Are you in the marching band, or maybe you play football or are active in a local club or community organization? These are known as extracurricular activities.
Including extracurricular activities on your resume helps you to demonstrate skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, and collaboration.
Whether you were captain of your college softball team, president of a student club, or a volunteer at a local food bank, these experiences reflect valuable job-related skills relevant to the position you are pursuing.
Remember, using our resume builder makes putting your sections together in the right order with the right information even easier!
Why Add Extracurricular Activities to Your Resume
Adding extracurricular activities to a resume is beneficial for both students and those with work experience. These activities demonstrate skills beyond those gained in the workplace, presenting you as a well-rounded candidate that companies desire.
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.”
A good list of extracurricular activities helps recruiters envision a potential employee who brings an enthusiasm to learn new things, a healthy interest in diverse subjects, and the ability to multitask.
Having extracurricular activities to discuss is beneficial for job interviews as well. Your experience in extracurriculars provides you with a lot of details you can draw on to answer interview questions such as “Describe a time when you worked successfully in a team” or “What is your greatest accomplishment?”
Just look at the experiences of other students who have made it places, like this Washington Post columnist who puts value on out-of-class experiences at college, such as contributing to a student newspaper or even learning management skills through being part of a fraternity or sorority.
💡top tip
Engage in volunteering, academic clubs, or professional associations to enhance 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 activities can increase employability.
What Types of Extracurriculars Can Go on a Resume?
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:
- Student council/clubs
- Sports involvement
- Student newspapers
- Volunteering
- Civic activities
- Philanthropic activities
- Club memberships
- Foreign language studies
- Fundraising activities
- Freelance projects
- Work-study program
- Study abroad program
- Student government involvement
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.
What hard and soft skills can you demonstrate through extracurricular activities?
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:
- Student associations: organizational and teamwork skills
- Study abroad: communication skills; learning a foreign language
- Volunteering: collaboration and leadership skills
- Freelance project development: decision-making and creative skills
What activities do not count as extracurricular?
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.
💡top tip
There is no need to add details such as leading a school project assignment if you have an extensive work history that demonstrates leadership.
Top 12 Extracurricular Activities for Your Resume
Extracurricular activities are an excellent way to develop key skills such as leadership, teamwork, and communication.
Below are twelve activities that are particularly beneficial for candidates looking to strengthen their job applications:
- Student Council: Develops leadership and organizational skills by managing projects and collaborating with peers.
- Clubs and organizations: Encourages teamwork and communication while allowing you to pursue personal interests and share knowledge.
- Volunteering: Demonstrates commitment, compassion, and the ability to work collaboratively in diverse environments.
- Sports: Highlights teamwork, dedication, and the ability to perform under pressure, all valued by employers.
- Languages: Shows communication abilities and cultural awareness, enhancing your appeal in global job markets.
- Study abroad programs: Reflects adaptability, problem-solving skills, and an openness to new experiences.
- Tutoring: Indicates strong communication skills and a willingness to share knowledge, which are beneficial in educational roles.
- Multicultural organizations: Demonstrates an understanding of diversity and inclusion, which is important in today’s globalized workplaces.
- Artistic pursuits (Theater, Music): Develop creativity, discipline, and public speaking skills, which are valuable in many professional settings.
- Government or leadership roles: Builds interpersonal and problem-solving skills while showing initiative and a commitment to community involvement.
- Public speaking and debate clubs: Enhances critical thinking, persuasive speaking, and efficient researching skills, which are crucial for effective communication.
- Tutoring: Strengthens communication skills and demonstrates a commitment to helping others learn, which is valuable in educational or mentorship roles.
When should you add extracurricular activities to a resume?
-
💡 Our expert’s advice
Unless they are directly relevant to the role or industry you’re targeting and you lack more recent, applicable experience, extracurricular activities typically should not appear on your resume once you’re more than 5 years past graduation.
How and Where To Put Extracurricular Activities on Your Resume
Now that you know what to include when it comes to a resume with extracurricular activities, how do exactly you list them?
Extracurriculars in your resume summary
Every resume should begin with a tailored summary that outlines why your experience and skillset are perfect for the job you are applying for. This is the perfect place for you to list an extracurricular activity relevant to the job you are applying for.
