Could Learning a New Craft Be Your Secret to Career Success? The Surprising Link Between Hobbies and Professional Growth

Last year, my client Lynne was stuck in a marketing rut, feeling like her career had plateaued. Then she did something different. On a completely unexpected “whim” (her word) she took up ceramics.?

Fast forward about twelve months and she's now leading her company's most creative campaigns in a long time. The best part? She says it’s those hours at the pottery wheel for her professional breakthrough.

Was she an ‘instant natural’, ummm no. She said she felt bad for “wasting her body weight in clay.” But she loved it. Loved the process, the focus it required, the time for herself.?

The time she spent making wobbly vases allowed her brain to make new and different creative connections and solve problems while Lynne’s hands were occupied.

In my decade+ years as a career coach, I've noticed that the most successful professionals often have a commonality. They’re “secret grandmas”! Meaning, they're craft enthusiasts, hobby collectors, or passionate art-project never-completers.?

And with the massive shift in how we work since COVID (when everyone suddenly became bread bakers and urban gardeners), we're seeing more evidence than ever that learning new crafts might just be the career catalyst you never knew you needed.

The Power of Diversifying Your Skill Set: More Than Just a Resume Booster

Okay, but exactly how does basket weaving improve your career? To answer that we need to talk about "career capital" and no, I'm not talking about your 401(k). Each and every new skill you learn is like adding money to your professional bank account. The stats back this up: LinkedIn's recent learning report showed that 92% of hiring managers value soft skills more than hard skills, and guess what develops soft skills like nothing else? Learning new crafts.

Think about it: when you're learning woodworking, you're not just building a coffee table, you're building:

• Problem-solving muscles (ever tried to fix a wonky table leg?)
• Project management skills (from raw materials to finished product)
• Creative thinking abilities (designing something from scratch)
• Resilience (because trust me, you'll mess up more than once)

The Surprising Impact of Hobbies on Professional Development: It's Science, Really

I had another client, Tom. By day, he's a software engineer. By night, he's a budding jazz guitarist! When he started mentioning his music on job interviews, something interesting happened.

Suddenly, he wasn't just another code monkey, he was the “cool guy” who could think improvisationally, work in harmony with a team, and handle complex patterns. He landed a very competitive role because his hobby made him memorable.

Research shows that people who regularly engage in creative hobbies perform better at work by 15-30%. They're also more likely to come up with innovative solutions to workplace challenges.

How Learning a New Craft Can Enhance Your Resume (Without Looking Like You're Trying Too Hard)

Yes, your resume needs to stand out, but not in a "I used Comic Sans to be different" kind of way. When you genuinely invest in learning a new craft, you gain authentic talking points that make interviews more interesting and memorable.

Here's how to actually make this work:

1. List out all the soft skills you’ve gained while taking that Visible Mending course. It could be things like: creative problem solving, attention to detail, or flexibility.?
2. Create a skills section on your resume that includes and even highlights those skills.
3. Connect those skills to accomplishments you can point to on the job.

In interviews you can also use your craft doing learnings as talking points:

• Focus on transferable skills (knitting taught you patience and attention to detail)
• Share concrete wins (that Etsy shop you started taught you digital marketing)
• Highlight problem-solving scenarios (how you figured out that complex macramé pattern)

The Importance of Work-Life Balance: When Your Side Hustle Feeds Your Main Hustle

We all know burnout is real and it kills careers faster than any lack of skills. Learning a craft does double duty. It gives your brain a break from work stress while simultaneously building capabilities that make you better at your job.

I see it all the time: professionals who make time for crafts and hobbies have:

• Lower stress levels
• Overall higher job satisfaction
• More fine-tuned creative problem-solving abilities
• Stronger resilience when facing workplace challenges

What Now? Your Action Plan for Crafting Career Success

Look, I'm not saying you need to become a master woodworker or win Great British Bake Off. But I am saying that picking up that camera, learning to code for fun, or finally knitting that groovy 70s sweater, might be exactly what your career needs right now.

Here's your homework (yes, I'm still a coach, I can't help it):

1. Pick one craft or hobby that's always intrigued you

2. Commit to 30 minutes, three times a week

3. Document your progress (it's amazing what you'll learn about yourself)

4. Notice how these new skills start sneaking into your work life

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Remember: Sometimes the best career moves happen outside the office. Now go forth and craft something amazing!

Yours in 'crochet allll the granny squares' goodness-

EBS

EB Sanders?| Career Coach for Creative Types

ebsanders.com

[email protected]

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