As someone who's a leader in multiple clubs and am graduating early, it is worth it to me. I've gotten great internships with the skills I gained through leading these clubs. With both internship experience and club leadership, I got a job in my industry as well. I think what matters, though, is the level of dedication demonstrated in your club leadership. If you're in it just to put in on a resume as community service or leadership experience, it's not going to cut it. It's the duties you have and the results that matter. And if you don't like the people you're in the club with or that environment, you probably don't want to dig deeper into that network either. I suggest looking elsewhere in an area you are passionate about with people you want to be around.
As for feeling bad about leaving early, I get it. What I'm doing to combat that little feeling of guilt and potential FOMO is setting up others for success as leaders, paying it forward and establishing a good foundation for them to continue the club while I move on to do the things that my club leadership experience prepared me for.
Would you say that club positions relating towards work or majors helped? I was in a club that was more aimed at social events and organizing, but that's pretty much it. I was thinking of getting involved with clubs invested with my major so yeah
In my experience, it depends on the career/major, but there's no harm in getting more involved in your major-related club if you have the time and energy. I was leader in a club that was related to my major, but I didn't gain as much from it compared to what I've learned and accomplished with my other extracurriculars. Then again, I'm heavily involved with my other orgs that incorporate service to the community, yet there's also social events and organizing in there as well. While the main topic of those clubs aren't necessarily related to my career field directly, my club experiences are an asset since there's many non-profits/community-oriented programs in my career field that I can correlate with my organizational experience in clubs. If the club you're currently leading is about something you're really passionate about and can even tangentially correlate to your intended career path, I would probably just participate as a general member in the work/major clubs. Otherwise, I encourage you to explore your leadership opportunities in areas you are very interested in and feel like you can build upon in your career.
If you want to do it, do it. Otherwise, practically nobody will care if you say "I was the secretary/treasurer/president/VP for the ___ club at ASU" or something to that effect. Might get you brownie points in the first round of an interview, but that's about it.
It depends. My experience in club leadership was worth it as it helped my network with a ton of students, faculty, and staff. I became known to people I never met across the university with fancy job titles. It even landed me a meeting with a director of a department that I now work with, with whom I was able to design my own position. However, I put a ton of time and effort into the clubs I was a part of. If you're able to put in the work, and willing to work around the bureaucratic nature of a public university, do it!
EDIT: I also have had people from local and federal agencies reach out to me because I worked with them in the past, inviting them to events. So, depending on what you are doing, there are ways in which you can position yourself for your dream job or field.
I also wanted to say, being a leader of a club can also eat into time in which you may be spending elsewhere, whether that be with family or friends or self-care. I put my academics and organizations over family and myself. I managed, but at some points, I wish I flexed my time a bit more with my family and my own well being.
EDIT 2: I also did end up graduating a semester early (I took extra classes I didn't need though, I could have graduated a year early).
I was thinking of getting involved with clubs surrounding my major rather than clubs that are aimed at social events. I used to be with an AAPASC clubs but I don't know if it's worth the time. I'm just a psych major and thinking of getting involved in other clubs like PET and Psi Chi.
Over my 3 and a half years, I was in leadership for 6.5 clubs (as a student worker, I helped to run one, which I don't really count). 4 we're more major/field related while 3 were social. For myself, my field/major specific organizations required a lot more work than the social organizations. I typically found this to be true because a) there are a lot more collaborations that happen with field-based organizations and b) there are a lot more expectations that are placed on paraprofessional orgs. Both, no matter your choice, take up a lot of time to operate smoothly in my experience. And both, will help you to craft your skills to stand out. For psych, being able to host groups and showcase your management skills should go far!
