Bringing homebrewing up in a job interview

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BesteBrew

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At a job interview I brought up that I home-brew when they asked about my hobbies. The job was an associate scientist in a lab so I tried my best to show how much chemistry and biology was involved in the process. Looking back I'm thinking that it might have been a bad idea because to some people it may seem like I am an alcoholic making hooch in his basement. What do you guys think? Also does anyone have home-brew listed on their resume?
 
anyone who thinks that, I would not wanna work for... poker is a hobby, but to some its a gambling addiction. :)
 
Tough call. If interviewer was a beer drinker, you probably scored some points. If a teatotaler, not so much. but I'd have probably mentioned it if ask about hobbies. what's done is done so go have a brew.
 
Seriously, especially if you were applying to a lab, I think it's great! If you just said "I like to make booze in my tub," then sure, they might get that impression. After just a sentence or two, especially highlighting the job skills that you put to use all the time, it should absolutely be a positive.

Heck, I've mentioned homebrewing in interviews that have nothing to do with science, and as long as you describe it accurately they understand it properly as an involved, committed hobby.
 
There is some stat floating around that something like 1 in 3 chemists has tried homebrewing.

It shows your passion for science outside the lab, and I think it could only reflect well as long as you stick to talking about the brewing and not the drinking.

/Chemist
//Would mention it in an interview
 
Yea I brought up things like specific gravity, fermentation temperatures, water pH and basically how the hydrometer works. Wish me luck.
 
there is some stat floating around that something like 1 in 3 chemists has tried homebrewing.

It shows your passion for science outside the lab, and i think it could only reflect well as long as you stick to talking about the brewing and not the drinking.

/chemist
//would mention it in an interview

+1
 
I would think that it shows curiousness, the ability to self educate, that you think outside of the box, and that you will look for a better way to do things.

I would think, "hey this guy can buy great beer, but thinks he can do better. I wonder what he could do with XYZ inc's wigget formul.
 
I would totally bring up homebrewing in a job interview, especially for a lab. I am generally pretty honest about stuff like that, anyway, so if someone asks me about my hobbies and I *don't* mention homebrewing, it wouldn't feel right to me.

Everyone I work with knows I brew beer. Co-workers are always asking what kind of beer I've made recently, etc. and I give people samples when I see them.


I would think that it shows curiousness, the ability to self educate, that you think outside of the box, and that you will look for a better way to do things.

Curiosity.

The word you are looking for is "curiosity".
 
I would totally bring up homebrewing in a job interview, especially for a lab. I am generally pretty honest about stuff like that, anyway, so if someone asks me about my hobbies and I *don't* mention homebrewing, it wouldn't feel right to me.

Everyone I work with knows I brew beer. Co-workers are always asking what kind of beer I've made recently, etc. and I give people samples when I see them.




Curiosity.

The word you are looking for is "curiosity".
Ha that was a test, and you tested positive for being a (insert adjective here). FYI, both are correct.
 
I have interviewed scientists (chemists) for similar positions and trust me, if I can hear someone apply knowledge in real world situations, they are far more golden than someone with only class based knowledge.

Obviously, as a homebrewer I'm biased; however, I'd be quite impressed if I had an applicant who could do into detail about brewing (or wine making, cheese making, etc.).

Don't fret about what you cannot control.
 
I actually brought it up yesterday during a job interview. It was part of my hobby breakdown including playing the guitar, killin' bunnies (tasty little critters) with my boys and canoeing with the family anyplace, any time.

I'm a shoe-in for sure!!
 
When I got my job my boss said "you like beer and meat right?" I said "yup I even make my own beer" he said "cool. I like this guy".
My boss isn't like any other boss I have ever had in my life.
 
On second thought, I don't know that I'd really enjoy working for someone who draws assumptions like home brewing=alcoholic. That's a pretty broad stroke of the ol brush. Aren't we protected under federal non- discrimination practices? Hehe
 
As should be expected, everyone posting so far is pretty much on board with mentioning homebrewing.

