In my employment at The Career Development Center, I have come across many people who need to find something else to take up that last inch or two at the bottom of their page. Assuming you’ve used all of your professional experiences already, there’s a few options there, but let’s focus on my favorite— the activity section!

Now some people have reservations about using the activity section, “but it’s unprofessional,” “but it’s irrelevant.” Nah. Not really. When a recruiter looks at your resume they can see a lot more than just a list of jobs, and what school you went to. They start to see your personality, how you chose to format things, the font you chose, and what order you put the sections in. Sure, maybe they don’t look into all of this on the first round going through resumes, but if they make it down to the final ten resumes, you can bet that yours will be examined beyond scrutiny. This is where your activities section comes in.

Each workplace has its own culture. Let’s think about it: when you are at work you will spend 8+ hours a day with a certain group of people. You will likely make friends with these people, and the entire workplace may choose to engage in activities (like Frisbee Fridays). Having your hobbies you do and sports you play on the bottom of your resume will show them a few things:

• You are a well-rounded person, not just an academic
• You can operate in a team environment and make connections with people
• You play, and laugh, and can fit in in the unique culture of the company

So, if you have space for an activities section, it can make the difference between being the new hire and staying on the job search. If you ever have questions about what you should include in your resume, please visit The Career Development Center at Oregon State University.

posted by Richard Thomas, Career Assistant