Though this quote has its roots in proverbs written centuries ago, it is still relevant to the recruiters of today who want to see a resume with extracurricular activities.
Why? Participation in extracurricular activities can go a long way toward showing companies that a candidate possesses skills in leadership, teamwork, loyalty, communication, and collaboration.
Captain of your college softball team? President of a student club? Volunteering at your local food bank? These are activities that reflect the development and application of job-related skills that could directly relate to the position you are pursuing if you include them when writing your resume.
In this post, we will outline what activities you might consider listing, why you should list them, how you should format them, and what to leave off.
Remember, if you use our resume builder, putting your sections together in the right order with the right information is that bit easier too!
While adding a list of extracurricular activities is sometimes best suited for a student or graduate resume, where job experience may be and often is lacking, it is also helpful for those with an adequate work history.
What’s more, adding different types of extracurricular activities to your resume demonstrates that you have built new skills in addition to those developed on the job. This presents you as a well-rounded individual, the kind that many companies will be interested in hiring.
In 2021, CoursesOnline General Manager Sarah-Jane McQueen told Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a global leader in higher education networking, “Certain skills and ways of operating can be learned but various traits can only be forged through life experiences, so don’t be afraid of fully embracing who you are. Remember, employers want to hire real people, not interchangeable drones.”
In other words, a recruiter sees a good list of extracurriculars and envisions a potential employee who brings an enthusiasm to learn new things, a healthy interest in diverse subjects, and the ability to multitask.
Finally, having extracurricular activities to discuss is beneficial for job interviews as well. Your experience in extracurriculars provides you with a well of details you can draw on to answer interview questions such as “Describe a time when you worked successfully in a team”, “What is your greatest accomplishment?” or “What is the professional achievement you are most proud of?”
Take any opportunity to volunteer, join an academic club, or become a member of a professional association, and add that detail to your resume especially if you lack work experience. According to a 2018 study published by the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, participating in one or more extracurricular activity can increase employability.
Basically, almost any activity outside of work that has helped to build skills in various areas, such as leadership or communication, you can and should add to a resume.
To illustrate what we mean, here are some examples of extracurricular activities you might want to add to your resume:
In any case, you don’t necessarily need to have assumed a leadership role in any of these activities. Simply fitting these activities into your schedule displays organizational, time management, collaboration, teamwork, and interpersonal skills.
Employers might see involvement in extracurricular activities as having been a way to develop soft skills needed for the position they are offering. Some particular extracurriculars that employers might look for and the skills these activities build include:
On the other hand, any task directly related to your college studies, such as writing a research paper or heading a specific student project, would not be extracurricular.
However, if your research paper was published or you led a team to complete an assigned project, you might list those in the Education section following your degree earned and school attended.
There is no need to add details such as leading a school project assignment if you have an extensive work history that demonstrates leadership.
Now that you know what to include when it comes to a resume with extracurricular activities, exactly how do you list them?
By and large, you can add your extracurriculars under a heading titled Extracurricular Activities following your Work History section.
Let’s see some examples. First, here is an example that lacks some details.
The best format when listing your extracurricular activities on your resume is to:
Let’s see it done right.
Finally, you could also use a bullet list for each entry that details your responsibilities and gives examples of which skills you developed and how you used them.
To sum up our advice with a visual example, here are extracurricular activities for a resume that provide details in each entry:
Copy to clipboardPresident/Member
Student Council, University of Wisconsin, 10/2021 – 12/2022
President/Member
National Honor Society, Walter Grove High School, October 2018 – May 2021
Varsity Baseball Player
Walter Grove High School, 2019 – 2021
Check out which skills an employer looks for in the particular position you are persuing by researching the company, then, when possible, highlight those extracurricular activities.
Remember, not all resumes look the same. These days some candidates and recruiters prefer skills-based resumes, while others stick to the tried and tested reverse-chronological format which focuses more on work history.
Whenever you’re unsure about how to put together your resume or how to format your document, you can always try out our free online resume builder.
Our resume examples are also a great way to guide you through the resume writing process for different industries and work sectors.
Some suggest that extracurriculars can be left off of a resume if there is ample job experience listed. While this may be true, the exception would be if an extracurricular activity or two directly relates to your profession.
In that case, it could demonstrate your passion for the type of work or industry, show that you have built additional skills pertinent to the position, and let potential employers know that you are highly prepared for the responsibilities associated with the job they are offering.
It’s important to remember that hobbies are not necessarily the same thing as extracurricular activities. For resume or college application purposes, the reason for listing these activities is to show that you have developed a skill set beyond your past work positions or academic studies.
A hobby doesn’t necessarily help you build usable skills. For example, if you enjoy fishing, there is nothing wrong with that, but standing on a riverbank or pier with a fishing rod does little to develop communication, leadership, or other desirable skills that you can apply in your academic or professional life.
Nevertheless, hobbies and interests can sometimes become extracurricular activities. You might love exercising so much that you’ve become a fitness instructor and manage an exercise program for a fitness club, or you enjoy painting and have become an art instructor at a local community college or community center.
These would certainly be details you could include in an extracurricular activities section of your resume.
As you can see, listing extracurricular activities on your resume has several positive effects, but does this mean that having no extracurriculars dooms your resume and hurts any chance of landing the job you are seeking?
Of course not.
There are other sections you can add to your resume to help you stand out if you lack extracurricular activities. Professional certifications, memberships in professional associations, publications, awards, and projects you’ve worked on are details you can add.
To summarize the above, when you are a student or graduate looking for your first role within a professional work environment, listing extracurricular activities on your resume can boost your application. In short, you can demonstrate the skills you have not yet had the chance to prove in a job.
Remember these important tips when adding these activities to your resume:
If you are unsure about how to structure your resume, check out one of our many examples. These include many student examples and modern templates. If you follow our tips and use our samples for inspiration, you should be lining up the job interviews in no time!
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