Extra-curricular activities improve the overall quality of the resume. Though it might seem unrelated to the interested job role, actually, it gives an edge over traditional job applicants for hiring managers. Employers understand the hobbies, interests, and skills of the applicant; it gives them a better idea about proceeding with the job application.
Mentioning extra-curricular activities is essential for the resume, but how to write extra-curricular activities in a resume? The point of including the activities is to give an organized and professional look for the resume.
There are two sections in the resume best suitable for including extra-curricular activities. They are the education section and achievement section.
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Education Section
Incorporate extra-curricular activities into the education section if the candidate has won awards and certificates through the activities. It gives an edge over competitors in the eyes of the employers. It gives an impression that the student is active not only in academics but also in other fields.
When including the certificates and awards in the resume, candidates should ensure the relevancy of the certificates as per the nature of the job. If the activity is unrelated to the job applied for, it will waste time and energy.
Description of the extra-curricular activities should be concise and to the point. It should be clear to the reader.
Achievement Section
Another significant section for incorporating extra-curricular activities is the achievement section on the resume. It comes along with professional experience. When the candidate describes work experience, he/she can include extra-curricular activities to improve the overall presentation of the resume.
Choose extra-curricular activity as per job role and describe accordingly. Description of the activity should be relevant and to the point.
Extra-curricular activities should be relevant as per the job applied for. Choice of the activity expresses a lot about the candidate’s nature, behavior, hobby, and preferences. So, choose them after proper considerations and what value they will add to the resume in front of the recruiter.
Eight Extra-Curricular Activities
If the candidates understand how to write extra-curricular activities in their resume, he/she stands a better chance of getting the desired job role. Eight prominent extra-curricular activities are being advised to use for the best resumes. Let’s have a brief description of the features and importance of these eight types of extracurricular activities.
Student Government Association
Being associated with SGA develops leadership, collaboration, management skills. This role includes organizing college seminars, parties, meets, etc. The person involved has to meet organizers, vendors, and various authorities for permission and many more stakeholders.
This gives them exposure and improves confidence, organizational skills, and leadership experience. Apart from organizing events, they also manage student’s queries and problems. With such qualities, recruiters are sure to consider the student for the concerning opening.
College Club Board
Executive position at club board is important because he/she is responsible for organizing club events and managing all stakeholders like SGA. Students learn leadership and management skills through this role.
The Club board consists of several members. It means as an executive; the student has to collaborate with other board members. This develops teamwork behavior and a sense of fraternity.
Employers find organizing skills very effective in the specific job role, and as an extracurricular activity, it will make the resume more appealing.
Foreign Language
Most of the schools give the option to choose one foreign language to learn during school. Adding foreign language as an extra-curricular skill is an excellent option to make the resume attractive.
A candidate’s resume with foreign language proficiency means better communication skills, smart working, ability to manage clients from different regions and backgrounds. Such candidates typically have high-paying jobs.
Arts
Art needs a lot of concentration, dedication, creativity, collaboration, and a unique communication method. A person who excels in any form of art, such as visual art, theater, dance, etc., is expected to be creative and efficient in assigned job roles.
Every employer wants a creative and intelligent working individual, so add this as an extra-curricular activity in the resume and stand a better chance to get hired.
Sports
Sports are the best way to develop the best of human nature. Sportsperson spends time with team members, plays his/her part and supports fellow team-mates. The best sportsperson knows the importance of team performance, responsibility, support, and growth together.
As a recruiter, these are all very much essential requirements for hiring managers and team leaders. Sports should be included as an extra-curricular activity in the resume for an edge over the competitors.
Study and work
Though most of the students work while studying due to financial difficulties, it gradually evolves essential skills that hiring managers find helpful for their recruitment. Studying and working together needs a lot of time management and intelligent thinking.
Students learn to manage with minimum resources, come up with unique ideas to do things. They become multi-taskers, problem solvers, and independent decision-makers. The addition of study and work as an extracurricular activity in the resume will impress hiring managers.
Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor is responsible for managing dorms and addressing issues of dorm residents. It develops people management skills, organizational, multi-tasking skills, etc.
These skills can replicate into time management skills in job and client servicing. Hiring managers will like to have on-board such candidates if they find RA as an extra-curricular activity in the resume.
Social Group or fraternity
Every college has groups. These groups are the first social interaction of young graduates. It proves how socially connected the person is. Hiring managers find such candidates fit for the job who are good at communication, expressing themselves, and leading a group.
This should be part of the resume for better chances of hiring.
Conclusion
First resume making is always a challenging task with lots of questions and confusion. One of the proven ways to make the resume stronger is to incorporate extra-curricular activities, but the question is how to write extra-curricular activities in a resume. Follow the above passage to know the answer and make the resume attractive with these supplemental skills. Hiring managers will call for an interview for sure with this skill-set on the resume.
