Introduction
It is has been actively discussed whether the extracurricular activities have an influence on the decision-making of the employer, and affect the employment opportunities for graduates. In this instance, students believe that involvement in the particular extracurricular activities gives them the opportunity to pursue a desired career path, Tobin claims in the article Students Look to Extra-Curricular Activities to Give Them Employability (2010).
This aspect underlines the fact that students consider extracurricular activities as important and having a direct influence on the employer’s decision. Nonetheless, despite being under an active discussion, it remains unclear whether the fact is the truth and the choice of extracurricular activities determines the future career prospects in business and economics sector. However, I believe that the extracurricular activities have a strong effect on the professional future of the students due to the ability to supplier them with essential skills such as critical thinking.
The primary goal of the essay is to determine whether the interdependence between extracurricular activities and employment has a tendency to exist in business and economics sector. Firstly, the analysis of the labor market has to be conducted to assess the current situation in the economic sphere. Secondly, the graduate market also has to be evaluated, as this analysis will allow determining the opportunities and possibilities of the graduates. Furthermore, the extracurricular activities, in which the students have a tendency to engage in the studies, have to be assessed to acquire the understanding of the significant of extracurricular activities from the student perspective. Finally, the impact of the extracurricular activities on employment has to be actively analyzed with the assistance of the information, which was discussed above. In the end, the conclusions are drawn.
Analysis of the Labor Market
Firstly, the analysis of the labor market will contribute to the understanding of the most demanding professions in the business and economic spheres. Globalization is one of the trends, which is currently present on the labor market (The World of Labor 2010). In this instance, employers also tend to hire the employees from different countries in the business sector. This aspect increases the competition on the labor market in the country and the world.
Secondly, the jobs have a tendency to evolve, and nowadays the responsibilities of accountants are more complex and involve broader tasks than before, Odegne claims in the article The Evolving Role of the Accountant (2010). A similar situation occurs with the other professions due to the technological development and advancement of processes in the business sphere. This aspect also increases the competition in the economic segment, as now the employers are more demanding regarding the abilities of the employees.
In the end, it remains evident that all potential employees have to understand the importance of globalization, internationalization, and technological development while applying for the jobs. In this instance, work experience is not prioritized due to the constantly changing business environment and fluctuations in the economy. Nonetheless, the competition is high for the professionals with experience and recent business graduates, as the experienced workers lack flexibility. In turn, recent graduates do not have enough of the work expertise.
Analysis of Graduate Labor Market
Nonetheless, the situation on the graduate labor market is slightly different, as it remains evident that students have equal opportunities after the graduation, and their tasks cannot involve high complexity. Moreover, it is clear that the competition in the graduate labor market is strong, as it is hard to find and discover any job offers during the recession stage of the economy, Ball discusses in the article Graduate Job Statistics That You Need to Know (2011). In this instance, the situation of the graduate labor market can be defined as highly competitive in the economic and business sphere, as a number of graduates remains high and the number of job offers is low.
However, despite lacking the working experience, the employers have a tendency to demand strong analytical skills from the recent graduates, Lohr discusses in the article For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics (2009). It remains evident that having a degree is not a determinant of success, as all of the potential candidates have a similar academic background. As for the possible professional trends, ability to analyze statistics critically assists in the pursuing right job paths due to the rapid development of technology and online marketing in business sphere (Lohr 2009). In this instance, the recent graduates have to pay high attention to the choice of extracurricular activities to comply with the global computerization in the world.
Analysis of Extracurricular Activities
It remains apparent that students have a tendency to get involved in the extracurricular activities during their studies. There are several reasons for the existence of this phenomenon. Firstly, students determine their future orientation and prepare for the professional life, as extracurricular activities involve critical thinking, communication, and working in teams, Stevenson discusses in the article Possible Selves: Students Orientating Themselves Towards the Future through Extracurricular Activity (2011). Secondly, it is one of the possibilities to advance the life satisfaction due to the ability to involve in social interactions (Gilman 2001).
