Should You List “Olive Oil” on Your Resume?

We’ve all heard stories about job applications gone wrong, whether it be a dreadful resume typo or an interview mishap. If you haven’t experienced a hiring gaffe yourself, you’ve heard about one from a friend or family member. Such is life. But I bet you’ve never heard this one before.

There’s a resume anecdote going viral on X right now that has to do with, of all things, olive oil.

Cannot stress how much of an advantage it is to be a normal, well adjusted, applicant for banking roles.

I reviewed a resume that listed “olive oil” as an interest. That is not an interest. It’s been hours and I cannot stop thinking about it. There will not be an interview.

— 90 Days Liquidity (@90daysliquidity) January 27, 2026

“Cannot stress how much of an advantage it is to be a normal, well adjusted, applicant for banking roles,” the user @90daysliquidity posted. “I reviewed a resume that listed ‘olive oil’ as an interest. That is not an interest. It’s been hours and I cannot stop thinking about it. There will not be an interview.”

The post, which has racked up over 10 million views, kicked off a deluge of memes.

“ok so this is embarrassing but just for the record and just so we have it, you have olive oil listed as an interest on your resume? sorry to have to even ask” pic.twitter.com/YLJsdJ7heo

— sophie (@netcapgirl) January 28, 2026

Cannot stress how much of an advantage it is to be a normal, well adjusted, applicant for food industry roles.

A friend runs an olive oil factory and an applicant listed “the global financial system” as an interest. That is not an interest. There will not be an interview.

— derek guy (@dieworkwear) January 29, 2026

Many of the reactions came from people who were shocked by the immediate rejection.

Why can’t olive oil be an interest?

Noted that there were several other flags but would this alone have stopped you from giving an interview opportunity?

I think most interests can be pretty depth and an indicator of someone’s personality and ability to deep dive into things.

— Warren (@WarWren_) January 27, 2026

Please send me that resume. I’m going to hire them for something, anything. I need to know what they know about the finer points of olive oil.

— Zach Horn (@zacharyhorn) January 28, 2026

If you ask me, I’d say it’s more of a red flag to not have an interest in olive oil, even if your interest is small and only sparked while being presented with a thick, crusty slice of bread. In a similar vein, some follow-up posts brought up a salient point to this debate: Is adding this kind of a personalization to the “interests” section of a resume really such a terrible mistake?

Honestly we’re all miserable because we feel pressured to have “normal” interests. I recommend developing a fascination with a niche subject—olive oil, Victorian novels, medieval warfare, falconry… You may not get a job at a bank, but you’ll learn things. You’ll be happy. https://t.co/LXGm3GDHPh

— Boze the Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ (@SketchesbyBoze) January 28, 2026

“Honestly we’re all miserable because we feel pressured to have ‘normal’ interests,” wrote user @sketchesbyboze. “I recommend developing a fascination with a niche subject—olive oil, Victorian novels, medieval warfare, falconry… You may not get a job at a bank, but you’ll learn things. You’ll be happy.”

ohhh nooo my chill ass new employee likes olive oil too much and will probably gift me some nice stuff around the holidays oh nooooooo https://t.co/20LP789394

— will defries (@willdefries) January 28, 2026

“ohhh nooo my chill ass new employee likes olive oil too much and will probably gift me some nice stuff around the holidays oh nooooooo,” added user @willdefries.

The guy that lists “olive oil” as his interest will generate more lifetime alpha than the “hiking”, “biking”, and “running” crowd combined. https://t.co/ktbpNgNfA1

— Michael Spyker (@ShaleTier7) January 27, 2026

“The guy that lists ‘olive oil’ as his interest will generate more lifetime alpha than the ‘hiking’, ‘biking’, and ‘running’ crowd combined,” wrote user @shaletier7.

In a job market where people are constantly looking for ways to stand out against hundreds, even thousands of competitive applicants, there’s nothing wrong with a glug of authenticity. Maybe there were other reasons not to move on with this candidate, but was adding a little bit more personality on paper so bad? Sure, now that many job application processes use AI screenings, there’s the chance that this flourish could have eliminated him from the get-go. And yet, it obviously started a conversation, which is the first step to landing that gig.

Who knows? Maybe this person had experience in the food and drink industry, which is a field less likely to be taken over by AI compared to banking, and, in my opinion, makes them a little more interesting than someone who followed “routine” or “regular” steps required to move up in a specific field. There are plenty of benefits to hiring outside candidates that can bring in a unique perspective to work situations.

Maybe we all need to be a little more open-minded, or just more transparent about our interest in olive oil.

Meet your guide

Joanna Sommer

Joanna Sommer is an editorial assistant at InsideHook. She graduated from James Madison University, where she studied journalism and media arts, and she attended the Columbia Publishing Course upon graduating in 2022. Joanna joined the InsideHook team as an editorial fellow in 2023 and covers a range of things from the likes of drinks, food, entertainment, internet culture, style, wellness…