Thread: Worth it?

As some of you know I'm an undergraduate student, finished my first year in college. I've been getting quite a bit of mail to join honors societies. I already joined National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). There was a one time $70 fee or something like that. I know I can't get any of the scholarships - don't meet the leadership and community service requirements yet - but I joined because it said it would be a great addition to my resume and my friends who were invited joined. I asked my peers - we have this school-wide thing where everybody on campus can talk to each other - if it was worth joining and all that was said was, "anything that's a resume builder is worth it!" Is this true? Should I join the other honors societies? The National Honors Society in high school was pathetic and totally wasn't worth joining, so I'm just worried that I'm sort of wasting my parents' money if I may not actually get anything back. Which ones will actually get noticed?

I'm planning on getting some leadership experience and community service. I know those will be great resume builders.

I never bothered to join a similar thing over here because I make my own path and I don't need or want to belong to some old boys club.

I signed my first job contract half a year before I graduated, stayed there for 9 years, invested a hell of a lot of personal time and effort to learn new skills and improve myself, and then had a fairly impressive resume that landed me my current job without problems.

+1 what Bruno said...

Greg Frazer

I have hiring authority for my company. I have to read about 30 resumes a week. Our company hires one applicant for every ten applications. One of the reasons I would probably not hire someone is them thinking some college honors society is a logical thing to have on a resume.

Thats almost as bad as a college kid applying to my company for a "management" position.

I really don't need frat boys running any portion of our company.

Be cautious about what you put into a resume. I knock a lot of guys out because they put things into a resume that shouldn't be in there. In other words, if they had said less they would of atleast got themselves an interview.

I'm going to go with what AFDavis said. Unless it's actually a prestigious honors society, which are typically major/field specific, I wouldn't bother. The real resume builders are internships and relevant leadership (read: community service). For undergrad, you're looking at things like hall government and campus activities.

Think of it this way- if all you have to do to become a part of these "honor" societies is pay a fee, it doesn't do anything for you. Anyone can pay money. What distinguishes you is your experience and your leadership initiative.

Originally Posted by Quick Orange

Think of it this way- if all you have to do... is pay a fee... Anyone can pay money.

Agree with all that...

I'm reminded of Groucho Marx saying that he wouldn't want to be a member of any club that would have him as a member... there's some sense in that... i guess.

As my career and experience have progressed my ideas of what to put in and what to leave out of a resume have changed... now I can spot, pretty quickly, the things that means something and the useless things people include to fatten up their presentation.

Employers are only interested in what you're able and prepared to do... in other words, what they are going to get for their money.

Concentrate on building your skill-set and your experience... try to find work during your breaks that is going to add to this... even if you have to work for next to nothing...

Hard work now will definately pay off down the track

Greg Frazer

Eh well.. there is a minimum gpa requirement in a given amount of time (first year). From what I've been told, a 3.5 minimum gpa for a freshman isn't easy to achieve. So it's not like I just pay and get in. These are invite only societies, and not all of them are fraternaties. NSCS is not a fraternaty and minimum gpa requirement of 3.5 in your first two years. But I do see your point. Seems like I just wasted $70 of my parents' money which could've gone into something more useful.

But that's certainly an interesting view for the fraternaties. I was thinking about joining two scholar fraternaties - business frat and engineering frat. Unlike social fraternaties, these focus on building connections within their respective fields. Similar to honors societies that are fraternaties, they have provide workshops and such to help build resumes, prepare what to say in interviews, some provide community service, and they have connections to businesses. So I take it these would be just time wasters? Should focus on being an RA or participate in some kind of student government along with community service?

I must concur with AFDavis - I have forgotten the number of resumes I have reviewed that were all fluff and no experience. Graduate with honors? Great - shows some hard work. Member of an Honors Society? Has nothing to do with my company's business...member of a professional society, say for Electrical Engineers...interesting, shows you are serious about your skills, but again, nothing to do with my company.

Internships in your field, work experience before you went to school, veteran, foreign study time...all this shows effort on your part.

Anecdote: I was reviewing a resume as a pre-screen for one of my technical managers. I checked for basic qualifications and did the initial interviews, talking about the company, benefits, culture, etc. The candidate noted that I circled the university name (prestigious technical school), puffed himself up and asked if the school was a deciding factor in the person being hired. I said "No, we are looking for skills, experience, work history".."So why circle the school?" "It means you'll want more money." Needless to say we did not hire this person.
One of the sadest things is college graduates entering the workforce with rose-colored glasses, thinking that they are going to jump right into a management position....and it is getting worse every year. No demands in the high schools, no demands in colleges, and then I end up with their resumes.....

Chinese Saying: "There is only one perfect child in the world...and every mother has it."

As a follow-up to Berticus' response, fraternities have their places, but have nothing to do with job skills. They are networking mechanisms. A majority of people have - at some point - gotten a job through connections. The walk-in-and-hire scenrio is not that common, except maybe at entry level. Do not discount the friendships and business relationships that can be made in fraternities. But don't rely on it to get you a career. You can list them under civic organizations or community activities on your resume, if you put those kind of things there. Student government, internship, political activity, charity work, mentoring others...those are things which tell me that I could expect such a person to dedicate serious effort to the goals of my company...after all, you are giving freely to others and helping them...it follows you would work just as hard for yourself.

Greg

Don't be an RA unless you really want it. It's not an easy job and takes up a lot of your time. Now if you are able to do it and keep your grades, go for it! The responsibility to education ratio you get for being an RA is only exceeded by the military. Nowhere else will you be responsible for 40+ people on a personal level with only a high school diploma and a few hours of college under your belt. Once again, it's not for everyone.

There are tons of ways to make yourself actually look better on paper, but most of them have to do with more than just GPA and fees. Look at it all like stepping stones. Getting involved on campus looks great, but it probably won't get you into management. It might get you that internship though, and the internship could launch you into management.

As an aside, being involved plus keeping a good GPA shows potential employers that not only do you take initiative and can handle responsibility, but also that you can juggle a lot of commitment and still do a good job.