'T-shirt Chair' on Resume

[Splash]

One of my friends put it on her resume as "Director of Apparel" however she was applying to a graphic design company.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This is going to make me sound terrible but I didn't put ANYTHING sorority on my resume that wasn't something I felt would impress an employer/grad program. Ex: I was Awards chair once. I made the awards we handed out at formal. I didn't really think that needed to be on my resume. Birthday Sunshine chair? Nope. Public Relations chair? Yes.

It seems that college advisers/career services offices encourage these kids to put anything and everything on their resume to fill up the space. Because, let's face it, most college kids don't have much to put on their resumes.

Over the past year, I have had two college students contact me through various networks asking to talk to me about being a lawyer/professional in our area. One kid was a senior had so much stuff on his resume - but he was a rare case where a lot of it was actually good stuff. I helped him make it work for him more. Quantify things wherever possible and list accomplishments for each activity. For instance, helped grow membership by X percent. Not only does it show the results of your leadership, but they make great talking points for interviews.

The other student was a sophomore and had almost nothing on her resume. She was a member of a honors GLO and filled up half a page with BS descriptions of her activities in that GLO that I knew were BS and meaningless. I called her out on it, and explained to her the kinds of things she should get involved in. It was her only activity, she didn't work (the only employment she'd ever had was one summer working as a cashier) - I asked her what she did with all of her time. To me, I'm not all that impressed if someone got good grades in undergrad but didn't hold down a job or have very active participation in other activities.

In general, though, most law schools don't really care much about undergrad extracurriculars. That is, unless you had some sort of really unique and fantastic experience, or something high profile - student body president or something of the sort. Or if it's a law school with interviews, that might be more important. A non-elected position in a GLO isn't going to mean much.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by mocotro

I was thinking of retitling it "Apparel Chair" or "Campus Brand Manager" because the shirts essentially are marketing tools.

I missed this post from the OP. Campus Brand Manager is entirely misleading and is not the same thing as t-shirt chair. Campus Brand Manager is something I could see as VP-PR.

You took orders for t-shirts and delivered them when they came in. The treasurer probably collected the money.

What exactly about the role is something law schools would be interested in? Always ask yourself- why would the person reading my resume care? Why should someone care that you were t-shirt chair? Even if it lived up to the extra-fluffy description jenidallas gave it above, it still does not translate to something that law schools would really care about. The space on your resume may be better served by better describing other activities. One page doesn't go that far (and please, college students, keep it to ONE PAGE).

[littleowl33]

Originally Posted by kddani

In general, though, most law schools don't really care much about undergrad extracurriculars. That is, unless you had some sort of really unique and fantastic experience, or something high profile - student body president or something of the sort. Or if it's a law school with interviews, that might be more important. A non-elected position in a GLO isn't going to mean much.

This. Law school admissions is overwhelmingly GPA + LSAT. In my experience, undergrad extracurriculars are not a big deal at all.

As a (somewhat) recent grad I understand wanting to include as much as possible on your resume, especially since you may not have a lot to work with, but I would definitely leave this off (but do keep your GLO affiliation on there). Focus on your grades and LSAT instead.

Good luck!

[katydidKD]

Originally Posted by mocotro

How have you guys best presented being T-shirt Chair for your GLO on professional resumes? I am applying to law school want to include it to show active involvement in my sorority, but I have been told that it seems frivolous or even detrimental. Thanks!

we called ours "personal presence" something like that or "apparel manager" but everyone else is probably right in saying leave it off.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

This. Law school admissions is overwhelmingly GPA + LSAT. In my experience, undergrad extracurriculars are not a big deal at all.

As a (somewhat) recent grad I understand wanting to include as much as possible on your resume, especially since you may not have a lot to work with, but I would definitely leave this off (but do keep your GLO affiliation on there). Focus on your grades and LSAT instead.

Good luck!

I totally agree. You need to have some extracurriculars to show that you have good social skills and aren't a freak, but extracurriculars are the least important part of the application. It's mostly GPA + LSAT. You get more consideration for attending a good undergraduate program and for having a hard major.

If you have other extracurricular leadership positions, I would include those and leave this off.


I would include any philanthropy work you did with your sorority. I would just list the position as "volunteer" if you weren't a chair. The admissions committee is going to be more impressed by philanthropy work than social leadership positions in the sorority.

If you don't have any philanthropy or leadership, I would find some volunteer work to do.

[KSUViolet06]

This thread reminds me of how Abercrombie calls their employees Models. Um, ok. If you say so.

[honeychile]

I don't know if they still have it, but our terminology for anything that was ordered for or by the chapter was called Purchasing and Acquisitions. It does have a much nicer ring to it - which does NOT mean that I think you should use it, if you're trying to pump up a resume. This was a legitimate term; borrowing it (if you're busted) would make you look terribly cheap.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This thread reminds me of how Abercrombie calls their employees Models. Um, ok. If you say so.

