Gender and Career Success
On many resumes, the applicant will list their extracurricular activities and interests. If nothing else, it gives the interviewer something with which to break the ice, a conversation starter that is not all that relevant to the job for which the applicant is being interviewed. Or is it? People put down their extracurriculars in part because they think that companies want to know those things. It can look good to say that you help the homeless, or referee youth soccer. But does any of that actually matter in terms of career success?
There has not been much work done to measure the link between extracurricular activities and career success. A lot of the research that does exist comes from the education field and relates to students. At that level, at least, there is evidence to support the idea that extracurricular activities are beneficial. Students who participate in extracurricular activities do better in school, when other factors have been accounted for. IN particular, students who struggle with interpersonal competence seem to benefit the most from extracurricular activities (Mahoney, Cairns and Farmer, 2003).
But what about adulthood, and career success?...
They may not be as profound, but they still exist. This may be because extracurricular activities often encourage physical fitness and often encourage social interaction. They remind people of a life outside of work, can improve their sense of well --being and overall can put them in a better frame of mind and with more motivation when they are at work.
Extracurricular activities also convey something about you. The point of putting them on a resume is because the people at the new company do not know you. But the people within your current company do -- they can easily be made aware of what you do outside of work. This is important, because the extracurricular activities you engage in say a lot about you. They can convey that you are a leader -- if you're not one at work you might still be on in the community, and that will become part of your reputation. People will see you as a leader, and that will definitely enhance your career possibilities.…