As an engineer, it was definitely a decision I struggled with when I was looking. I eventually decided that by the time my interview got to talking about hobbies, I should have a pretty good read on the interviewer. If they mention God or religion, even vaguely, in a science or engineering-related interview, I would be less inclined to mention homebrewing.

But I also decided that if they were going to see homebrewing in a strictly negative light, I wouldn't want to work with them anyway...and they could go suck an egg.
 
Each situation is different, but in general, I would not discuss religion, politics, women, racial topics, or anything that might be considered taboo to any group during the interview. If you want the job, heed this advice.



I'd say any discussion of alcohol would be a bad idea. If you want to discuss an outside interest, pick something completely innocuous, like cooking or running.

Now, if the interviewer brought up homebrewing, that's different. But if the interviewer said "So, do you drink?", the wrong answer would be to go into an excited passionate description of your home brewery.

There's lots of time to let everyone know your passions once you get the job.
 
i never stress about a job. I always think "when they find out what you are doing to the coffeepot, you'll be fired, for sure. and then all this stress will have been for nothing. so don't sweat it."
 
i do little things to the coffeepot to relieve the stress at the office. they might not be legal in certain circles or ethical in others- i don't know - i'm not some sort of ethnic lawyer geometrist...
it seems to be working with the stress though - kind of like imagining everyone in their underwear when you have speak in public
 
I brought it up once in an interview and they responded with "sweet, we can throw a good party now." They emailed me an offer on my drive home from the interview, so I guess it wasn't anything that was too detrimental...


...I'm still at my old job.
 
I didn't mention it on purpose, but when my interviewer and I walked to my car to drive to lunch he noticed the "I brew the beer I drink." sticker on my back glass. And then he saw my copy of Brewing Better Beer and we struck up a nice conversation about it.

I had an offer within 24 hours.
 
i do little things to the coffeepot to relieve the stress at the office. they might not be legal in certain circles or ethical in others- i don't know - i'm not some sort of ethnic lawyer geometrist...
it seems to be working with the stress though - kind of like imagining everyone in their underwear when you have speak in public

golden. thanks.
 
I did the same thing. We started talking about sports an Hobbies. I didn't however get the job. But I don't think it was because of that. I wouldn't worry to much about it. If you don't get it, I just wouldn't bring it up again lol
 
At a job interview I brought up that I home-brew when they asked about my hobbies. The job was an associate scientist in a lab so I tried my best to show how much chemistry and biology was involved in the process. Looking back I'm thinking that it might have been a bad idea because to some people it may seem like I am an alcoholic making hooch in his basement. What do you guys think? Also does anyone have home-brew listed on their resume?

Bad idea. This is the reason why I keep my home brewing out of my face book. You know the first thing they do is to google up your name. You will never know why you didn't get the job or the promotion. People just don't understand, they are ignorant. To them a guy home brewing beer on a week-end = moonshining alcoholic.

If they asked me about my hobbies, I'd say: home emprovement, cooking, fishing.

It's sad, but the real Big Brother is your employer now-a-days.
 
Bad idea. This is the reason why I keep my home brewing out of my face book. You know the first thing they do is to google up your name. You will never know why you didn't get the job or the promotion. People just don't understand, they are ignorant. To them a guy home brewing beer on a week-end = moonshining alcoholic.

If they asked me about my hobbies, I'd say: home emprovement, cooking, fishing.

It's sad, but the real Big Brother is your employer now-a-days.

You know you can make your facebook private so the info doesn't show on facebook, right?

At my last gig I used to add some colleagues on fb. It started to be a problem when I added the wrong people. I un-friended a lot of them because I didn't like hearing my personal business floating around work and obviously they couldn't respect that division between work and personal. So if you have colleagues on your fb, I can understand why you might want to keep it off.

Lots of employers have social media policies that (try to) dictate what you can and can't do on your own social media sites. I think it's mostly nonsense but aside from violating the concerted activity protections under the NLRA they can usually do what they want.

