I think it’s wonderful to have on your resume; I have it on mine as “Yoyo anodizer”. It’s actually sparked conversations with recruiters and interviewers for me.
I work in tech/media product management.
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Ehhh, I dunno. I suspect you are massively overestimating the number of people who have any idea what a National Yo-Yo Master is.
That said, @Nathan is doing pretty rad in his career/life. So it’s obviously not hurting even if people read it as “guy who did yoyo demos at my elementary school”.
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One or 2 of the Smashing team put professional yoyoer on their resumes. It sparked interesting discussions during the interviews. I think it’ll help.
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In my current job search I have had the opportunity to talk to several hiring managers/ex-CEOs about this type of thing, and it is definitely something you can add. It is interesting, shows that you are unique, and may even pique someone’s interest. I guess that some guys may think it is childish, but it definitely shouldn’t be a deal breaker.
I was discussing this sort of thing with someone who used to be the senior VP of the lab at Quest Diagnostics, and she did a lot of hiring for the same exact jobs im applying for. I put “music appreciation” on my resume, and asked her if it would be ok to say that I enjoy going to death metal shows. She said that there was nothing wrong with it (she actually found it interesting in our mock interview), but in my mind I would probably soften the blow and just say that I enjoy heavy metal shows. Im absolutely not going to say that I like stoner/doom shows as well, lol
One word of advice with this section though. If you have an interest that is in common with your interviewer, it can oftentimes be an ice-breaker. I can’t tell you how many times skiing has been that common denominator. If you do mention yoyoing, make sure that you have a short (30 seconds to a minute) response prepared about what it means to you.
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Well said! I should clarify that in addition to it being on my resume I’ve interviewed hundreds of tech professionals. (I’ve been grateful for being in executive roles at TiVo, Amazon and now Hulu). I love seeing interesting and quirky hobbies on resumes.
If you put yoyo on your resume, just list it as a hobby, nothing longer than that and as eternal mentioned, be sure to have a quick response prepared. Maybe tie it into a key strength or other part of your narrative, maybe: curiosity, perseverance, love for creativity, meditation, etc.
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I’ve mentioned stuff like yoyoing or flyfishing or whatever in my resume before. If there is space, I often include a small “Things I’m passionate about” section where that stuff fits nicely. I see at as showing a bit of me as a person. But I also don’t try to make a big deal or go into any detail. These aren’t “relevant experience” items that need to be explained. They are just little conversation starters to help catch someone’s eye.
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Definitely don’t go into detail on “hobbies/interests/whatever you call it” section. Unless it directly relates to the job (this section almost always doesnt), keep it really short. It is just something to show that you are a person and not a robot. Just be prepared to talk about it if you put it on their. Someone may be interested in your hobby, or just want to see how you are interested.
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I mentioned that I yoyo during my last job interview. I ended up getting the job as well. I didnt bring it up out of nowhere though. They asked if I had good hand eye coordination, so I felt it was relevant.
I had mentioned yoyo during my recent interview for a graphic design position at my local amusement park. In my portfolio I had built, I had included some logo designs I had done which one of them was for a Facebook yoyo community, which that was when I felt that being a yoyoer was relevant. In the end, I feel like it really depends on the situation and if the one conducting the interview seems to be down to earth/fun person or appears to be super up-tight/stone face.
Of course now all of my coworkers know that I yoyo, my former boss used to come by desk, swipe my yoyo I had sitting on it, throw a nice sleeper, do a basic trick that we did back in the 90s and then looked at me puzzled when he found that the yoyo wasn’t coming back up. Let’s just say we had a little yoyo session when I tought him how to bind 
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Honestly at the worst they just wont even care. And even if they did care, the type of boss to judge someone negatively for such a trivial hobby is a red flag. Just as much as you want a job, you more so don’t want an inflexible and judgmental monster to be in charge of you. Most curmudgeonly bastards wouldnt even mention your hobbies in an interview, so I wouldnt worry about it. If you feel like you have relevant job experience to talk about, talk about it. Unless it is for like bondage porn or something, but realistically yoyo is nothing to be scared of mentioning.
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I have mentioned “modern art of yoyoing” in my resume because yoyo is not just a toy,however it’s a skill toy.
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