Ah, spring: that glorious thicket of applications for grad school, summer internships and future employment. As I enter the fray, I find myself typing up a plucky resume full of things that have had little effect on my development into a successful, useful person:
- Impressive-sounding internships? Filing and answering phones is still secretarial work, even I'm doing it for someone who has the job I actually want.
- Research experience? As part of the scientific validity of the experiments, I can't know what I am researching. This is simply a testament to my ability to read a script off a clipboard.
- Summer jobs? Skills include mouth-to-mouth with other lifeguards.
After all that lovely resume-padding, it is easy to dismiss extracurriculars. What relevance do they have to my job search anyway? The truth of the matter is that I’ve devoted the past three years to the executive board of a club that has absolutely nothing to do with my major or future career. Sure, it adds a little to my resume: it says I am a leader on campus and a well-rounded person. What my resume doesn’t reflect is that I have gained infinitely more job skills from my recreational club than from any employer, internship or research experience I have ever had.
Before being on an executive board, I didn't know that it is a skill to have both a social and professional relationship with someone. I didn't realize that people want a level of responsibility, because it gives them a sense of ownership. Being president of an organization has taught me how to motivate people, how to get them to care and how to bring a team together. Through a lot of trial and error, I have figured out when to hold people accountable and when to make exceptions. I have learned how to run meetings, plan events, write reports, budget and maybe most importantly: delegate. I could tell you a thing or two about branding, holding yourself to a higher standard and the importance of attitude. I understand that if you want commitment from others, you need to be even more committed yourself.
Please do not read my resume and overlook my most formative experiences. I am an excellent employee (like, hire me, already), and it is not because of substantial-sounding fluff. It’s because my fluffy-sounding club has substance.
