Do you mention your homebrewing hobby in job interviews

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jbob7171

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I know a lot of the general public still doesn't really understand home brewing and might associate home brewers as raging alcoholics. This picture below I saw somewhere on here says it best...

With those thoughts in mind, if you're in a job interview and are asked what your hobbies are, do you tell them home brewing? If you've done this, what have been the reactions?

I'm personally torn on this and would air on the side of caution and not mention it, but don't really know what I would do in the moment.

homebrewers.jpg
 
I only bring it up if the conversation goes that way, my current job now my boss and I had a discussion about beer so I felt it was ok to discuss. But otherwise no I would not mention it.
 
I have a section on the bottom with interests....Homebrewing is on there, though no ones ever brought it up. By the time someone gets to that question I'd think you probably have a feel for whether or not its a good idea to mention it
 
I started a new job in Sept., and my boss is a Teetotaler, however... I didn't start this until a couple of weeks ago, so didn't mention it but wouldn't have in an interview.

The other day he asked what I did over the weekend and told him with some hesitation that I was brewing a Stout and he actually was very interested because he brewed at one point as well.

So, interview... no, I wouldn't.
 
I live in Utah, home of the holley rollers.. I heard a radio advertisement for a job opening and they actually mentioned home brewing, The job was for a account rep for a radio station..
 
It depends on the job and how the rest of the interview is going. I did end up getting a job in HR after telling the boss that I homebrew, I also followed it up by saying that I do it because I like to experiment with ingredients.
 
If you are absolutely certain that the interviewer is a brewer as well, and if you're absolutely certain that mentioning brewing will make for a better rapport, then yes. In all other circumstances, no.
 
Honestly in almost all my job interviews I have never been asked.
However I am prepared if it ever comes up.
It should be noted that I make wine and not beer.
However, this requires reading and understanding written directions. detailed record keeping. Problem solving. Planning. creating and utilizing spreadsheets
Basic understanding of chemistry, biology and science.
and above all patience.
Now I usually try to avoid bringing this up because I can only imagine what a teetotaler thinks when they find out I have 200 bottles of homemade wine in my basement.
However If I have to, I tell them I make most of my wine to give away around the holidays (lie).

For the record I also do not tell people I golf, and I am neurotic about keeping stats and spreadsheets for my game, which is another plus, but somehow frowned upon!
 
I mentioned it in my last interview, when they asked me about my hobbies. I still got the job. I just explained how interesting I think it is and that it wasn't about getting loaded.
 
It depends on the job and how the rest of the interview is going. I did end up getting a job in HR after telling the boss that I homebrew, I also followed it up by saying that I do it because I like to experiment with ingredients.

That's a great point... if you can make it somehow related to the job you're interviewing for, that's the only way I can see it as a positive, unless of course you know the interviewer also does it.

Most of the responses have been along the same lines I was thinking, probably not a good idea to mention unless you know it's going to go over well.
 
I had an interview about a month ago and I mentioned my homebrewing and we ended up spending more time talking about IPAs than we did talking about the company..

I start Monday.

Haha, that's great! Interviews that go completely off-topic are the best. Congrats on the job. :tank:
 
Depends on who I was interviewing with, if it was an initial review by an HR person or something then I probably wouldn't. If the interview was with the person I'd be working for then I would absolutely mention it...its part of who I am, if they are not ok with that then it probably wouldn't be a very good working relationship anyway.
 
I probably would not unless the conversation lent itself to discussing hobbies. Even then, I'd have to assess the person. While it is my hobby and it shouldn't matter, the stigma that comes with brewing beer isn't always wonderful.
 
I'd be careful too - maybe not with HR, but if the hobbies come up with potential future peers during the interview...esp. if the interview is more "we know you can do the job, but want to see if you're a good fit with our crew", then why not. It did come up in my last interview - the likely supervisor and program manager both homebrewed, so I was able to easily mention it, and my decent clone of one of their local brews (DuClaw's PB porter).

Just found out this week, landed the job! :mug:
 
I wouldn't mention it unless the job was related. There are too many that would think uh-oh this guy would be hung over all the time.... Or even think that homebrewing was illegal.
 
No. It's not pertinent to what I do for a living (design embedded systems/write software). They really don't care what my hobbies are. Most places nowadays have gone to behavioral interviews, which involve the interviewer reading from a pre-written script, so the topic just won't come up. In any case, I see no reason to bring something up which may be construed as controversial by some people during a job interview.
 
Wow...I wouldn't even hesitate. If I can't be me, I don't want to work there. Then again, where I live, work is plentiful... If jobs are hard to come by, that's a different story


THIS!


- When I interviewed for the job I've been in for over 7 years now I was asked what my hobbies were and I answered honestly. I believe that honesty will go a long way towards making a good first impression.

Why would you want to spend the majority of your waking hours in a place where you couldn't be yourself or honest with others. That's just insane.
 
I don't go out of my way to bring it up, but I inevitably get asked what kind of interests I have, so I list that along with my other hobbies (archery, woodworking, skiing).

I think the important thing is how you present your hobby and how you can draw it back around to the job you are interviewing for. My opinion is that those questions aren't asked because they really care about your hobbies or interests, but they want to see how your mind works and if that translates well to the job requirements. I work in engineering/management in the steel industry, so I mention that I like homebrewing because I enjoy the analyzing the process to improve my product, the experimentation of tweaking a recipe, and making something with my hands that other people enjoy.

As far as interviewing with a teetotaler - now I as I mentioned before I work in the steel industry where our Christmas/holiday parties still have an open bar, so I am going to go out on a limb and say we might have a few less teetotaler's in this industry than some others. YMMV. Ultimately I think you can gauge the interviewer during the interview and know if they will be the type to get uptight about homebrewing.