I actually have it on my resume under an "other interests" section but labeled as "craft brewing". It tends to get either ignored or people ask what it is and I get to set the tone of the conversation before they have a chance to assume I'm a drunk. However, for 99% of professions I would keep it off.
 
I'm wondering if this isn't a completely regional thing. The thought to hide my hobby, my passion from my employer or perspective employer has never even crossed my mind, not once. I also don't live in a place where alcohol is considered "evil," "devilish," or any other variation of the word "naughty," so your mileage may vary.
 
if your prospects are many and you have options, sure, tell the truth, let your passions shine through and make no compromises.

if however you are like the rest of the world and need to pick your battles in order to thrive in this world, I'd be cautious. Know your audience. I worked at a baptist church in houston as a software developer for a while, and you can probably guess how much I talked about my personal hobbies at work.
 
I'm in research and have interviewed others for similar positions and I can say with certainty that saying you can cook/bake/brew/whatever else involving similar skills is always a plus. It shows that you are interested in that kind of work and you can apply it to your life.
 
There's always a line; for instance, I usually talk about my drag racing car I built, my competitive shooting (but not my Title II firearms!), playing guitar, and homebrewing. They all show the employer who I am and what I am capable of accomplishing. If they have a problem with any of them, I don't want to work there.
 
I'd definitely let it come up unless you live in one of those "dry" places one hears about and homebrewing really IS the easiest way to have hooch on hand.

In places where that's not the case, homebrewing means that you have deliberately chosen a leisure activity that requires you to do independent research, show initiative, be detail-oriented, and have standards. Most employers like that sort of thing. If your interviewer doesn't know enough about beer to know what's involved in making it, nothing wrong with giving a (very) succinct rundown of the process--your ability to do that and the enthusiasm you show for it will also reflect well on you.
 
I am certainly not a mucky muck but I work directly with a bunch of them in my office. A huge percentage of the folks I deal with all day have titles that start with "Chief" and the something something. (Wall Street fat cat firm).

And they all know I brew. Hell... I've had half of 'em out to my house to try my beers.

I think the biggest thing when talking about brewing at work is that it is discussed in the right manner. I CONSTANTLY and openly talk about how beer has a bad connotation to it with some folks. I can't remember how many times I've said something like, "it's frustrating because if I told folks I was into collecting fine wines, everyone would raise an eyebrow and think, 'hmmm... he's sophisticated'... but when I say I'm into fine beers, people think I am sitting in a parking lot pounding Bud Light funnels with no shirt on".

I have found that if you put that problem right out there and explain that this is something I take very seriously and it's not "sitting around drinking", they tend to understand it much much better.

Now that I've done that... and since "craft beer" is getting more and more popular, I've actually gotten calls from mucky mucks asking for good beer recommendations since they might give them as gifts. I even did a beer dinner/tasting for my COO last fall.
 
i do little things to the coffeepot to relieve the stress at the office. they might not be legal in certain circles or ethical in others- i don't know - i'm not some sort of ethnic lawyer geometrist...
it seems to be working with the stress though - kind of like imagining everyone in their underwear when you have speak in public

What the hell? I really don't even know what to say about this.
 
Once you're working at the company, you'll have a feel for what's appropriate. I was surprised how widely alchohol is discussed at my current corporate job. At my last company, a European-owned design house, it was a forbidden topic. It's hard to tell when it's appropriate for a given employer. I would leave it off the resume and not bring it up in an interview unless the interviewer brought up alcohol.
 
I interview and hire as part of my job. When I'm looking at a stack of applications, one red flag is enough to enlarge my recycling pile. Applications and interviews are your opportunity to present a sanitized, employable version of yourself. Every imperfection looks like the tip of an iceberg. Having kids means missing work once a week when they're sick; having problems with your boss means frequent insubordination; homebrewing as a hobby means you're a drunk.

When you've got the job and you've started to fit in, then you can talk about what you do outside of work. Just remember that the CFO who talks to himself is a brilliant eccentric, the middle manager is quirky, and the guy in the mailroom is a dangerous loner.
 
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