How necessary is the "Activities" section on a resume?
I've read that it's essentially a good conversation starter in interviews. But I feel kind of ridiculous putting it on. I know that it's supposed to be something that you can discuss for about five minutes. How many should you put on? So far I have:
Interests: Current Events, Baseball, Fantasy Sports
I have 4, normally see 3-4. They're the last line on the resume for a reason so I wouldn't feel ridiculous about it. I've heard people get asked about fantasy sports sometimes i.e. what was your best/worst pick so make sure you can talk about that. I'm not the biggest fan of putting "current events" as an interest because I think it's a little too wide of an interest but that's a personal opinion so I'll leave the judging for that one up to others.
More important than you think. At the end of the day you aren't a robot and if you're working 100+ hours a week with others, they want to make sure they would enjoy the company. Secondly, make the interests very specific in the same way that everything else on your resume is specific. That way interviewers will have more to start a convo on. I.e. Fantasy MLB & NBA vs. Fantasy sports
I've had a lot of great interviews purely based on convos re: my activities and interests
What kind of interests are people putting down?
It's a great way to correct any preconceived notions they may have of you after having looked at the rest of your resume (i.e. name, grades, school, major, ECs). Gives you a chance to show diversity of interests.
Use activities only if you need to fill an empty page. If you have any relevant activities that show teamwork or volunteer work, it may help you. Leave unrelated fluff out of your cv, it will only make you look foolish for adding it.
Activities on a Resume? (Originally Posted: 01/17/2013)
I hold leadership positions in both of the clubs that I'm in, so I've included them in the work and leadership experience section. Should I just not have an activities section at the bottom? Or have one and briefly list the same clubs? I'm leaning towards just not having the section.
Also, I was in a club that would look great on a resume for about three months. Is that too short a time frame to include it? It had to deal with short-term trading, so maybe I can spin it as a joke if they ask.
I would go ahead and include the club although you were only there for three months (shows you have some experience/exposure). Also yeah any section that you do not info on is irrelevant and should not be kept on a resume.
Depending on the other stuff you have on your resume just prioritize to direct relation to the job you want to get.
EX. your trading experience (not sure what it is) but sounds more "financy" move it above the other stuff thats not related like "volunteering"
Similarly being in the military would trump a "minor" in Political science
The funny thing is, "Leadership" is such an over-rated part of the "resume hype". It's almost a negative. The last thing we want is some guy coming in "trying to take charge" when he's a know nothing college grad. Hard pill to swallow, but true. Don't get me wrong its great to have on the resume, just avoid hyperbole language about how much of a leader you were and focus more on the financial skills learned, items you managed etc.
Resume: List BS Activities? (Originally Posted: 03/25/2008)
If I don't have any legit activities to put on my res should I just omit the activities section entirely?
I'm a "member" of 2 clubs and i go to their meetings once or twice a semester. IMO it is clear that when I put them down it is just resume filler. Would it hurt to take them off?
I think the resume should only contain value-added information. If you don't think that stuff is of value, chances are whoever's reading it won't either. Better to take it off and have a cleaner resume with more space.
Certainly if you have done Balance Sheet activities you should include them.
Extracurricular Activities in CV of applicants with work experience (Originally Posted: 10/15/2013)
Hi there,
I don't know if this question is somehow ignorant, but anyway: Do you still mention your extracurricular activities that you've done in college (like student finance club, ...) in your CV, when you apply for jobs with 2-3 years of work experience?
Thanks!
After you've been working for 2-3 years? What you did at college is irrelevant then (other than grades and awards).
I'd list 2-3 current hobbies/activities.
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