Why having fun can help shape your teen's future
- Jun 23, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 22
Don’t lose sight of how much learning takes place outside the classroom, especially at home. Academic qualifications are important, but it’s what students do alongside their studies that makes them stand out, both on application forms and in interviews. This is especially true for teens, where there could be hundreds of applicants for the same place, all of a similar age, having studied similar subjects and possibly with similar grades. How do they differentiate themselves?
Why soft skills matter
Interviewers want to distinguish one candidate from another, looking for qualities that show a student will be a good fit for their organisation. Whether they're interviewing for a job, apprenticeship or a place in further education, they'll be looking for candidates who can demonstrate soft skills (sometimes called transferable skills). Soft skills are mostly gained through experience rather than classroom learning, and are more about approach than knowledge. They're highly valued because they're essential to doing well in business. The ability to work well in a team, communicate effectively, show curiosity, plan, organise, maintain focus, follow instructions, keep calm under pressure and work to a schedule are just some of the sought-after skills.
When students can demonstrate they possess some of these core skills, interviewers feel confident that the applicant already has qualities on which to build successful outcomes, and that it will be comparatively straightforward for them to develop the knowledge aspects of the role during the placement.
How hobbies reinforce skillsets
While it's possible to worry that your teen is spending their free time unwisely, what they do for fun helps shape their character and gives them essential soft skills that can only be gained through experience. Because soft skills aren't industry-specific and have equal worth across different job types, students who develop a strong set have more opportunities to switch between sectors to find the roles that suit them best. This gives them a much better chance of following a career path, and ultimately finding a job, that's the best fit, especially if their first choice turns out not to interest them as much as they thought.
Different hobbies, different skills
Different activities develop different skills. For example, team sports might build commitment, good communication, collaboration, perception and teamwork, whereas solo sports might build commitment, decisiveness, determination, independence and self-reliance.
If your teen has a keen interest in listening to podcasts and watching short videos, this might expand their general knowledge, broaden their interests, and help them identify and explore their passions, while improving their skills in assimilation, comprehension, listening, research and prioritisation.
Bookworms will develop their language and communication skills while demonstrating focus and a curious mind for trying new reads. Those keen to be in the limelight, perhaps making their own videos to post online, will become adept presenters and great communicators, with insight into holding an audience’s attention (very useful for work meetings later in life).
Core values
As well as soft skills, these non-academic interests encourage personal growth, developing capability and potential. This includes personal traits, or values, such as courage, honesty, integrity, kindness, loyalty, optimism, reliability and trustworthiness. There are numerous others, all vital in creating rapport and aligning values with individuals and businesses alike.
Broadening their skills
The key takeaway is to identify what your teen enjoys and consider how that's building their skills. If they want to learn more, they can extend the interests they already pursue to broaden their experience (such as cooking for larger groups instead of just one or two people), or take up new interests that specifically target skills they'd like to develop but don't feature strongly in what they already do for fun (such as joining a book club if they love reading, to build communication, or taking up a team sport if most of their activity is solo).
Standing out from others
As well as developing and demonstrating skillsets, their hobbies and interests give them a talking point for application forms and interviews. This is an opportunity to showcase their unique perspective and experience, helping them stand out from other candidates.
The Parents' Guide to Developing Skills and Character (Years 10 to 13)
In The Parents' Guide to Developing Skills and Character, we explore the top 20 skills sought by interviewers and identify which hobbies help build them. Find out how your teen can spend the summer doing things they enjoy that will also develop skills valuable to their future. It covers:
inspiration for hobbies that suit different personalities
which hobbies build which skills, and why these matter at interview
how reading, audiobooks and podcasts build confidence
ways to find work experience
recommendations for non-curricular courses
how to make research fun and effective
Want to help your teen build skills for the future?
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