Business students get involved in the various extracurricular activities to prove their capacities to the future employers. In the article Extracurriculars: The Extras That Count, Meglio discusses that nor business school or potential employees are interested in the boring workaholics, and broadens the perception of extracurricular activities (2009). It remains evident in this instance, playing sports, cycling, and roller-skating proves the ability of a student to set goals and work in teams. In turn, organizing various events and art are also popular among business students and develop leadership skills and creativity. In the end, it is apparent that students get involved in different activities for pleasure and building a successful career path in future. In this instance, business students participate in the broad range of activities including sports, art, and others, and participation in any of them is equally important and allow implementing theoretical knowledge into practice.
Impact of Extracurricular Activities on Employment
Nevertheless, Tobin mentions in the article Students Look to Extra-Curricular Activities to Give Them Employability that students have a tendency to think that the involvement in the extracurricular activities clearly defines their future career opportunities (2010). In this instance, students actively believe that the extracurricular activities assist them in getting the desired professions in future. Primarily, the active social life implies having better chances of acquiring a right career during the recession stage, as the number of the available jobs remains on the low level (Tobin 2010).
In this instance, the primary goal of the resumes is to portray the skills and abilities, which they have acquired with the assistance of the classes and other activities, Roulin and Bangeter mention in the article Extracurricular Activities in Young Applicants’ Résumés: What Are the Motives behind Their Involvement? (2013). In this instance, it remains apparent the majority of the skills are acquired during active participation in extracurricular activities, as they allow working with the other members of society. It remains clear that extracurricular activities define student’s motivation and passion (Roulin & Bangeter 2013). Consequently, the employees see students’ tendencies devote their time and passion to working. This matter defines whether a student is an appropriate candidate for the particular position.
It remains evident that such skills as critical thinking, communication, and teamwork can successfully replace the required working experience and give the students an advantage in front of the other potential employees. In the end, the employers consider them as significant and primary determinants of the graduates’ suitability for a particular position. In the end, both employees and employers find extracurricular activities as the definition of the success of the potential employment.
Conclusion
In the end, it remains evident that an active engagement extracurricular activity gives a student a distinct competitive advantage due to the ability to provide students with the particular skill, which are essential in business and economic sectors. Moreover, it remains apparent that the competition in the graduate market is high, as all students have an equal set of skills after the graduation due to the similarities in the educational background. Furthermore, students understand the significance of the extracurricular activities and try to get involved in ones, which actively enhance their communication or critical thinking skills. Moreover, some of the activities include working in teams. It remains evident that the employees highly appreciate these types of skills, and they give the opportunities for the graduates to pursue their future career paths. A combination of the beneficial aspects, which were assessed above, provide the evidence that the extracurricular activities are the critical determinants of the graduate success on the labor market.
Reference List
Ball, C 2011, ‘Graduate job statistics that you need to know’, The Guardian. Web.
Gilman, R 2001, ‘The relationship between life satisfaction, social interest, and frequency of extracurricular activities among adolescent students’, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 749-767.
Lohr, S 2009, ‘For today’s graduate, just one word: statistics’, The New York Times. Web.
Meglio, Francesca. ‘Extracurriculars: the extras that count’,Bloomberg Business. Web.
Odegne, C 2010, ‘The evolving role of the accountant’, The Guardian, Web.
Roulin, N & Bangeter, A 2013, ‘Extracurricular activities in young applicants’ résumés: what are the motives behind their involvement?’, International Journal of Psychology, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 871-880.
Stevenson, J 2011, ‘Possible selves: students orientating themselves towards the future through extracurricular activity’, British Educational Research Journal, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 231-246.
The World of Labor 2010, Global labor market, weblog. Web.
Tobin, L 2010, ‘Students look to extra-curricular activities to give them employability’, The Guardian. Web.