List of 50+ Best Extracurricular Activities for Resume (Guide & Examples)

When people begin working on writing their resumes, many put emphasis on their previous working experience and career history. However, little do they know that extracurricular achievements, from both extracurricular activities and co-curricular experiences, in a resume could also have positive impacts.

The extracurricular activities on resume show not only the potential and transferable skills of the applicants, such as leadership skills, communication skills, and language ability, but also their personality traits.

But what does it mean to have extracurricular activities on a resume? Do you really need to include extracurricular activities in a resume? And how to present them on the CV?

In this article, we'll cover all things extracurricular activities on the resume and show you some extracurricular activities examples.

Extracurricular activities refer to various activities outside of regular school hours, curriculum, or courses that aim to cater to learners' interests. Since extracurricular activities are non-mandatory events, programs, and activities that are affiliated with the school, people choose to participate in them out of interest.

It is often advised to leave the extracurricular activities out of your resume, but this only applies to experienced job hunters. For freshers with little to no professional experience, extracurricular activities on a resume/CV are a great way to showcase the required skills and relevant experience.

Sometimes, extracurricular activities and co-curricular activities can be used interchangeably; they are both related to the school and can both be included in a resume/CV. While it is a good idea to also add co-curricular activities to your resume/CV, they are different from extracurricular activities. 

Co-curricular activities and experiences are more closely related to your chosen field of study, for example, sports, musical activities, debate, art, drama, debate, writing competition, etc.

Having extracurricular activities on your resume/CV can be very helpful, but you have to do it right.

So consider carefully what curricular activities to add to your resume. While there are numerous extracurricular activities to put on a resume, some extracurricular activities tend to interest the hirers more than others. 

The following is a list of good extracurricular activities examples to put on resumes for freshers and entry-level job seekers:

1. Student Council

Student council experiences will provide students with abundant skills since participating in student council comes with great responsibility, and they need to work well with a group of students. 

Student council experiences are a great extracurricular activity example to be included in the resume.

Engaging in student council could help students develop:

2. Clubs/Societies

Clubs or societies could be fun and rewarding when you get to share your passion, talent, and knowledge with others, as well as to observe and learn from others.

On top of that, skills gained in clubs and/or societies activities will look good on your resume. Having clubs and/or societies as extracurricular activities on resume/CV can be a great way to show your unique personality and stand out among candidates.

3. Multicultural Organizations

Cross-cultural communities allow students to connect with people from different backgrounds and develop a better understanding of the world. As businesses increasingly value diversity and inclusion, soft skills you acquire from participating in multicultural organizations and events will come in handy when you mention this as an extracurricular activity on your resume or prepare for a job interview. 

4. Language Skills

Language skills are another highly recommended extracurricular activity example that you include in your resume. The recruiter values communication skills and language skills to guarantee smooth communication. By writing language skills in the extracurricular section, you will also have a better chance among fellow applicants.

Participation in a foreign language extracurricular will also equip you with:

5. Study Abroad Experience

Studying abroad might be a game-changing experience for some students. They will be tested on their ability to get outside of their comfort zone and will be faced with the chance to solve problems on their own. Writing your exchange program in the extracurricular activities section in your resume can help demonstrate those qualities.

6. Sports Teams

Sports is an activity where a high amount of hard work, teamwork, communication, and dedication are emphasized. These are qualities that most hirers are looking for. Sports team experiences are also good extracurricular activities on resume.

7. Tutoring

Including tutoring experiences in your resume will show the recruiter that you are knowledgeable and sharing and have excellent communication skills. These can also be good examples of extracurricular activities for a teacher's resume.

Other skills that could be shown by tutoring include:

8. Volunteer Activities/Organizations

Having volunteering activities/organization experience is almost the same as having work experience. The only difference is volunteering is often unpaid.

By including these experiences, you can show the recruiter how dedicated and committed you're to learning and achieving some goals. The recruiter can also learn your personality traits and passion, which can help you to stand out from other candidates.

Volunteering comes with the images of having:

9. (Non) Academic Competitions

Participating in non-academic competitions could present yourself as being ready for challenges. Considering this extracurricular activity example for resumes as they can also showcase good interpersonal and soft skills.

