frisbee in your spare time, and there's already a school team for staff. What you write down will help a future Head of School or HR department see if you can easily fit into their school community;

• Sometimes your interests might also help school admin to see your potential in leading extra-curricular activities or an after-school club. You're fascinated by international politics and there's a school MUN Club that needs a facilitator. This could raise your candidacy potential in the eyes of the recruitment committee;

• Listing active hobbies such as sports or weekend physical activities can help highlight the fact that you're in good health and would therefore potentially avoid medical issues (ie. sick leave) during the school year;

• Make sure that there are also creative hobbies in your list, such as playing a musical instrument, singing in a choir, sketching, cooking, learning a language, or acting in community theatre. This will demonstrate you're a well-rounded individual who has a wide range of interests.

• Finally, you'll want to show that you also know how to relax & unwind with some passive pastimes, such as reading historical biographies (being specific in the type of books you read could lead to interesting follow-up questions during an interview), meditation, knitting, watching foreign films, or listening to podcasts.

Hopefully you now see why you should dedicate a couple of lines of your CV to listing your personal interests. As an international educator, what we do in our spare time helps define who we are both in and out of school - and that could peak someone's interest in your candidacy.

Speaking of candidates, I'm excited to see my clients' job offers pouring in at the moment from all over the world. After multiple school interviews, some of my clients are getting competitive offers and needing to decide which one to accept. Fortunately they have me to turn to for help and advice. You too could benefit from my 20+ years of overseas teaching and school leadership experience by signing up for my services and becoming a JPMint client. Take a look at how I could help you with your CV, cover letter, interview skills, decision-making, and more.

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