Thank you for writing this article. I am currently a sophomore considering either to major in finance or accounting.. After reading this article, it got me thinking of whether I should be a Volunteer Income Tax Assistant next semester. I would have to commit to some self studying of various online tax lessons before taking a test. After passing the test, I will gain hands on experience filing taxes for the underprivileged areas in the Bronx, where most people may not have the privileges of an education to know how to file taxes. Since my major is possibly accounting, I believe that enduring in extracurricular activities such as this one might be favorable to job prospects. Employers in my opinion would like to see that students have the ability to manage their time and that they are not just all about the school work. I am also the treasurer of a culture club in my school. My philosophy is that in order to have a successful interview for a job, I should be able to talk about times where I exercised leadership and teamwork. Being a club leader allows me to talk to employers about experiences where I solved problem in a group environment. After I talk about how I resolved the issue, I can mention what I learned from the experience. It is important to talk about what I have learned from the experience, because the skills obtained from solving difficult situations are transferable to the new job.
I like that your article mentioned “It’s nice, but not nearly as important as your grades, where you went to school, and your interview performance.” I agree especially with the part where interview performance is important. But ultimately, to have a successful interview, the applicants need to know their resume well and have extracurricular to engage the interviewer.
I agree with you that extracurriculars are bad if it starts to have a negative impact on the student’s grades. That is why college students should read your Red Book to learn how to time manage better. Btw, thank you for writing the book, I was able to perform better in all my classes and balance out my club activities well along with that.

Best,

Billy

Were you part of a fraternity Cal?

I wasn’t. Pledging can be time-consuming, but it doesn’t last that long in the grand scheme of college. The key with frats, in my opinion, is to make sure that their overall attitude toward school, life, accomplishment, etc more or less aligns with yours. If so, then it’s a nice addition to your social life. If not, the tension can prove hard.

Were you part of a fraternity Cal? What do you think about the whole rush process, especially for new students? The idea of meeting & staying with a whole group of friends throughout college sounds good, even I’ll get treated pretty shittily in the beginning. But I don’t know how time-consuming the entire initiation process is.

I think we agree on the broad strokes here. I might argue that one or, at most, two ECAs that you really committed to can basically provide all of the advantages you describe above. I guess the better title for my post would have been: “multiple college ECAs are meaningless.” The volume-centric “wow” effect students go after just doesn’t play a large role after high school.

Beyond school, major, and grades, extracurriculars are the only way to differentiate yourself from other job candidates. ECAs also provide the kind of practical learning that you cannot find in the classroom: managing people, running an organization, exposure outside of academia. This is particularly important for “fit” interviews, when interviewers ask about past experiences that demonstrate the values they’re looking for. ECAs provide you with these experiences.

Most importantly, ECAs allow for the kind of networking that really helps you land a job. The best way to prepare for interviews is to call up friends who already work for the company that’s interviewing you. Many people make lasting friendships through their ECAs. It also works the other way; friends made through ECAs have worked with you before, so they know the value that you can add to their company.

Cal’s advice is still well taken. Don’t do ECAs for dumb reasons, i.e. just to put it on your resume, to move up the social ladder, to feel busy. And don’t overwhelm yourself unnecessarily.

But when you graduate from college, you want to relish the interesting things you did in college, not a number on a piece of paper. Some do cool things in their classes, and that’s great. But most do cool things outside of their classes, and that’s what extracurriculars are for.