No doubt at some point in your life someone will have uttered this phrase to you, usually in an attempt to get you to do something you won’t be paid for. When you get to University/College/the end of high school you’ll hear it more and more.

“It’ll look good on your CV/personal statement”

I remember this being the reason it was suggested we did volunteer work or gave up our free time in some other way. For instance I’ve been a Student Mentor, an elected Executive officer of my student union and a member of the Board of Directors for the Student Centre. Each time someone suggested, after I’d become involved, that it would look good on my CV but will it. Will it really make me that much more an attractive a candidate when applying for jobs? I can name maybe two transferable skills that I’ve gained from the positions and I had knowledge of the before. I enjoy doing these things but I’m not sure if an employer will really be that interested in me helping kids plan projects or looking through Centre accounts.

Does this kind of work really put you ahead in the job market or is it just draining time from what for most students is an already busy schedule?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.