Extracurricular Activities on a Resume: Examples & How to List Them

Quick answer: Put extracurricular activities on your resume if you're a student, recent graduate, or early-career candidate, or if an activity is directly relevant to the job. The best ones show leadership, teamwork, initiative, or job-related skills, such as student government, clubs related to your field, volunteering, sports, tutoring, competitions, and study abroad. List each with your role, the organization, dates, and one to three bullet points with results, either in a dedicated "Leadership & Activities" section or under experience if it's substantial.

Your resume has a "work experience" section, but plenty of real experience happens outside a paycheck. Running a 40-person club, organizing a charity 5K, or captaining a team while keeping your grades up is the kind of thing employers want to hear about. Your three-year streak as the group chat's unofficial meme curator, sadly, is not.

This guide explains which extracurricular activities to include, where to put them, how to describe them, and examples you can copy.

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What Are Extracurricular Activities?

Extracurricular activities are things you do outside your required classes or job, by choice: clubs, sports, volunteering, student government, arts, competitions, and personal projects.

Extracurricular vs. co-curricular activities

• Extracurricular: outside your formal studies or job, like a hiking club, volunteering, or a sports team
• Co-curricular: connected to your studies, like a debate team, model UN, a research lab, or an engineering design competition

On a resume, the distinction matters less than relevance. Both can go in the same section.

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Should You Put Extracurricular Activities on Your Resume?

Yes, if you:

• Are a high school student, college student, or recent graduate
• Have limited work experience
• Held a leadership role or achieved measurable results
• Did an activity directly related to the job (e.g., a coding club for a developer role)
• Are changing careers and the activity shows relevant skills

Usually not, if you:

• Have several years of professional experience that fills your page
• Did the activity casually, with no role or outcome
• It has no connection to the job and takes space from more relevant content

As you gain experience, extracurriculars should shrink and eventually disappear, except for meaningful leadership or industry-related involvement.

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Why Extracurriculars Help Your Resume

• They prove transferable skills. Leadership, teamwork, communication, time management, and problem-solving all show up in activities.
• They fill experience gaps. A treasurer role in a student organization is real experience handling budgets.
• They show personality and initiative. Employers want to know you take on challenges voluntarily.
• They support your career story. A marketing student who ran a club's social media has evidence, not just interest.
• They add keywords. Skills from activities can match job descriptions and help with applicant tracking systems.

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The Best Extracurricular Activities for a Resume

1. Student government and leadership roles

President, treasurer, class representative, or committee chair. These show decision-making, accountability, and organization.

2. Clubs and societies related to your field

Finance club, pre-med society, coding club, marketing association, or engineering team. These show genuine interest in your career path.

3. Volunteering and community service

Food banks, tutoring programs, hospitals, animal shelters, and community cleanups show empathy, reliability, and teamwork. See volunteer work on a resume.

4. Sports

Varsity, club, or intramural sports show discipline, teamwork, time management, and performing under pressure. Team captain is a leadership role. Balancing a demanding training schedule with classes or a part-time job is also worth mentioning, because it proves you can manage competing priorities.

5. Tutoring and mentoring

Peer tutoring, teaching assistance, or mentoring younger students shows communication, patience, and expertise.

6. Academic competitions

Hackathons, case competitions, debate, science olympiads, and business plan contests show problem-solving and drive, especially if you placed.

7. Study abroad and international programs

Show adaptability, independence, and cross-cultural communication.

8. Language learning

Fluency or strong progress in a language is valuable for many roles. See how to list languages on a resume.

9. Arts, music, and theater

Show creativity, discipline, and confidence, and are directly relevant for creative roles.

10. Student media

School newspaper, radio, or YouTube channel. Great for writing, communications, and marketing roles.

11. Fraternities, sororities, and cultural organizations

Focus on what you did: event planning, fundraising, recruitment, or leadership.

12. Personal projects and side hustles

A blog, an app, a small online store, or freelance work shows initiative and real-world skills. See projects on a resume.

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How to List Extracurricular Activities on a Resume

Format each activity like a job:

1. Your role or title (Member, Treasurer, Captain, Volunteer Tutor)
2. Organization name
3. Location (optional for campus groups)
4. Dates
5. One to three bullet points describing what you did and the results

Weak vs. strong examples

Tips for writing activity bullets

• Start with action verbs: led, organized, raised, coordinated, mentored, created
• Add numbers: members, money raised, events organized, people served, results achieved
• Focus on skills that match the job
• Keep it concise: one to three bullets per activity

See our guide to resume bullet points.

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Where to Put Extracurricular Activities on a Resume

Option 1: A dedicated section

Best when you have several activities. Section title ideas:

• Leadership & Activities
• Extracurricular Activities
• Activities & Involvement
• Leadership Experience
• Campus Involvement

Place it after education (for students) or after experience.

Option 2: Under work experience

If an activity was substantial, like a 15-hour-per-week leadership role, a major volunteer position, or freelance work, you can list it under experience, especially if you're light on paid jobs.

Option 3: Under education

Short, school-related items can go as a single line under your degree:

Option 4: In an achievements or awards section

If an activity resulted in recognition, like winning a hackathon or placing in a competition, it can go under awards.

For the full picture of section order, see resume sections order.

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Extracurricular Activity Examples for Your Resume

Student government

Sports

Volunteering

Tutoring

Competition

Student media

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What If You Didn't Have a Leadership Role?

