What do you do in your spare time? It is an innocuous question that sometimes pops up in interviews. What the interviewer is really doing is trying to discern more about your personality. Who you are as a person? What you are passionate about?
Sometimes what we choose to do in our spare time can make or break us in the job market. As employers have access to social media, and can see more and more about a potential employee’s personal life, it is critical that your extracurricular activities say the right things about you. Here are some tips:

Stay away from politics and religion.
You can absolutely have strong feelings about or involvement in these areas, but try not to wear that on your sleeve. Too often people who are overzealous or heavily committed to a certain ideal or belief may turn off employers.

Accentuate the positives.
Being involved in a charity or a community group is a good thing. It is ok to talk or post about these activities, but again do not overemphasize them when interviewing or including on a resume. Try and let the involvement stand on its own.
Avoid spreading yourself too thin.
I spoke with a student once who actually told a potential employer that he couldn’t start work when needed because he had too many charity functions coming up. He did not get the job! Don’t give the appearance that you are going to be involved in too many other things to give your job the attention it deserves.

Choose the right type of activities/organizations.
If you are thinking about getting involved, pick something that reflects positively on you but may also allow you to utilize work skills that you haven’t used in a while, or need improvement. Example: If you want to improve your public speaking abilities maybe you could join the marketing team for a community organization.