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State by state, here are the bizarre interests people list on their resumes

For the most part, we're pretty straightforward listing jobs on resumes. But as one website found, we loosen up for the "interests" section.
/ Source: TODAY

The job listing part of the resume is pretty straightforward: We know where we worked and when we worked there. But then comes the "other interests" section and suddenly we have to display personality.

It's trickier than you think! Do future bosses really need to know you have a deep and abiding interest in Superman or the Kardashians?

The Most Commonly Used (And Totally Weird) Resume Interests In Each State
USA and Kardashians? People mention them a lot on resumes.Getty Images, AP

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Well, according to a new survey done by career website Zippia, many applicants think the answer is "yes" (at least in Pennsylvania and North Carolina)! The site scanned all of the 3.5 million-plus resumes posted to it throughout the U.S. and narrowed down the most common unusual keywords listed in them for each state, many of which came out of the "other interests" section.

Some of them make sense: Washington is concerned about "environment." New Mexico has Area 51 in Roswell, so UFOs aren't an unexpected interest. And we're not too surprised to see Georgia feature "Coca-Cola" (Atlanta is the headquarters for the company) or Michigan feature "Ford" (Detroit's association with car manufacturing is legendary).

The Most Commonly Used (And Totally Weird) Resume Interests In Each State
The most commonly used (and totally weird) resume interests in each state, courtesy Zippia.zippia.com

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But we're a little baffled by some. Tigers in Louisiana? Russia in Idaho? And ghosts in Maryland? And why is New Jersey's key keyword simply "USA"?

The moral of the story, noted reporter Chris Kolmar , is "to be mindful of the words you put into your resume. Most of the time when companies look at them, they scan for keywords — just like we did here. If you're dropping in subtle mentions of 'porn' or 'Kardashians,' believe us, it will be noticed. (And not necessarily in a good way.)"

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