Five Extra-Curricular Activities to Make You More Employable
University is the ideal time to take part in a range of extra-curricular activities, which can really help give you the edge when applying for your dream graduate job. We’ll take a look at four top extra-curricular activities that can make you more employable, all of which can be done right here in Bradford!
Get involved with a club or society
Proactivity is a quality that employers value, so it’s important that you have evidence to show how you go the extra mile to achieve something. A great way of doing this is take part in a sports club or society, and with almost 90 societies and 40 sports teams on your doorstep, there’s plenty of opportunity to get involved at Bradford University.
However, to demonstrate how you go the extra mile, taking part in a large number of clubs at a basic level is not ideal. Instead, consider how your club or society experience can be transferable to the world of business – it would be much more beneficial to take part in one club and work your way up to a leadership role, such as becoming a committee member or captain of a team, which is much more impressive for recruiters.
Giving back to the community by taking a first aid course
Taking a first aid course is a great for your CV as it shows you’ve taken the initiative to become a resource to your local community and are equipped to deal with an emergency. It may even help your employer fulfil their first aid obligation, as all businesses are required to have enough first aiders based on the kinds of risks in the workplace.
If you did the Duke of Edinburgh award at your school, then you may already be a certified first aider, in which case it’s a good idea to become familiar with how first aid is handled in the workplace and what employees are responsible for.
It may have been some time since you took your first aid course so before you put this on your CV, make sure your certificate is up to date! A recent change in the rules means there is now no grace period after your certificate’s expiry date, so if it’s expired, you’re no longer officially a first aider. As with anything on your CV, be sure that any claims you make are genuine and that you can discuss each point in detail if it comes up in the interview.
Take part in volunteering
Volunteering is a great way to bridge the gap between education and work, and should be on your CV whether you have relevant work experience or not. Volunteer work says to employers that you’re a well-rounded person with good people skills and ready to take the initiative. It can also show great time-management skills if you took on a volunteering position at the same time as a placement or internship, which is another highly valued skill.
There are some great opportunities to get involved with volunteering at the UBU Volunteering Centre. Once you’ve completed some volunteering placements, consider what skills they helped you develop and how these would be of use in the workplace, so you can talk about this in detail during your interview.
Write for The Bradford Student
Writing for The Bradford Student, Bradford University’s monthly magazine, is an obvious extra-curricular activity for someone looking to enter journalism, marketing or advertising, but it can be beneficial for many other roles where strong writing skills are required. Many roles call for strong writing skills in order to write up research projects, presentations or end of month reports, so almost everyone can benefit from beefing up their writing abilities!
The Bradford Student covers all the latest news, event listings, student written articles, stories and creative writing, match reports and more, meaning there’s plenty of opportunity to write on something you have a strong interest in.
Take part in our Summer Experience programme
Employers look for previous employment and transferable skills, as well as academic achievements. If you’d like to get 6 weeks of paid work experience over the summer to enhance your CV, why not take part in our Summer Experience programme? We have lots of paid opportunities in a number of fields available to help you build up your employability – contact us at Careers to find out more.
What other activities have you done?
This list is by no means all the activities that can add value to your CV. Are there any others that you’ve taken part in that show you’re well rounded with leadership, time management or people skills? Don’t forget, you can drop into the Career Development Services at any time to get help with your CV.
You can follow the author @SebAtkinson on Twitter, as well as the Career Development Services @UniBradCareers.
Pictures featured in this article are the author’s own.