So now you’re in college and you can forget all about joining clubs to boost your resume, right? Wrong! Just because it’s no longer required doesn’t mean that you should give it up all together. Maybe you were involved in so many organizations in high school that you burnt yourself out or maybe you just never knew how to get involved in the first place but getting involved in college can benefit everyone. Here are the top five reasons why you should join clubs on campus.
Find new friends
College can be tough for many students because they are suddenly thrown into an environment that is totally new to them and they have to adjust. Not to mention that they also don’t know anyone and must make new friends all over again. Clubs can help students in this area by connecting them to other students that have similar interests. Also, by just meeting more people, students feel a larger sense of community at their school which will make them happier and feel more at home in the long run.
Relieves Stress
Although it may not seem to make much sense, joining clubs will actually help to relieve students’ stress levels. Even though clubs are another thing to do on top of classes and schoolwork, they reduce stress because they are often fun activities that people enjoy doing so they don’t feel like it’s an obligation but that it’s an escape from all their work.
Become more focused
In college, so many students have so much free time that they don’t know what to do with it. Therefore, instead of being productive and doing their work they think they can push it off because they always think that they will have more time later. However, when students join clubs they have a more structured schedule so they know that they have to be at a certain place, at a certain time and it helps them to focus on their work when they have free time because they have other responsibilities that they must work on later.
Meet people and network
As mentioned, clubs are a great place to meet new friends. They are also a great place to meet people in your college or major, and to make networking connections. Club advisors or other alumni are always interested to help someone that they have met through a mutual group, such as a college club. These connections can benefit students greatly when trying to get internships or jobs after college.
Looks good on a resume
Even though most jobs will be more interested in your professional experience, it never hurts to have a club experience that will relate to your future profession. For example, if you plan to go into photography it’s probably good to have been in the photography club so you can brag about your experience. This goes doubly if you are a leader of a club on campus. Employers want to have people with experience and ability and being a leader of a group shows them exactly that.
There you have it. Five good reasons to join a club on campus. So what are you waiting for? Go get involved!
This article was originally published in March 2012 and has since been updated.