I also want to mention I agree with what KPSquared said - if I can't be me, I probably don't want to work at that place anyhow. I have learned this through some particularly negative employment situations where the red flags were there in the interview process. Its like a first date - if they treat you poorly in the interview, they probably aren't going to get super cool once you start the job.
 
Depends on the employer.
But here in Tennessee, you might as well be telling them you like to smoke marijuana.
 
I know a lot of the general public still doesn't really understand home brewing and might associate home brewers as raging alcoholics. This picture below I saw somewhere on here says it best...

With those thoughts in mind, if you're in a job interview and are asked what your hobbies are, do you tell them home brewing? If you've done this, what have been the reactions?

I'm personally torn on this and would air on the side of caution and not mention it, but don't really know what I would do in the moment.

I tell my future employers my hobbies are sitting quietly and practicing my breathing. It explains why I spend so much time in my office by myself breathing heavily.
 
I live in Utah, home of the holley rollers.. I heard a radio advertisement for a job opening and they actually mentioned home brewing, The job was for a account rep for a radio station..

Same up here. I dont mention it at all. There is enough of a mixture of people but you figure out quickly who is who and keep your hobbies to yourself...
 
I'm an employer, we've hired about 80 people in the past 2 years, mostly through referrals from people already working for us. All my employees know of my passion for beer and homebrewing so applicants will actually mention it pretty often. But there's a connection between geologists and beer that is fundamental, for many years all the homebrewers I'd ever met were geologists, and even today I'd say that over 75% of the homebrewers I know are geologists. For the record I don't actually hang out with geologists very often, not even my employees.
 
people look down at me enough as it is on account of the shaved head and very visual tattoos, so flocc yes I do! if they want to pass me up because they're that uptight, I sure as flocc wouldn't want to work for them.
 
Honestly? I don't mention it to many and never in a job interview. If asked about my hobbies I have a number of them that are widely accepted by the Temperance movement (needlepoint, cooking, gardening, etc.) so I tend to mention those first. For the record I rarely mention my antique car hobby also.
 
I'm an employer, we've hired about 80 people in the past 2 years, mostly through referrals from people already working for us. All my employees know of my passion for beer and homebrewing so applicants will actually mention it pretty often. But there's a connection between geologists and beer that is fundamental, for many years all the homebrewers I'd ever met were geologists, and even today I'd say that over 75% of the homebrewers I know are geologists. For the record I don't actually hang out with geologists very often, not even my employees.

For the record...I don't know a single Geologist. Where do they hang out? They sound like a lot of fun. :D
 
I mentioned it when I was interviewing for a tech position back in Sept - they asked what I do for fun outside of work. There were 5 people in the room. A couple of them smiled when I said home brewing and we launched into a 5 min conversation about the hobby (it was a 4 hour interview).

I did get the job. But mainly because I was qualified. heh heh.
 
people look down at me enough as it is on account of the shaved head and very visual tattoos, so flocc yes I do! if they want to pass me up because they're that uptight, I sure as flocc wouldn't want to work for them.

We have that in common and in conjunction with my beard I think people just know.
 
It all depends on how its approached. If they ask you specifically about personal hobbies and interests. 100% Share your passion. It means you have drive, and invest in things that are important to you. a valuable quality that translates professionally. Just dont present yourself as a binge drinking beer guzzling college kid (whether you are or not), and they wont look at you that way.

People like interesting people and they are interviewing you because your one of dozens, possibly more people that have the skills and experience. Theyre basically meeting you to see if they LIKE you as a person. My current boss brags to clients that i homebrew all the time. We've given out 6'ers on holidays to good clients, its a very novel and unique thing to homebrew and can even be an asset if approached properly. IF you were a manager who would you want working for you, a person who adds a new and unique element to your office culture or a drab drone with no interests and passions.

So go for it. As a recruiting professional that interviews 25+ people a week, I can tell you with certainty the any manager that doesnt hire you because you love to brew, is not a manager you want to work for.

Also for people knocking the "Religious sect", my fiance is very catholic(largest religious organization in the world) and they love drinking. infact its a pretty well known generalization that catholics like their booze, at least here in the midwest.
 
When I interviewed for my engineering position I had to give a presentation on my background, interests, etc. I mentioned that I brewed and discussed how it really is an engineering task where you have to practice quality control and attention to detail. I wouldn't mention it if the plan was to just say I brew and drink beer, you need to relate it to a positive you bring to the table.
 
Also for people knocking the "Religious sect", my fiance is very catholic(largest religious organization in the world) and they love drinking. infact its a pretty well known generalization that catholics like their booze, at least here in the midwest.

I don't think anyone is referring to Catholics. Catholics have virtually no issues with alcohol. I never met a priest who'd turn down a drink. :D
 
I rarely get interview questions about hobbies. Interviewers I've talked to tended to be "all business," and focused on discussing my job skills and the needs of the firm.

But several law firms around here get a fair amount of work representing craft breweries, so I doubt many of them would have a problem with home brewing. Lawyers generally have a higher incidence of alcohol use, and the downtown bars are filled with attorneys after hours, so I'm not worried about encountering much objection from prospective employers.

This issue is similar to some applicants being hesitant to discuss other potential "controversial" interests, like guns and hunting, political activism, etc. Each individual has to weigh the situation and decide if it's worth mentioning. On the one hand, is it a risk to give the information? On the other hand, maybe you don't want to work for someone who would judge you by such criteria.
 
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