Do you mention your homebrewing hobby in job interviews

[corkybstewart]

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.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

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.

 

[Melana]

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.

 

[b-boy]

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.

 

[brrman]

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.

 

[Tin4]

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.

 

[techbrewie]

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.

 

[wardens355]

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.

 

[b-boy]

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.

 

[MaxStout]

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.

 

[yewtah-brewha]

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.

Ill try not to offend anyone, but here in Utah the mormons have a book seperate from the book of mormon, cant remember the name, but it specifically tells them not to drink or partake in any event that has anything to do with alcohol.

My wife and I are Christians, and so is her side of the family, they all drink alcohol and love my brew hobby, no one is a raging alcoholic, everyone knows thier limits.. I think when you tell someone they cant do something thats when you get problems, I know alot of mormons and thier biggest sin is the fact that they think theyre better than everyone else. the fact of the matter is they/we all have problems, some hide them better.

Also the religion of mormonism, was founded by brewers lol!

We have a local church here that has a brew contest, pretty cool, just thought id give my 2 cents..

 

[corkybstewart]

For the record...I don't know a single Geologist. Where do they hang out? They sound like a lot of fun.

Most of the geologists working for us tend to hang out with each other complaining about their boss while drinking quality beer they buy with the money we pay them. But geologists also spend a lot of time hiking, climbing, fishing and rock collecting in pretty areas.

 

[Rubes]

Interviewed for a police service. Internet use is part of it, so I had to explain what HBT is and briefly talked about homebrewing. They didn't have a problem with it, and I got the job. I certainly wouldn't have brought it up on my own though.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I interviewed as a homebrewing instructor, so...

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I interviewed as a homebrewing instructor, so...

well, don't leave us hangin'! did you mention it or not?

 

[Black Island Brewer]

well, don't leave us hangin'! did you mention it or not?

Heck no! Governmental organizations like colleges adhere to the Peter Principle, so I knew if I demonstrated competence, I wouldn't get the job!