Are School Club Leaderships Important?

I am curious to know how much weight do school club leadership positions have on one's resume. I will be a sophomore at a top target in the fall and would consider myself having a solid profile (good GPA+2-3 IB/PE experiences). However, I have almost zero school club involvement. I went to club meetings and networked but did not secure a leadership position during my first year. Since I feel confident with the professional section on my resume, I wonder if club leaderships are still worth pursuing in my second year. Can I just leave the club section blank or list my title as "member" for some of the clubs?

 

Current undergrad - do you think joining at least some humanity-related clubs or nonprofits help during interviewing?

 

Look - the reality is that no, they aren't particularly important and given you seem very focused on PE/IB having already experience as a rising sophomore - you'll be just fine at the end of the day. 

My advice to you? Do it because you want to not to stuff your resume. Don't put a bunch of BS 'memberships' on your resume as if you were really well rounded, fully involved if you weren't. Little upside, and should you get someone who really cared about one of those things - it doesn't reflect well. Pick something, become a member, be engaged and then don't think about it again. 

 

Have helped run recruiting at my bank—no one cares about your clubs. Every college kid in the country applying for IB is either in or president of some bogus club that maybe at the university is a big deal, but no one cares in the real world. The main reason being, in most these clubs you don’t actually do anything. Frankly you are better off creating a company or doing something that makes you stick out and be memorable. The only reason clubs matter are 2 things:

1) They show you have an interest in finance

2) Potentially an interviewer might connect with you if they had previously been in that club.

Also, just as a datapoint, club recruitment at my university was nothing like banking recruitment. Most the finance clubs on college campuses are run by kids who have no interests/ hobbies outside of finance and who act like they know business because they did maybe 2 relevant internships. Real life recruiting/ working in IB you will encounter athletes, musicians, frat stars, and more that will be interviewing you rather than just a narrow sect of college students without interesting backgrounds. 

 

I’m not a banker and would not consider my alma mater a finance target, but yes club leadership helped me get my first job after college and was also material for my business school applications (how I led an organization and went beyond myself). 
 

I find that there are fewer opportunities to lead organizations (10+ people, plus ability to determine org strategy) early in your career so this was ample material for B-school applications (and Business Schools know and perhaps care about their student led organizations). 
 

Furthermore, college is a time to find yourself, mature and discover your voice.  Maybe you were not the most extrovertive in high school, but you get chances to press outside your comfort zone.  Advocate for something.  The more reps the better.

Lastly, I interviewed for the Big Four in college and business clubs are a way to gain visibility.  I’d say club leadership experience changed my trajectory dramatically.  
 

Have compassion as well as ambition and you’ll go far in life. Check out my blog at MemoryVideo.com
 

Qui impedit qui id cupiditate. Omnis consequatur aut id accusantium inventore voluptates facilis consequatur. Sit doloribus impedit sit quam nam illum nobis. Illum dolores nihil rerum quos officia praesentium cupiditate. Provident adipisci doloribus distinctio reprehenderit a cum nostrum. Officia cum nam non consequuntur quo laborum ipsam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (199) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”