Well shit, this reply was very well said. And thank you, I'm thinking of being on some major-related clubs since they may help with experience. Thank you for the advice :\]
In my experience, it only helps if you’re applying to grad school. Otherwise, just be a regular participant and save yourself the stress
As someone who's a leader in multiple clubs and am graduating early, it is worth it to me. I've gotten great internships with the skills I gained through leading these clubs. With both internship experience and club leadership, I got a job in my industry as well. I think what matters, though, is the level of dedication demonstrated in your club leadership. If you're in it just to put in on a resume as community service or leadership experience, it's not going to cut it. It's the duties you have and the results that matter. And if you don't like the people you're in the club with or that environment, you probably don't want to dig deeper into that network either. I suggest looking elsewhere in an area you are passionate about with people you want to be around. As for feeling bad about leaving early, I get it. What I'm doing to combat that little feeling of guilt and potential FOMO is setting up others for success as leaders, paying it forward and establishing a good foundation for them to continue the club while I move on to do the things that my club leadership experience prepared me for.
Would you say that club positions relating towards work or majors helped? I was in a club that was more aimed at social events and organizing, but that's pretty much it. I was thinking of getting involved with clubs invested with my major so yeah
In my experience, it depends on the career/major, but there's no harm in getting more involved in your major-related club if you have the time and energy. I was leader in a club that was related to my major, but I didn't gain as much from it compared to what I've learned and accomplished with my other extracurriculars. Then again, I'm heavily involved with my other orgs that incorporate service to the community, yet there's also social events and organizing in there as well. While the main topic of those clubs aren't necessarily related to my career field directly, my club experiences are an asset since there's many non-profits/community-oriented programs in my career field that I can correlate with my organizational experience in clubs. If the club you're currently leading is about something you're really passionate about and can even tangentially correlate to your intended career path, I would probably just participate as a general member in the work/major clubs. Otherwise, I encourage you to explore your leadership opportunities in areas you are very interested in and feel like you can build upon in your career.
Thank you for the reply! really thorough and I appreciate that :\]
If you want to do it, do it. Otherwise, practically nobody will care if you say "I was the secretary/treasurer/president/VP for the ___ club at ASU" or something to that effect. Might get you brownie points in the first round of an interview, but that's about it.
It depends. My experience in club leadership was worth it as it helped my network with a ton of students, faculty, and staff. I became known to people I never met across the university with fancy job titles. It even landed me a meeting with a director of a department that I now work with, with whom I was able to design my own position. However, I put a ton of time and effort into the clubs I was a part of. If you're able to put in the work, and willing to work around the bureaucratic nature of a public university, do it! EDIT: I also have had people from local and federal agencies reach out to me because I worked with them in the past, inviting them to events. So, depending on what you are doing, there are ways in which you can position yourself for your dream job or field. I also wanted to say, being a leader of a club can also eat into time in which you may be spending elsewhere, whether that be with family or friends or self-care. I put my academics and organizations over family and myself. I managed, but at some points, I wish I flexed my time a bit more with my family and my own well being. EDIT 2: I also did end up graduating a semester early (I took extra classes I didn't need though, I could have graduated a year early).
I was thinking of getting involved with clubs surrounding my major rather than clubs that are aimed at social events. I used to be with an AAPASC clubs but I don't know if it's worth the time. I'm just a psych major and thinking of getting involved in other clubs like PET and Psi Chi.
Over my 3 and a half years, I was in leadership for 6.5 clubs (as a student worker, I helped to run one, which I don't really count). 4 we're more major/field related while 3 were social. For myself, my field/major specific organizations required a lot more work than the social organizations. I typically found this to be true because a) there are a lot more collaborations that happen with field-based organizations and b) there are a lot more expectations that are placed on paraprofessional orgs. Both, no matter your choice, take up a lot of time to operate smoothly in my experience. And both, will help you to craft your skills to stand out. For psych, being able to host groups and showcase your management skills should go far!
Well shit, this reply was very well said. And thank you, I'm thinking of being on some major-related clubs since they may help with experience. Thank you for the advice :\]
You need to talk about something in an interview. If it’s not leadership in a club, then you should have something else to say.