When we are in College, it’s the best time to start clubbing. No, I am not referring to the club you are thinking about. (You can now stop playing club music in your head while you fist pump.) I am referring to the official student clubs and organizations that exists within colleges. These clubs cover a wide array of interests including professional clubs, academic clubs, cultural clubs, religious clubs, and social clubs. Employers appreciate applicants who are well balanced and one way to show that is by being involved with different clubs. This specifically applies to those of us applying for internships while in school or those of us who are recent or soon will graduate from college applying for full-time positions.

Why join student clubs?

There are many reasons to why college students should join student clubs. See below for 3 examples.

• Network Development – By participating in college clubs we get the opportunity to network. How we build our network plays a huge role in our future success. Networking is a great way for us to meet new students, make connections and build relationships which will help us down the road in advancing our careers. It’s nice to join clubs that are for fun, but we should also be sure to participate in clubs that are related to our area of study.
• Resume Development – Our involvement with student clubs adds great value to our resume. When we apply for internships and full-time positions right after graduation, we are not expected to have much professional experience. Joining club(s) is a good way to show employers that we participated in student organizations and demonstrate that we are active and involved.  It’s even greater if we can become part of the leadership team/committee that runs any specific clubs. That demonstrates we are hardworking and can handle multiple responsibilities.
• Personal Development – By joining clubs we get to learn more about ourselves in terms of what we are passionate about and what some of our strengths and weaknesses are. Clubs allow us to meet different people and learn from them which ultimately fosters our personal growth. By joining clubs in familiar fields, we surround ourselves by like-minded people. That allows us to observe how others handle different tasks and situations and we can learn and adjust from that, if their way is more feasible. BY venturing outside of our familiar zone and joins clubs that are not related to our field/knowledge area, we get to meet with people vastly different than ourselves and expand on our versatility.