Resumes: When to ditch extracurricular activities? (applying, interviews, owner, employers)
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I was recently laid off from my first job out of college (after only 9 months unfortunately) and am sharpening up my resume to better appeal to employers. When I was in high school and college, counselors stressed the importance of extracurricular activities on resumes. However, I have a number of very honorable activities on it from high school. During college I didn't do a ton of extracurricular activities because I was working my part time job all the time, so I have kept my high school activities. I thinking at this stage that might look just like space filler and have a negative effect, not much different than listing a summer job flipping burgers would. Is this so?
Extracurricular activities are essential on a resume when school experience is all you have to say about yourself.
By the end of your first job, as the very last line on the resume page, type:
Interests: archaeology, tai kwan do, water beetle genetics.
Period. No more. No sentences. No explanations No details.
You can do that until you can fill up a page with work experience -- then you can drop the interests entirely and discuss them during interviews, and since they're subjects that interest you and that you enjoy, talking about them will make your face light up with happiness and relaxation and put you in a great, enthusiastic light during the interview.
So, to sum up:
- - - - When your history has no work or very little work, your interests matter, to tell HR something about you.
- - - - When you accumulate a work history, they almost never matter.
- - - - Interests should NEVER be typed on page 2; then they become UNinteresting and use up trees, and can be annoying to HR people.
P.S. Don't feel embarrassed saying to HR people that you were laid off. Over a million people have lost their jobs this year -- you have plenty of company, and ALL interviewers know that. It's not personal, so just talking about it as a FACT, like the weather.
Since you have had a job for 9 months outside of university, along with a part time job during, those should be the focus. Instead of saying extracuriccular activities, you can phrase them as "interests" and work with the wording to have them sound more within your personality
From my experience, having these 'interests' or 'activities' on resume brings added benefits during the interviews; shows that you have a life, what other items interests you, how diverse you may be, and especially if something off the beaten path type, brings up interesting conversations. As others said, keep it short & simple... good luck!
Depending on your field of work, some extracurricular activities might still be relevant. In human services, we do look at and value volunteer work.
So raising money for a charity, heading up a book drive, or providing meals on wheels for elderly people is a "yes." Playing intramural pool, being rush chair of your sorority, and scrap-booking, that would be a "no."
I have started including some of my outside interests on my resume as they are relevant to some of the work I'm applying for.
I'm an amature geneaologist and I do a lot of research...shows I'm a detail person and know how to dig for info.
Digital Photography...shows I stay up to date on software and I'm creative
Owner/Operator of a 10 acre farm...shows I'm responsible and know how to maintain pasture, timber, large and small critters, when asked I can tell them about how I've learned on my own how to do all of this.
I don't discuss any of the above unless asked, but I'm finding in the few interviews I've had and the job fairs I've been to that if you have interests/hobbies that produce a work product that others do full time for a living it helps.
I have always been told that high school shouldn't be on your resume at ALL after your freshman year of college. I'm now in my junior year of college and don't even have the high school I graduated from on my resume period- much less the activities.
I only include college activities that either are directly related to my career goals or show a significant time commitment or essentially a "job" with no pay. For instance, I worked 15-20 hours a week on the student union dining committee which was an elected position- much more than my part time job and certainly much more responsibility and results than my part time job. I just didn't get paid for it. However, I wouldn't include that I am an officer and founding member of the marching and pep bands.
Really, after your first job you CERTAINLY should not have anything about your high school on the resume and only college activities if your resume is really bare. With a part time job through college and then your most recent job, that should be enough to hold on it's own. The brief interests "section" is a good way of encorporating some college activities in, and you can definitely use those to springboard discussions during interviews about leadership roles you might have taken in said activities.
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