Boost your CV at uni
Whether it's the careers service advisors dropping into your lectures to harass you about it, or your mate filling out an application form trying to drag up every vaguely interesting activity they've ever done, chances are that at some point you're going to encounter the question: "What have I done that can go on my CV?"
At university there are all sorts of extra curricular activities to get involved in, and as well as being great for the social life, they can have a positive impact on your CV.
So we all know that sports are great for proving you can work as a team, be cooperative, etc., but there are other benefits to putting a sport on your list of interests.
Sarah-Louise, 20, plays a little-known sport called Korfball, and finds it's a great talking point at interviews: "Interviewers are always interested in what it is, so it's a good conversation starter."
Things like organising games and sitting on team committees all sound good, and there's always the bonus of getting fit at the same time.
Volunteer work always goes down well with employers - along with the usual set of demonstrative skills, you're showing that you care about others and are willing to make an (unpaid!) effort to help elsewhere.
RAG (Raise and Give) week at your uni can be a great time to get involved, though volunteer societies are always welcoming to new members.
If you have a particular interest, why not explore that interest with others and pick up some career-style brownie points along the way?Aimee Steen
If you have a particular interest, why not explore that interest with others and pick up some career-style brownie points along the way?
You can make contacts at university with like-minded people whilst developing skills that can be exploited at interview - here's just a few ideas:
• Expand your journalistic experience by writing for the student newspaper/magazine
• Indulge your musical interests in a music society, improving your own talents by playing in a band or organising others to do so
• Find your inner actor in a theatre group (always a good one for showing you can work within a time scale, and learning to 'act' confident will help at interviews)
There's a society out there to suit everybody, and if there isn't, make one!
Though setting up a chocolate appreciation society might seem like a laugh, think of all the transferable skills that could come from it - organising others, communication abilities, handling money, to name but a few.
