4. Extra – Curricular Activities

As a college graduate, you will not only be assessed by employers on the basis of your Educational Qualifications and Work Experience but also on the basis of the Extra – Curricular Activities mentioned on your Resume.

Extra – Curricular Activities give an insight into you as a person and help the reader learn more about your activities outside the classroom during your school and college life. The purpose of including these activities in your Resume is to give the reader a sense of the type of skills you have acquired due to your active participation in these activities.

The type of Extra – Curricular Activities you can mention on your Resume vary greatly from person to person. Some might choose to mention their active involvement in sports, whereas some might choose to mention their work as a volunteer with a local NGO.

As in the case of your Work Experience, the Extra – Curricular Activities you mention on Resume should try to bring out skills like Leadership, Innovation, Initiative, Team Work, Confidence, Organizational Ability, Problem – Solving Ability etc.

It is important for you to understand that each Extra – Curricular Activity you mention on your Resume represents 2 skills; one is the direct skill involved and one is the implied skill. The presence of implied skills allow you to mention Extra – Curricular Activities that have nothing to do with your job but still end up adding value to your Resume and increasing your employability.

For example, a Management student who has been involved in organizing fests or events for the college will increase his/her employability by mentioning this, as it represents the presence of direct skills which are applicable to the job, i.e. Organizational abilities and Leadership.

On the other hand, an Engineering student who has been a part of the college sports team will also increase his/her employability by mentioning this, even though the direct skill involved in this activity, which is the ability to play a sport well, is in no way applicable to the job of an Engineer. The increase in employability in this case is due to the presence of the implied skills that being a part of a sports team represent, i.e. Team work and Discipline.

Irrespective of the type of Extra – Curricular Activity you mention on your Resume, you should make sure that it adds to your personality and sheds light on the presence of either a direct or implied skill you possess which will be of use at the workplace.

While mentioning your Extra – Curricular Activities, you should specify the name of the Organization you worked for or were involved with, along with the duration and your key activities. For example:

ABC School, Pune                                                                                                                                             2009 - 10
Head Boy
* Led a team of 15 students in maintaining discipline and decorum in a school of 5,000 students.
*Planned and organized several cultural and social events including the school’s annual day function.

The above example shows several skills and qualities that can increase your chances of being hired, including Discipline, Leadership and Organizational Ability.

A Journalism student who was actively involved in Theater and Dance can use the following example:

Theater Society, AAA College, New Delhi                                                                                                               2011 - 12

* Performed at the XYZ auditorium as a lead actor in 2 plays, called ‘…..….’and ‘……….’ respectively.
*Co – wrote and acted in several street plays based on social issues that were performed across Delhi.

In the above example, the direct skill involved in the activity, i.e. acting ability is not of much use to a Journalist. However, the implied skills involved in this activity such as Confidence, Social Awareness and Creativity can add great value to your Resume as an aspiring Journalist.

Things to consider before you mention Extra – Curricular Activities in your Resume:

*Make a list of the Extra – Curricular Activities that you have been a part of during your school/college life. These can include arts, sports, debates, writing, volunteer work, organizing events etc.

*Out of the activities that you have been a part of, try and include only those ones in the Resume which help in increasing your employability due to the direct or implied skills that they represent.

*Do not just mention the activities but give an insight into the type of duties you performed during your participation.