Extracurriculars, clubs and volunteering – Page 2

Include them if you performed at a high level, held a role such as director or organiser, or if they relate to the job. Otherwise, a short interests line is enough.

Examples:

• "Lead role, university theatre production, 2025 (three public performances)."
• "Organised the annual cultural night: 15 performances, 300 audience members."
• "Violinist, university orchestra, 2023 – 2025."

Performing arts can show confidence, teamwork and commitment. For creative and events roles, they can be directly relevant.

Include them if they are at an advanced level, or if you are applying for roles linked to music, education or the arts. Otherwise, one short line in interests or achievements is enough.

Example: "ABRSM Grade 8 Piano, Distinction (2022)."

High-level music exams show long-term commitment and discipline. Lower grades usually add less, unless they are relevant to the role.

You can, if it shows relevant skills, but think about how employers may react. Political involvement can show organisation, communication and commitment, and it is especially relevant for policy and public affairs roles.

Ways to reduce risk:

• Describe the skills and activities rather than the political position.
• Use a general description, such as "student political society", if you prefer.
• Check any rules about political activity for the sector you are applying to.

Laws about political opinion and employment differ by country. Choose what you are comfortable sharing.

Put relevant, substantial volunteering under "Experience" with "(Volunteer)" in the title, and other volunteering in a separate "Volunteering" section. Both are acceptable.

• Under Experience: useful when volunteering is directly related to the job, such as tutoring for a teaching role.
• Separate section: useful when you also have work experience and volunteering is supporting evidence.

Be clear that it was voluntary. The builder on ResumeBuilder.ae includes a Volunteer Work section, and you can reorder sections to suit each application.

Keep it during your first year or two if you do not yet have stronger leadership examples. Remove or shorten it once you have university roles.

Example: "Head Girl, Fictional Secondary School (2022 – 2023): represented 900 students and led a team of 12 prefects."

Senior school leadership roles can be impressive, and some employers ask about leadership at school on application forms. Use the form for that, and keep your resume focused on recent achievements.

For each bullet, state an action you took, what it involved, and what happened as a result. Avoid listing the role's general duties.

Compare:

• Weak: "Responsible for social media."
• Strong: "Planned and posted three Instagram posts a week for the Photography Club, helping workshop sign-ups grow over the semester."

• Weak: "Helped with events."
• Strong: "Booked venues and speakers for two careers talks attended by about 90 students."

Start with a verb, add a number or concrete detail, and keep it to one or two lines. Choose the two or three bullets most relevant to the job.

Use any figures you know are accurate: people involved, events run, money raised, hours given, or growth over time. Numbers make activities concrete.

Common examples:

• Members or volunteers led: "a team of 12 volunteers".
• Attendance: "about 150 attendees".
• Funds or donations: "raised funds for two local charities" or a real total if you know it.
• Frequency: "weekly sessions over two semesters".
• Growth: "membership grew from 30 to 75".

If you are not sure of an exact figure, use "about" or describe frequency instead. Never invent numbers.

Describe the cause, how you raised money, your role and the result. Fundraising shows initiative, persuasion and organisation.

Example:
"Fundraising Lead | Charity Week, University X | Feb 2025

• Organised a bake sale, sponsored walk and online appeal with a team of eight.
• Raised money for a children's hospital and secured donated prizes from five local businesses."

You can include the total raised if you know the exact figure. Focus on what you did to make it work, such as recruiting helpers, persuading sponsors or promoting the event.

Include it if you organised something around it, raised money, or if it shows notable personal achievement and commitment. A single fun run with no other involvement usually belongs in interests, if anywhere.

Examples:

• "Completed a full marathon while raising funds for a cancer charity (2025)."
• "Recruited and coordinated 20 students for a charity 10 km run team."

Endurance events can show discipline and goal-setting, so a short line can help, especially when you have little work experience.

Describe the work you did and the skills you used, not just the location. Employers are more interested in your contribution than in the trip.

Example:
"Volunteer English Teacher | Fictional Education Trust, Nepal | Jul – Aug 2024

• Taught conversational English to two classes of 20 students aged 10–12.
• Created lesson plans with another volunteer and adapted them to limited resources."

Avoid language that sounds like a holiday or exaggerates your impact. If the programme was short or organised by a travel company, keep the description modest and accurate.

Yes. Online volunteering, such as translating, tutoring, mapping, moderating or designing for non-profit organisations, is real volunteering if you contributed regularly or produced real work.

Example:
"Online Volunteer Translator | Fictional Humanitarian Network | 2024 – 2025

• Translated 25 short guides from English to Arabic for community health projects."

Name the organisation and describe the output. This can be useful for showing language, digital and communication skills.

Describe your role, how often you took part and any measurable results. Organising or leading clean-ups is stronger than attending once.

Example:
"Volunteer Coordinator | Beach Clean-up Group, Fujairah | 2024 – 2025

• Organised monthly clean-ups with 20–40 volunteers.
• Recorded and reported the amount of waste collected to a local environmental group."