IIRC, this is to allow AF to be able to dictate its employees' looks (ex. You're too skinny/fat/tall/tan, so work on that or else you're fired).

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This is going to make me sound terrible but I didn't put ANYTHING sorority on my resume that wasn't something I felt would impress an employer/grad program. Ex: I was Awards chair once. I made the awards we handed out at formal. I didn't really think that needed to be on my resume. Birthday Sunshine chair? Nope. Public Relations chair? Yes.

Exactly. Being in a small chapter, I held A LOT of positions over the years, but the only ones that I included on my resume were Secretary, New Member Director, and Panhellenic President. For each position, I was able to give a one-line description of what I accomplished. That's it. And once I held my first job and was able to put some work experience on my resume, I only listed the positions without any descriptions (and I then added Recruitment Advisor). If I were to apply to another job, I probably wouldn't include any of this. The only way that I might is if I was still an Advisor.

Originally Posted by littleowl33

As a (somewhat) recent grad I understand wanting to include as much as possible on your resume, especially since you may not have a lot to work with, but I would definitely leave this off (but do keep your GLO affiliation on there). Focus on your grades and LSAT instead.

Good luck!

And focus on anything that you accomplished in school - this goes for anyone applying to law school, or a first job. After you graduate, you don't have much experience to include on your resume, but you just went through 4 years of school.. use that to your advantage! If you completed any kind of major project or paper, mention it on your resume. I had written a 50-page paper for a class, complete with interviews, surveys, and extensive research. If you're looking to take up some extra space on your resume, it's better that you mention something like this over being the T-shirt Chair for your sorority.

Originally Posted by KDCat

I would include any philanthropy work you did with your sorority. I would just list the position as "volunteer" if you weren't a chair. The admissions committee is going to be more impressed by philanthropy work than social leadership positions in the sorority.

This! It doesn't matter how you get the philanthropy work done, whether it be through the sorority or on your own - the fact that you volunteer is what's important. If you consistently volunteered (and not just donated a few dollars) for a particular charitable organization, mention it.

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This thread reminds me of how Abercrombie calls their employees Models. Um, ok. If you say so.

Actually..... some of them ARE models. When I went to The Grove in Los Angeles, I rode the trolley past the Abercrombie store, and yes, there were live, half-naked models standing in the doorway. I guess they have them in a handful of stores. It kind of creeped me out...

[KSUViolet06]

I think a common misconception is "sorority activities look great on your resume!"

That's not really 100% true. Companies and schools don't care about 90% of what you did as collegiate sorority member.

The only way they care is if it has a tangible result that tells them that they need to look closer at you as a candidate.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I think a common misconception is "sorority activities look great on your resume!"

That's not really 100% true. Companies and schools don't care about 90% of what you did as collegiate sorority member.

The only way they care is if it has a tangible result that tells them that they need to look closer at you as a candidate.

I never listed it on my resume, but I referenced it in interviews if I got a "describe a time..."-type question. I had been president and philanthropy chair, though, which are probably the two most impressive sounding titles.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by kddani

T-shirt chair is not active enough involvement in a sorority to mention a merit on your law school application. It is laughable. If you were treasurer, held another elected office or much more involved appointed position, or did something with more professional responsibility, fine. Otherwise, if that was the height of your sorority involvement, you should leave it out.

As a lawyer, if I ever saw an application that listed something like that I would LMAO and immediately reject. And I am a very pro-Greek person. But if that is your only position, I know that you didn't do much of anything and probably didn't get much (leadership and life skills- wise) out of your sorority membership.

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Agree with kddani that I would not put it on the resume. If you're going to use another name for the position, you should be prepared to give an explanation that fits the title. Otherwise, the interviewer may just say "so, you were basically responsible for t-shirts?"

As I lawyer, I agree as well. If it's not president or treasurer, leave it off.

[AOII Angel]

I always find it slightly amusing when people only think about finding things to include on their resumes when it's time to write the resume. This should be considered years in advance.

[DGTess]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

This. Law school admissions is overwhelmingly GPA + LSAT. In my experience, undergrad extracurriculars are not a big deal at all.

As a (somewhat) recent grad I understand wanting to include as much as possible on your resume, especially since you may not have a lot to work with, but I would definitely leave this off (but do keep your GLO affiliation on there). Focus on your grades and LSAT instead.

Good luck!

Agree with keeping GLO on the resume (for jobs - I have no experience with the grad-school resume), but think long and hard about whether to name it or whether simply to state "University" chapter of a national sorority.

You may be asked about it at the interview, but you want to avoid the lowly HR clerk who thinks "XYZ - a bunch of divas" or "I'm not forwarding an XYZ; they dropped me first round" and tosses the resume.

Does it happen often? No, but it does happen, and you don't want to give any reason for yours to be in the "no" stack.