University of Westminster

Westminster Business School

The Impact of extra-curricular activities on the

employment opportunities of graduates?
Literature Review

Module Code and Title: Business Research and Professional

Practice BKEY501.Y

Name: Vasiphong Vongvuttipornchai

ID Number: 149102562
Module Leader:
Word Count: 1,456

Since the 21st Century, there has been an extensive increase in competition in the
graduate labour market. This is due to more graduates entering the labour market. As a
result this has led higher job requirements and a more selective resume screening process
by employees. Because of this, students in both high school and in higher education have
got more involved in extra-curricular actives (ECAs) in order to gain an advantage over other
graduates in the graduate labour market. Many research papers and journals has been
written in order to prove the fact that ECAs can give graduates an advantage when it comes
to resume screening. Furthermore, an analysis of the current graduate labour market is also
require in order to assess whether ECAs really contribute to employability in the graduate
labour market.
According to Office for National Statistic (ONS) (2015), there are a total of 31.12
million people employed at the end of August 2015 which is 359,000 more than the previous
year. In addition, UK currently has an employment rate of 73.6% which was the highest ever
measured (ONS, 2015). This shows that there are a higher demand for jobs in the labour
market which can reflects the fact that competition in the labour market is higher. When
compared to the previous year, the overall salary of British employee rose by 3% (ONS,
2015), which is the reason why demands for jobs in the labour market is higher. ONS also
reported that (2012) since the 2008 recession, more graduates have been employed to nongraduate jobs, which reflects a lower demand for graduate jobs and an increased in number
of graduate. This is one of the main reason why the competition in the graduate labour
market is increasing rapidly and and could account for graduates being involved in ECAs for
their resumes. Because an increased number of graduates are using ECAs as part of their
resume, the number of unemployed people fell from 198,000 when compared to the previous
but at the same time the number of people who were economically inactive fell slightly from
13,000 when also compared to the previous year.
Apart from an analysis of the general labour market, a deeper analysis of the
graduate labour market is also required in order to understand the impact of ECAs on the
employment opportunity for graduates. According to High Fliers (2015), the number of
graduates hired rose by 7.9% in 2014 when compared to the previous years, the largest rise
in graduate recruitment in four years. This has had to the increase in number of graduates
including ECAs as part of their resume. However, there is also a sharp rise in the number of
graduates being turned down by employer this year (High Fliers, 2015). Which shows that
there is a higher requirement for employers recruitment target therefore it maybe wise for
new graduates to include ECAs in their resume which will give them a higher chance of
employment when employers screen their resume. According to Gov.uk (2015), the average
annual salary of recent graduates has increased from 24,000 to 25,000 from the previous
year whereas postgraduates has seen a decrease in their annual salary by 500. This is one
of the reason why demands for jobs in the graduate labour market is increasing therefore
making the competition in the sector higher than any other sector. Which is again one of the

reasons why graduates have included their ECAs in their resume in order to gain an
advantage over other graduates. To support the fact the competition has increased in the
graduate labour market, a third of employers has received more graduate job applicants
which indicates that the quality of graduate jobs applicant as improved. This improvement is
conceivably due to the fact that there is an in graduate using ECAs as part of their resume.
(High Fliers, 2015).
According to Oxford Learners Dictionaries, extra-curricular is defined as not part of
the usual course of work or studies at a school or collage (2015). Activities can be
categorised as extra-curricular as long as they have no connection with the studies students
are attending both at high school and at higher education. Some examples of ECAs are;
music, arts and other creative endeavours, various clubs in university or collage, student
government and student council, military activities, sports, volunteer work and community
services (Grove, 2015). Furthermore, when using ECAs as part of ones resume, internship
and paid work can also be accounted as ECAs even though these activities are not
sponsored by schools and collages. Participating in various ECAs during studies can prove
to be very tiring and very time consuming for some students, yet there are many benefits
from participating in such activities. ECAs are great opportunity for students to meet new
people who are different from them, which could ultimately raise their self esteem and also
help them build a more solid relationship skills (Burgess, 2015). Furthermore these skills
gained from ECAs are very recognisable to employers during the resume screening process,
which again is another major benefit of ECAs as they will help with graduates resume when
applying for a job (Dowshen, 2013). This is because skills developed from ECAs such as
teamwork, leadership skills and social skills are as important (if not more important than)
qualification gain from higher education. It is true that ECAs can benefit students in both their
studies and their future careers, but there are also drawbacks which could affect their
studies. ECAs can be time consuming and can also take students concentration away from
their studies which could result in being unable to pass a certain course or not being able to
obtain their targeted grade. Therefore it is essential that student manage their time wisely
between their studies and ECAs.
Students involvement in ECAs are due to two main factor, internal (e.g. passion) and
external motives (e.g. resume-building) (Roulin and Bangerter, 2013). Yet, the main focus in
this review will be the external motives as they play a major part in graduate opportunities in
the graduate labour market. Tomlinson (2008) mentioned that education credential are not
sufficient for applicants to distinguish themselves from other (cited in Roulin and Bangerter,
2013). Similarly, Stephen Ball and colleagues (2005) also states that a degree or
qualification is no longer a automatic ticket into employment (cited in Brooks, 2007). This
shows that an additional credential is require for graduates in order to get selected by
employees, and ECAs can be effectively used as this additional credential. To support this
fact, English Russell Group HEI stresses that one of the main attribute employers looks for in