Taking part in competitions could also demonstrate:

10. Government-Related Activities

Getting involved in government-related activities could imply:

No matter what resume format you're writing, a resume for freshers or teachers, extracurricular activities can be very helpful for your application. However, they will only be helpful if you properly write extracurricular activities on the resume.

Now that you know what extracurricular activities mean and some extracurricular activities examples, the next step is to learn how to list extracurricular activities. Follow the steps below to list extracurricular activities on your resume for your job applications.

🖋  Step 1. Mention the name of the organization.

Mentioning the name of the organization in the extracurricular activities section in resumes will increase the credibility of your experience. If you are serving in some well-known governmental organization or volunteering in some international NGO, this information might bring the extracurricular activities in your resume to another level.

🖋  Step 2. Mention your position in the organization.

By including the position in the organization, the hirer will have a clearer idea as to the scale and how closely involved the applicants are in the organization. Being a leader will also provide you with leadership qualifications that might put you with more advantages compared to other applicants.

🖋  Step 3. List the dates you participated in the activity.

Showing the dates of participation will allow the hirer to have a brief idea of how recent and former your experience is. The duration will also show how much effort and dedication you have put into this extracurricular on your resume.

🖋  Step 4. Describe your major responsibilities, accomplishments, or awards.

This section is very important and should be wisely customized according to the job opening. You should include the responsibilities that might help you to procure the position and whether you have any transferable skills or experience for the current job.

Including accomplishments or awards in bullet points will also show how dedicated and hard-working you are in the field.

🖋  Step 5. Add testimonials or references.

You could also include testimonials from your boss, teacher, leader, or even classmate, as they could provide first-hand information about working with you. A generous and honest review will also improve your credibility and qualification considerably.

There are many places on a resume where you can write your extracurricular activities, and the ideal place to put them depends on the job and the relevance between the job and extracurricular experience.

Below are four different sections on your resume where you can put extracurricular activities:

1. Work Experience Section

You could include those extracurricular activities in the work experience section on resume if the roles and responsibilities you have during the extracurricular activities are closely related and relevant to the job you are applying for.

Showcase your relevant skills in order to be qualified for the job even without professional experience.

2. Education Section

Briefly include the extracurricular activities in the education section when you only have subordinate roles but are still relevant to the job opening.

3. Achievements Section

You could enrich the achievement section on your resume by including extracurricular activities in it. Also, make sure to be confident, converse in an active voice, and include quantifiable results.

4. Extracurricular Activities Section

You could create a single section specifically for extracurricular activities in your resume if you have several different extracurriculars that are related to the job. The section could be labeled as “Extracurricular Activities” or “Leadership Experience” to make them stand out a little bit more than the education section.

💡 The activity should be relevant to the position you are applying for.

Make sure that the list of extracurricular activities for the resume is relevant to the position you are applying for.

For example, if you are applying for a position in a Spain-based company, the extracurricular activities in the Spanish club might increase your qualifications in terms of language as well as culture. If you are trying to become a teacher, extracurricular activities like tutoring experiences and student council experience would be helpful on your resume.

💡 Mention the details of the extracurricular activity (name of organization, title, etc.) to increase credibility.

List the information of the extracurricular activities in your resume as completely as possible to make your extracurricular activities resume look more professional. You could include details such as the name of the organization, the title of roles, the responsibilities, the achievements, and even the duration of serving.

This way, the extracurricular activities on your resume will have more credibility and look more competent in the eyes of the recruiter because they are something that can be verified.

💡 Take advantage of soft skills gained from sports activities.

If you are including sports as extracurricular activities in your resume, it would be best to highlight the soft skills that are acquired. Leadership skills and the ability to perform well under pressure, for example, are sought after by many companies.  Achievements such as the number of goals might not have great importance in this case.

Extracurricular activities on your resume are pretty useful, especially if you have inadequate working experience to support your qualification with. 

The skills and the experience that is attained during extracurriculars might make up for the absence of not having working experience, exclusively if they are pretty much related and have practical, transferable skills that might come in handy in the position. 

Here is an extracurricular activity on a resume: