extra-curri....

[A:Tony]

How much does extra-curri-culars count when going for a job. Actuaries are math nerds (people), so I'm thinking that there isn't much required besides just numbers. And yes, it's true that doing things like help raise funds for the Tsunami victims will help you (personally) with things like building people skills, and organization skills, etc. But would it make a difference when it comes to an employer looking at future actuaries at all? If person A has finished 2 exams and person B finished 2 exams and active in the community, would person B prefered more? Thanks.
I'm in a club right now, and extra-curri-cs is my second name. But the more and more I look into this field it just seems like not much is important but exams and a degree (maybe). I'm thinking of just focusing on my school. Would that have a bad bad reaction in the future? Thanks again.

[Malik Shabazz]

Speaking only for myself, I usually look at "other interests" or "extra-curricular activities" in order to ask a few non-work-related questions during an interview.

Sometimes extra-curricular activities tell you something about a candidate's ethnic background that the résumé doesn't (and shouldn't) mention. Examples: Black Students Organization, Asian Students League, Sigma Alpha Mu (a predominantly Jewish fraternity), etc.

Bottom line: use your discretion. Do you want to share the information that your extra-curricular activities might reveal or don't you?

In direct answer to your question, I don't think having or not having extra-curricular activities on your résumé makes much of a difference. On the other hand, if your résumé would only fill half a page without your activities, include them to make your résumé look longer.

[Salzmann]

I haven't been on the hiring side for awhile, but I ALWAYS considered extra-curricular activities a plus in an applicant. Leadership positions in anything are helpful, but most of us like to see people whose minds aren't focused only on geek things. (Makes the interview a lot more interesting, too.) I once asked a candidate how he felt about all thos exams in front of him and he said, with a fanatic gleam in his eye, "Studying is my LIFE!" We didn't offer him a job.

On the other hand, my mother told me not to mention that I'd belonged to the university judo club on my resume and I did it anyway. One of the actuaries at the company where I was hired for my first job asked me about it. You never know- it might have helped.

[aces219]

I prefer candidates who participate in extracurriculars. It shows me they can juggle school with other activities - it's good practice for balancing studying with work (though the latter is not as fun!) Many of those people also have leadership experience. Makes interviews a lot more fun when we have something to talk about besides grades and internships.

[tommie frazier]

I would prefer that a new hire have some other interests, but it isn't absolute.

"But the more and more I look into this field it just seems like not much is important but exams and a degree (maybe). "

I'd agree with the "maybe" on the degree part. Exams, exams, exams!

[wat?]

It seems like a lot of hidden information underlies a person's extracurricular activities. Aside from those already mentioned, activities show what the person is about. What if a person had 20 different activities on his/her resume, with the longest participation period being no longer than 3 months? Compare this person to someone who's worked only 1 job in college, but held the position for 3 years. From a hiring position, who looks better? This is information on task longevity that usually isn't available by looking at exam records and degree attainment.

Summary: A long-winded agreement of what's been said so far - extracurricular activities are important to a resume, even in the actuarial field.

[Maine-iac]

For getting the interview:

Exams are the biggest thing, by far.
GPA probably second.

Then, if the person with the job opening is trying to differentiate between a bunch of resumes that all pass those two screens, extra-curricular activities come into play, with leadership roles weighting particularly high.

So, if you don't have the exams and the GPA, extra curriculars don't matter much. If you do, then they could be the thing that gives you the edge.

(Once you get to the interview, your demeanor and communication skills will play a large role as well.)

[knowles]

Originally Posted by Salzmann

I haven't been on the hiring side for awhile, but I ALWAYS considered extra-curricular activities a plus in an applicant. Leadership positions in anything are helpful, but most of us like to see people whose minds aren't focused only on geek things. (Makes the interview a lot more interesting, too.) I once asked a candidate how he felt about all thos exams in front of him and he said, with a fanatic gleam in his eye, "Studying is my LIFE!" We didn't offer him a job.

On the other hand, my mother told me not to mention that I'd belonged to the university judo club on my resume and I did it anyway. One of the actuaries at the company where I was hired for my first job asked me about it. You never know- it might have helped.

During the interview for the job I eventually took, probably 70% of it was taken up by me talking about judo, rock climbing, or leadership positions I held. In most of my interviews, in fact, I was asked about the more interesting things on my resume. (Interesting meaning anything not related to exams/grades)

I had a buddy get an offer after talking to the interviewer about baseball and movies for 45 minutes. Obviously, grades and exams are important, but there's more to it than that.

[JTBenson]

In the beginning, exams are your life and most of the work you will do may be just with numbers. However, at this point in my career, leadership, communication and project managment skills play a more predominant role than just knowing math.

[J. A. Prufrock]

If you have an interview that hits you with predominantly behavioral questions ("tell me about a time when you...") there's probably not a better way to casually brag about how constructively you can handle group situations than if you've got stories from being part of a sports team, active in a club, head of a service group, etc.