Undergrads: Leadership? Be careful.

Just the other day I had my current boss (at a reputable, but not bulge bracket investment bank) take a look at my resume and give me an opinion on what he thought. He did what most employers would do; he gave it a 30 second run through. The thing that struck me as odd was that I had set up my resume with company/organization name, then title, then description. I tried to be outgoing and get leadership positions with some relation towards finance or good academics and what I found out was a little disheartening.

How much does leadership do for you?

It depends. My organization's name was Dance Marathon and I was a captain of finance. While I take part in financial operations that result in hundreds of thousands in revenue, he only took away the idea that I liked to dance. Only that idea. You are better off leaving solely finance related clubs on your resume and put yourself down as a team member. Any applicable work in the investment/finance/business clubs will do much more for you.

This does not hold true for all employers or grad schools but make sure to keep in mind that any big place you apply to, they will spend very little time. They will look at school name, degree, GPA, and company/organization names. If you're lucky, a title will draw them in and you will be able to elaborate and have a real attempt at hooking them in.

Hence, if you can, elaborate as much as you on any professional experience and don't elaborate too much on leadership/clubs. Focus on job related clubs. A 'team member' of the XYZ university investment club holds just as much weight, if not more, than 'captain' of XYZ's fishing club.

If you really feel like you've done something important in a non-finance related club that is related to significant business leadership or revenue, find a way to label the position before the organization's name. That will give you a better chance of receiving potential interest.

Once again, good luck fellow undergrads.