Co-curricular and Extracurricular Activities in Resume

Updated on: October 15, 2018

It is not alright to put in co-curricular and extracurricular activities in all resumes. In fact, a resume that boasts experience does not need to possess this information.

However, for new graduates, or for people who have limited or no experience in hand, putting in this information can be alright. This way, an applicant can place the hiring manager’s focus on what is essential for his or her case.

Some extracurricular and co-curricular activities are related to your desired career path, and when you put these in a resume, you are doing yourself a great favor. For instance, enrollment in a photography club at school or college can make you a great candidate for a photographer or photographer assistant position.

Similarly, if it is community services that you have had exposure to in a co-curricular capacity, there is an excellent chance that you will be considered for a job in a community services capacity.

Likewise, having been chosen as a school representative will give you an edge over other candidates for a job. In this case, the hiring manager will deem you a perfect person due to your knowledge of handling tasks that require leadership. And so on.

Co-curricular Activities Examples

• Sports such as football, basketball, handball, swimming, and horse riding.

• Musical activities including playing instruments such as guitar, drums, violin, and piano, and various forms of singing and dancing.

• Artwork such as painting, and drawing using different mediums and models.

• Drama clubs, targeted at providing the audience with entertainment regarding stage plays, and musicals.

• Debate and discussions, aiming to provide students with an avenue to state opinions based on research.

• Story writing competitions for students with strong imaginations and an inherent ability to put their thoughts on paper, in an eloquent way.

• School magazine participation in many areas, such as editorials, sports articles, and upcoming event information divulgence.

• Preparing charts and models for school projects, especially for science and social studies subjects.

• Photography initiatives to help the school cover important events such as annual days, and proms.

• Organizing school events such as bake sales and exhibitions, aiming to collect funds for important causes.

• Enrollment in enrichment courses, such as clay works, yoga, chess, calligraphy, mosaic, pottery, and robotics.

• Participation in literary clubs – reading and discussing a variety of literature from different countries.

• Mathematics team trials, such as math competitions within the school, and other school’s teams.

• Yearbook club membership, aimed at designing and editing award-winning yearbooks.

Extracurricular Activities Examples

• Playing informational games such as those that provide intellectual stimulation.

• Social media involvement, aimed at helping with or supporting a cause, such as cancer or chronic illnesses.

• Spearheading an electronic business on platforms such as eBay, or Etsy.

• Competing in a card or board game tournament, or organizing such tournaments yourself.

• Volunteering for a good cause such as in an old age home, orphanage, or hospice.

• Community service including working voluntarily for cancer camps, fostering children’s groups, and overseeing rummage sales.

• Providing services in a big brother or sister capacity in an academic setting, to mentor young students.

• Offering services to assist youngsters in playing sports within the community, such as football and basketball.

• Volunteering services to local martial arts groups, in order to support learners in getting the hang of moves and defenses.

• Setting up and running lemonade or ice cream stands in order to collect funds for a noble cause.

• Teaching or learning a foreign language such as French, Chinese, or Spanish.

• Storytelling – providing services in book clubs or libraries by telling exciting stories, aimed at encouraging children to read and write.

• Participating in outdoor activities such as kayaking, snowboarding, rock climbing, and skiing.

Co-curricular and Extracurricular Activities

There are several other different types of co-curricular and extracurricular activities that you can place on your resume, including:

• Student representation
• Sports team membership
• Volunteer work
• Peer monitoring
• Drama, music, and performing arts
• Foreign languages
• Fundraising

How to Add in your Resume?

Placing both co-curricular and extracurricular activities on your resume is not such a tricky thing. Most resume formats have a provision for this. However, you need to be able to word them correctly.

If you have been chosen as a student representative, it is essential that you write a little bit of what you have achieved while in this position.

Similarly, if you have obtained training in a foreign language, you can write this information in the resume, allowing the hiring manager to consider you for a position that requires someone bi or trilingual.

Why co-curricular and extracurricular activities are important?

Apart from the fact that this help bridges the gap that lack of experience leaves behind, hiring managers to want to know what an applicant is capable of doing. They will look kindly at a resume which allows them to determine the type of person that you are, and how useful you will be if and when hired at a job.

Remember never to leave out this information from your resume, unless of course, you have a long string of experiences to boast!