This is especially true for entry-level candidates.
To illustrate this, here’s an example of a resume summary that includes a valuable extracurricular activity for a recent graduate looking for a role in marketing.
Summary
Recent marketing graduate with a strong foundation in digital marketing strategies and social media management. Served as President of the University Marketing Club, where I led a team to organize successful campus-wide events and increased membership by 30%. Eager to apply my leadership skills and innovative marketing techniques in an entry-level marketing role.
This summary is effective because it highlights relevant skills and leadership experience gained through an extracurricular activity. It demonstrates initiative and the ability to achieve tangible results, which are attractive qualities for potential employers.
An Extracurricular Activities resume section
By and large, you can add your extracurriculars under a heading titled Extracurricular Activities following your Work History section.
Here is an example resume entry that lacks some of the details that are needed.
Wrong ❌
- Member, National Honor Society
- Vice-President, Student Council
- Third baseman, Thomas Edison High School Varsity team
The best format when listing your extracurricular activities on your resume is to:
- Firstly, name the organization
- Secondly, list your position
- Then, add the dates you served in this organization
- Lastly, add the location of the organization
Let’s see it done right.
Right ✅
- Student Council, Vice-President, University of Wisconsin, 2022 – 2023
- Led the organization of a campus-wide sustainability initiative, coordinating efforts across 10 student organizations to promote environmental awareness.
- National Honor Society, President, Walter Grove High School, 2020 – 2021
- Member, Walter Grove High School Varsity Baseball team, third baseman, co-captain 2019 – 2020
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.
The following are extracurricular activities examples for a resume that provide details about each activity:
President/Member
Student Council, University of Wisconsin
2022 – 2023
- Served as President, January 2023 – June 2023
- Ran weekly general assembly meetings
- Created and implemented council budget
- Coordinated fundraising events, and exceeded fundraising goals by 30%
President/Member
National Honor Society, Walter Grove High School,
2018 – 2021
- Elected President February 2020
- Oversaw team to promote activities and schedule events
- Conducted monthly meetings
- Maintained 4.0 GPA for all three years to remain eligible for membership
Varsity Baseball Player
Walter Grove High School, 2019 – 2021
- Played primarily third base, relief pitcher
- Elected co-captain, 2020
- Assisted in leading team to state semifinals, 20120
- Voted Most Improved Player, 2019
💡top tip
Check out which skills an employer looks for in the particular position you are pursuing by researching the company, then, when possible, highlight those extracurricular activities.
Where to list your 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.
- If you are creating a functional resume that focuses more on skills than experience, put the extracurricular activities section before your work history.
- In a reverse chronological resume format, put the list of extracurriculars after your work history.
Remember, if you’re unsure about how to put together your resume or how to format your document, try our AI-powered resume builder for free
Our resume examples are also a great way to guide you through the resume writing process for different industries and work sectors.
Do Not Make a Hobby of Adding Hobbies
Hobbies and extracurricular activities serve different purposes on a resume. While extracurriculars highlight skills beyond work or academics, hobbies do not always translate into relevant qualifications. For example, fishing as a solitary activity may not demonstrate communication or leadership skills.
That said, hobbies can sometimes align with valuable skill sets. If a hobby evolves into something more structured—like turning a passion for fitness into a role as a fitness instructor—it can showcase skills worth including on your resume.
In such cases, these skills should be listed under the Skills section and tied to other relevant experiences or achievements elsewhere in your resume to reinforce their impact.
💡top tip
Lacking extracurricular activities does not doom your resume. You can enhance it by including professional certifications, memberships, publications, awards, and projects in other sections to help you stand out.
Key Points To Remember
As you enter the professional world, including extracurricular activities in your resume can highlight skills you have yet to demonstrate in a job setting.
- Choose activities that shine a light on your teamwork, communication, leadership, problem-solving, and responsibility.
- Skip academic work or hobbies here. Save those for the education or hobbies sections.
- Remember, the placement of these activities can vary with different resume formats.
If you are unsure about how to write your resume, check out one of our many examples, including our student resume 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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