This article explores students’ extracurricular activities and, uniquely, their short- and long-term effects on employability. Drawing on the literature, six research questions are identified. A questionnaire and interviews with alumni provide the quantitative and qualitative information needed. The effects of different extracurricular activities and the skills and qualities they promote are demonstrated for early- and later-career jobs, as are the complementary effects for employability of degree schemes and extracurricular activities. Alumni who are now recruiters of staff use their double perspective to explain the role extracurricular activities have played in their lives and now as professional recruiters. This article shows how the alumni of any university could share these insights with undergraduates.
ArrowsmithCBagoly-SimóPFinchumA. (2011) Student employability and its implications for geography curricula and learning practices. Journal of Geography in Higher Education35(3): 365–77.
3.
Association of Graduate Recruiters (2012) Association of Graduate Recruiters responds to report recommending HEAR. Press Release, London, 3October.
4.
BennettR (2002) Employers’ demands for personal transferable skills in graduates: A content analysis of 1000 job advertisements and an associated empirical study. Journal of Vocational Education and Training54(4): 457–76.
5.
BourdieuP (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (trans. NiceR). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
BurkeVJonesIDohertyM (2005) Analysing student perceptions of transferable skills via undergraduate degree programmes. Active Learning in Higher Education6(2): 132–44.
7.
ClarkGHiggittM (1997) Geography and lifelong learning: A report on a survey of geography graduates. Journal of Geography in Higher Education21(2): 199–214.
8.
CleggSStevensonJWillottJ (2010) Staff conceptions of curricular and extracurricular activities in higher education. Higher Education59(5): 615–26.
9.
ColeMSRubinRSFeildHS. (2007) Recruiters’ perceptions and use of applicant résumé information: Screening the recent graduate. Applied Psychology: An International Review56(2): 319–43.
10.
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (2009) Future Fit: Preparing Graduates for the World of Work. London: CBI.
11.
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (2013) Changing the Pace. London: CBI/Pearson.
12.
ConnorHTyersCModoodT. (2004) Why the difference? A closer look at higher education minority ethnic students and graduates. Research Report 552, June. London: DfES.
13.
GranovetterM (1973) The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology78: 1360–80.
14.
HennemannSLiefnerI (2010) Employability of German geography graduates: The mismatch between knowledge acquired and competences required. Journal of Geography in Higher Education34(2): 215–30.
JacksonN (2011) Recognising a more complete education through a Lifewide Learning Award. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning1(3): 247–61.
21.
KintreaKSt ClairRHoustonM (2011) The Influence of Parents, Places and Poverty on Educational Attitudes and Aspiration. London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
22.
Leitch Report (2006) Prosperity for all in the global economy: World class skills. Final Report, HMSO, Norwich, December.
23.
LowdenKHallSElliotD. (2011) Employers’ Perceptions of the Employability Skills of New Graduates. London: Edge Foundation.
PolanyiM (1967) The Tacit Dimension. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
26.
PurcellKEliasPAtfieldG. (2012) Futuretrack 4: Transitions into Employment, Further Study and Other Outcomes. Warwick: Warwick Institute for Employment Research.
27.
PutnamR (1995) Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy6(1): 65–78.
28.
PutnamR (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
RichardsonTE (2008) Degree Attainment, Ethnicity and Gender: A Literature Review. London and York: Equality Challenge Unit and Higher Education Academy.
31.
ScottJP (2000) Social Network Analysis: A Handbook, 2nd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
32.
StevensonJCleggS (2011) Possible selves: Students orientating themselves towards the future through extracurricular activity. British Educational Research Journal37(2): 231–46.
33.
StuartMLidoCMorganJ. (2011) The impact of engagement with extracurricular activities on the student experience and graduate outcomes for widening participation populations. Active Learning in Higher Education12(3): 203–15.
34.
TchibozoG (2007) Extra-curricular activity and the transition from higher education to work: A survey of graduates in the United Kingdom. Higher Education Quarterly61(1): 37–56.
35.
ThompsonLJClarkGWalkerM. (2013) ‘It’s just like an extra string to your bow’: Exploring higher education students’ perceptions and experiences of extracurricular activity and employability. Active Learning in Higher Education14(2): 135–47.
36.
VillarEJuanJCorominasE. (2000) What kind of networking strategy advice should career counsellors offer university graduates searching for a job?British Journal of Guidance and Counselling28(3): 389–409.