If you only attended once, include it in a grouped line with other activities or leave it out. Environmental volunteering is relevant for sustainability, operations and community roles.

Donating blood is admirable but personal, and it is usually not included on a resume. Organising a blood donation drive, however, is worth including because it shows planning and coordination.

Example: "Organised a campus blood donation drive with the university health centre and a local blood bank; recruited student donors through social media and class visits."

Keep personal health matters private unless they are directly relevant to the role.

Describe your role, the setting and what you did, always within the limits of a volunteer role. Hospital volunteering is useful for healthcare applications and shows care and reliability.

Example:
"Hospital Volunteer | Fictional General Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah | 2024 – 2025

• Guided patients and visitors to departments and helped with registration queues.
• Supported the children's ward activity programme on weekends."

Do not describe clinical tasks you were not allowed to do, and never share patient details. Include hours if you have a record of them.

Yes, especially if it was regular or linked to the job, such as veterinary, animal care or customer-facing roles. It shows reliability and responsibility.

Example:
"Volunteer | Fictional Animal Rescue Centre | 2023 – 2025

• Cared for dogs and cats twice a week: feeding, cleaning and exercise.
• Helped run adoption days and spoke with visiting families about adoption."

For unrelated jobs, keep it to one or two lines. It still shows commitment and care.

Usually yes, briefly. A big commitment explains how you spent your time and shows qualities like dedication and time management, even if the topic is unrelated.

Keep it short and focus on transferable points:
"Competitive chess player | 2018 – 2025 | Represented my university at national level; trained 10 hours a week alongside studies."

If space is tight and you have stronger relevant activities, you can shorten it further or move it to an interests line.

Keep the activities with the most responsibility, the strongest results, and the closest link to the job. Summarise or remove the rest.

A simple ranking:

• Roles where you led or created something.
• Long-term commitments with clear outcomes.
• Activities related to your target field.
• Memberships and one-off events.

Give the top two or three full entries with bullets, and put any others in one summary line: "Also: Photography Club, Arabic Language Society, university choir." Change your selection for different job types.

Yes, if you played competitively, held a role such as captain or manager, or organised events. Describe it like any team activity.

Example:
"Team Captain | University Esports Club | 2024 – 2025

• Led a five-player team in an inter-university online league.
• Scheduled practice sessions and reviewed match recordings to plan strategy.
• Organised a campus tournament with 32 players."

Casual gaming alone is better left off. Esports roles are especially relevant for gaming, events, media and technology jobs.

They can help balance your application, especially for employers who look at the whole person. Leadership, volunteering and achievements show skills that grades do not measure.

To make the most of them:

• Give your strongest activities full entries with results.
• Link them to the job's requirements.
• Leave grades off unless asked, if they are weak.

Be aware that some employers set minimum grade requirements that activities cannot replace. For those, apply honestly or focus on employers that consider wider evidence.

Put it in the activity's entry as a bullet, or in a separate "Awards" section if you have several. Avoid listing it twice.

Examples:

• In the activity: "Model United Nations | 2023 – 2025 … Awarded Best Delegate (2025)."
• In awards: "Best Delegate, Regional MUN Conference, Dubai, 2025."

If the award is your strongest point about that activity, mention it in the first bullet or the title line so it is easy to see.

List the chapter with your role and what you did, such as organising talks, competitions or site visits. Student chapters show interest in your profession and early networking.

Examples:

• "Vice-Chair | IEEE Student Branch, University X | 2024 – 2025 — organised three technical workshops and an industry visit."
• "Member | ACCA student society | 2023 – 2025"

If you were only a member, one line is enough. If you held a role, use bullets to show your contribution.

Describe your organising role, the event size and what you were responsible for. Organising shows different skills from competing: planning, sponsorship, logistics and communication.

Example:
"Logistics Lead | University Hackathon 2025

• Coordinated venue setup, catering and equipment for about 150 participants over 36 hours.
• Managed a team of 10 volunteers on the event days.
• Helped secure sponsorship from three technology companies."

If you also mentored teams, add that as a bullet.

List it as an activity or experience with the topic, audience size and frequency, plus any feedback. Teaching others shows mastery and communication.

Example:
"Workshop Leader | Coding Club | 2024 – 2025

• Designed and delivered four beginner Python workshops for 20–30 students each.
• Created exercises and slides now used by later club leaders."

This is relevant to training, teaching, consulting and technical roles.

Include it if membership was based on academic achievement and the society is recognised by your university. Put it in your education or awards section.

Example: "Member, University Honour Society (invited based on academic performance), 2024."

Be cautious with organisations that invite many students and mainly ask for fees; they may add little value. If you held a role in the society, describe it as an activity.

Include it if you held a role or did meaningful work, and you are comfortable sharing that connection. Cultural associations can show leadership, event management and cross-cultural skills.

Example:
"Events Lead | Indian Students Association, University X | 2024 – 2025

• Organised a Diwali celebration for about 400 students and staff."

The association's name may reveal your nationality, ethnicity or religion. You can describe it more generally, such as "cultural student association", if you prefer.