Most people in a club aren't the president, and that's fine. Regular members can still write strong entries by focusing on contribution:

• Projects you worked on: "Built the club website used by 200+ members"
• Events you helped run: "Helped organize a career fair attended by 300 students and 25 employers"
• Skills you used: "Researched and presented 3 stock pitches at weekly investment club meetings"
• Consistency: "Active member for 3 years, attending 90%+ of weekly sessions"

If you truly just attended meetings, list it as a single line under education instead of giving it bullet points.

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Choose Activities That Fit Your Career Goal

Lead with the activities most connected to the job you want:

• Business and finance: investment club, case competitions, treasurer roles, entrepreneurship society
• Technology: coding club, hackathons, robotics team, open-source contributions, personal apps
• Healthcare: hospital volunteering, pre-med or pre-nursing society, EMT or first-aid squads, health fairs
• Education: tutoring, camp counseling, mentoring programs, teaching assistant roles
• Marketing and communications: student media, club social media, event promotion, debate
• Law and policy: model UN, mock trial, student government, advocacy organizations
• Engineering: design teams (solar car, robotics, concrete canoe), research labs, maker spaces

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Full Resume Example With Extracurricular Activities

Notice how the activities section does the heavy lifting: it shows budgeting, analysis, and presentation skills that the part-time job alone wouldn't.

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Match Activities to the Skills Employers Want

Most guides list activities, but not how to frame them. Use this guide to connect each activity to the skill an employer needs:

• Club president or student government: leadership, decision-making, stakeholder management
• Treasurer or fundraising: budgeting, financial tracking, persuasion, sales
• Event planning: project management, vendor coordination, logistics
• Team sports: teamwork, discipline, performance under pressure
• Tutoring or mentoring: communication, coaching, patience, subject expertise
• Debate or model UN: research, public speaking, persuasive writing
• Student media or social media: writing, content creation, audience growth
• Hackathons and coding clubs: technical skills, collaboration, rapid problem-solving
• Volunteering: empathy, reliability, community engagement

Then use the job description's exact words for those skills in your bullets.

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Activities on a College Application Resume

High school students often need an activities resume for college applications, scholarships, or summer programs. It's different from a job resume:

• Activities are the main focus, not a side section
• Include hours per week and weeks per year for each activity, which mirrors many application forms
• Group by category: leadership, athletics, arts, community service, academic honors, and work
• List awards and honors with their level (school, state, national)
• One to two pages is fine

For job applications, though, keep it to the most relevant activities on a one-page resume. See high school graduate resume examples and teenager resume examples.

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When to Remove Extracurriculars From Your Resume

Your activities section should shrink as your career grows:

• Students and new grads: a full Leadership & Activities section, often three to five entries
• One to three years of experience: keep only the most impressive or relevant one or two, often as a single line
• Three or more years: remove college activities, unless one is truly exceptional (like founding a nonprofit) or directly tied to the job
• Mid-career and beyond: replace student activities with professional ones, like industry associations, board roles, mentoring, or conference speaking

A simple test: if a recent work achievement is competing for space with a college club role, the work achievement wins.

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Extracurricular Activities Mistakes to Avoid

• Listing memberships with no detail. "Member, Chess Club" tells employers little.
• Including everything. Choose the three to five most relevant.
• Keeping high school activities after college, unless they're exceptional and relevant.
• Exaggerating your role. A recruiter may ask about it in the interview.
• Including sensitive activities without thinking. Political or religious activities can be listed if they show relevant skills, but consider the employer and focus on what you did.
• Hobbies with no connection to the job. Save those for a separate hobbies section if you have room.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is it good to put extracurricular activities on a resume?

Yes, especially for students, recent graduates, and people with limited work experience. Choose activities that show leadership, teamwork, or skills relevant to the job.

What are good extracurricular activities for a resume?

Student government, clubs related to your field, volunteering, sports, tutoring, academic competitions, study abroad, student media, and personal projects.

How many extracurricular activities should I list?

Usually three to five of your most relevant and impactful activities. Quality matters more than quantity.

Should I include high school activities on my resume?

Only if you're a high school student or college freshman, or the activity was exceptional and relevant. After your first year or two of college, replace them with college activities and experience.

What's another word for extracurricular activities on a resume?

Common section titles include "Leadership & Activities," "Activities & Involvement," "Campus Involvement," and "Leadership Experience."

How do I list clubs on my resume?

Write your role, the club's full name, and your dates, then add one to three bullet points showing what you did, such as events you organized, members you recruited, money you raised, or projects you led.

Is volunteering an extracurricular activity?

Yes. Volunteering counts as an extracurricular activity, whether it's during the school year or over the summer. If it's substantial or related to the job, you can also list it under experience.

Do hobbies count as extracurricular activities?

Hobbies can count if they're structured or show relevant skills, like running a cooking blog, competing in chess tournaments, or building furniture. Casual hobbies usually belong in a separate interests section, if you include them at all.

Where do extracurricular activities go on a resume?

In a dedicated section after education or experience, under work experience if substantial, or as a single line under your education entry.

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Build a Resume That Shows Your Full Potential

Our Resume Builder makes it easy to add a Leadership & Activities section and turn your clubs, sports, and volunteering into results-focused bullet points.