applicants resume is applicant involvement in ECAs such as being part of a certain

committee (Lowden et la., 2011). Correspondingly ECAs, such as voluntary work and going
university societies are one of the four key skill areas which will greatly contribute to
graduates opportunities in the labour market according to Collage of Social Science (Lowden
et al., 2011). Ultimately it is proven by many institution that involvement in ECAs in crucial for
student when it come to competing in the graduate labour market. To support that fact that
ECAs is extremely essential in graduate entering the labour market, recent graduate tend to
value their ECAs during university more highly than the content of the degree they are
perusing itself as this gives them an advantage when competing in the graduate labour
market (Lowden et al., 2011). This is mainly because skills obtain from ECAs such as
teamwork, leadership, and social skills are value very highly valued amongst employers as
they are very important for graduates in order to become successful in their career path.
However, ECAs maybe the first step to the selection process of an employer, but other
factors may affect the hiring decision of an applicant such as applicants performance during
an interview process (Roulin and Bangerter, 2013). Nevertheless ECAs still play a major role
in the applicant selection process when compared to other factors as it is the first step to
selecting an applicant by employers.
A legitimate conclusion can be drawn that ECAs does have a major impact on
graduate employment opportunities as supported by various hypothesis above. However,
ECAs are not the only essential factors which affect graduate employment opportunity, good
grades from both high schools and higher education can also play a big part in the resume
screen process by employee, followed by individual interviews. C. Nemanick and M. Clark
confer that graduate will look best to employers if they are well rounded (2002). In other
words, candidates should be well balanced in both their studies (as seen to high grades) and
social and career related activities (as seen in ECAS).

Reference List:
Oxford University Press, (2015). Oxford Learners Dictionary. Available From: http://
www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/extra-curricular. [Accessed: 4
November 2015].
Grove, (2015). What Counts as an Extracurricular Activity for College Admissions?. Available
From: http://collegeapps.about.com/od/theartofgettingaccepted/f/what-is-an-extracurricularactivity.htm. [Accessed: 4 November 2015].
Dowshen, (2015). Extracurricular Activities. Available From: http://collegeapps.about.com/od/
theartofgettingaccepted/f/what-is-an-extracurricular-activity.htm. [Accessed: 4 November
2015].
Burgess, (2009). Extracurricular School Activities and the Benefits. Available From: http://
education.more4kids.info/168/extracurricular-school-activities/. [Accessed: 4 November
2015].
Office For National Statistic, (2015). Statistical Bulletin: UK Labour Market, October 2015.
Available From: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_417237.pdf. [Accessed: 4 November
2015].
Office for National Statistic. (2012). Graduate in the Labour Market - 2012: National Office
for National Statistic. Available From: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_259049.pdf.
[Accessed: 4 November 2015].
High Fliers, (2015). The Graduate Market in 2015: Annual review of graduate vacancies &
starting salaries at Britains leading employers. High Fliers Research Limited. Available
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[Accessed: 4 November 2015].
Gov.uk, (2015). Graduate Labour Market Statistic: April-June Q2 2015. Department for
Business Innovation & Skills. Available From: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/
system/uploads/attachment_data/file/458101/BIS-15-484-graduate-labour-market-statisticsQ2-2015.pdf. [Accessed: 4 November 2015].
C. Nemanick and M. Clark, (2002). International Journal of Selection and Assessment. The
Differential Effect of Extracurricular Activities on Attribution in Resume Evaluation, 10 (3),
206-217.
Roulin and Bangerter, (2013). International Journal of Psychology. Extracurricular activities
in young applicants resume: What are the motives behind their involvement?, 48 (5),
871-880.
Lowden et al., (2011). Employers Perception of the Employability Skills of New Graduates:
Research commissioned by the Edge Foundation. SCRE Centre at the University of
Glasgow: Edge Foundation. Available From: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/docs/
Graduate_employability_skills%202011.pdf. [Accessed: 4 November 2015].
Brooks, (2007). Young Peoples Extra-Curricular Activities: Critical Social Engagement - Or
Something for the CV?. 36 (3), 471-434.