Activity Director Resume Example

In the article, you'll find guidance on creating an activity director resume that showcases desirable qualities for senior management and director-level appointments. The article will guide you on how to show your long-term vision and how your leadership has led to success for organizations. You'll also find tips on how to present your resume for the maximum impact with employers and key decision makers. Continue reading to discover everything you'll need to create an impressive and impactful activity director resume.

What to include in an activity director resume

It's essential to include a few core sections in your activity director resume, while there are also a few optional sections.

The order you present these sections can vary according to your career stage, but it's still essential to include each of the following:

Resume Header and Personal Information

In your activity director resume header, list your name, email address, phone number and address or location. You can also add your LinkedIn, if you have one, to help employers better understand your work history and skills. While in some countries, you might include additional personal information or a photo, these aren't necessary. Make sure your resume header is as brief as possible and doesn't take up too much valuable space. Choose a clear, professional design that sets the tone for your application.

Make sure your email address appears as professional as possible, and doesn't include anything like nicknames, inappropriate language or personal information. If it does, set up a new email account with an address based on your name or initials, and use that for your job applications. Always double-check your contact details are up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Objective

The next section is the resume summary. The section might also be called 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. This is a brief introduction to you, your key skills and your career achievements and ambitions. While a resume summary focuses on your career achievements and experience, a resume objective typically focuses on your ambitions for the future. Additionally, make sure your resume summary reflects the job description and focuses on qualities that are relevant to working as an activity director.

Alternatively, write a paragraph that concentrates on your career objectives and how this role fits with your wider ambitions and progression.

A strong resume summary focuses on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for activity director roles in a clear, quantifiable way. It also gives an insight into your personal qualities, to help the reader understand why you're a suitable candidate. See below for some great examples of how to approach your activity director resume.

Conversely, an ineffective resume summary would include generic, unspecific information on your skills and experience, while failing to provide any useful information on what makes you a unique and interesting candidate. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your activity director resume summary.

Work Experience

Next, list your relevant employment history and any key achievements that show you're suitable for an activity director position. List each relevant role in reverse-chronological order starting with your current or most recent role. Add your job title, the organization name, its location and the dates you worked there.

In addition, include a few bullet points under each job, highlighting your key achievements so the hiring manager can see how they led to successful outcomes. Back up each point with evidence to show how you meet the job description.

When writing a resume for an activity director position, you may wish to add a longer work experience section to your resume. Employers will be looking for candidates with extensive experience and achievements, making the work experience section the most important part of your activity director resume. While established best practice suggests you should go no further than 10 to 15 years back in your resume work experience section, for an activity director resume, you might wish to go back further. This can help you prove you've got the necessary expertise in your field to take on a leadership or senior management position.

A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in an activity director resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. See below for some good examples of what to include in your resume work experience section.

In the graphic above, you'll see some examples of less effective resume work experience sections. Less effective resume work experience sections might take a more vague, descriptive approach to previous jobs. They focus on responsibilities and everyday duties rather than referencing career achievements and the value you've added for previous employers.

Education

In this section list any educational qualifications or degrees that are relevant to activity director roles.

An activity director role tends to require candidates to have a university or college degree, so make sure you list yours in your resume. A Bachelor of Science in Recreation Management degree or similar is the most suitable for this job, but you could also include any other relevant qualifications that show your MS Office proficiency or budget management.

Include any qualifications relevant to the role. For each, add the name and level of the award, the institution name, its location and your dates of study. If you have space, include some bullet points outlining any specialist areas of study, awards or high grades, so the employer can learn more about your unique skill set and knowledge.

If you were a member of any clubs or societies, or volunteered for any causes while studying, you could also mention these in your education section.

Skills

In your skills section, list any skills you've acquired or developed that are relevant to activity director positions. Consider adding MS Office proficiency, communication and collaboration or any other necessary skills for the job. Again, refer to the activity director job description for an indication of the types of skills the employer is looking for, and make sure your skills section reflects these.

How to list hard skills on your activity director resume

Hard skills are specific skills related to the job you're applying for. They include particular abilities, technical skills and industry knowledge that relate directly to jobs as an activity director. Furthermore, an extensive list of hard skills helps to make a compelling case for your activity director job applications, as they show employers your understanding of the activity director role. Add up to five key hard skills that show you're an ideal candidate for the role. It can also be beneficial to add context to each skill, showing how you've used it to positive effect in your career to date.

Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective activity director resume hard skills list looks like.

Showcasing your best soft skills

In your list of soft skills, add any personal strengths, qualities or transferable skills that make you a good fit for the job. Soft skills are often less specific to different industries, but that doesn't make them any less important. In fact, as technology develops, soft skills are growing in importance for recruiters and employers, so be sure to add several of these to your resume.

In this section, add four of five transferable skills that match the job description. Your activity director job application should focus on soft and transferable skills that showcase your credentials as a leader.

Your soft skills section should make the most of your unique personal qualities and strengths, while also reflecting the requirements laid out in the job description. See below for some examples of useful soft skills for an activity director resume.

Relevant Certifications and Licenses

In this section, include any activity director certifications, training or licenses you hold that are relevant to the job. These might be licenses that show you're qualified to operate certain equipment, or certifications that give you the edge over candidates with otherwise similar career history. Therefore, add any professional licenses or certifications, along with valid dates that show they're still valid.

Read on to see some relevant example certifications for an activity director resume:

Additional Information

In addition to the core sections of an activity director resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Choose any optional sections that showcase essential or desirable skills or experience for activity director jobs.

Hobbies and Interests

Hobbies and interests can be a useful way of showing your skills and experience beyond your work and education. Hobbies can help you show different sides of your personality and make your resume more memorable to hiring managers. They're ideal to include if you're a junior candidate who might lack real world activity director experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.

Volunteer Work

Listing volunteer work is another useful way to prove your relevant experience for activity director roles. List your volunteer job title, the organization you volunteered for, its location and the dates of your involvement, alongside a brief explanation of your responsibilities in the role.

References

It's not typical to include references in an activity director resume, but some employers might ask for them. Don't add references unless requested by the employer. Only include referees that you've had prior approval from, and notify them to expect contact from the employer.

Best words to use in an activity director resume

Add strong verbs to your work experience section to show the hiring manager the impact you made in your previous roles. Choose from the list of words below to make the best possible impression.

If you're an experienced activity director, your resume may be longer than the standard one to two pages. Resumes for such senior positions need space to showcase achievements, experience and relevant activities that indicate your senior standing, so a resume length of two pages or longer is generally more acceptable. For help creating an eye-catching resume design to catch the attention of hiring managers, see Jobseeker's professional resume layouts. You can also use our clear, effective cover letter templates to complete your application.

Example of an activity director resume

Using each of the sections above, we've created this example activity director resume, to help guide you when creating your own:

Guide to making your resume ATS-friendly

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are one of the key ways recruiters and employers manage the hiring process. The systems can screen candidates by scanning and ranking resumes based on each candidate's likely suitability for the vacancy. If you follow a few simple tips when writing your activity director resume, you'll give yourself a better chance of ranking highly in the ATS screening and progressing to the next stage.

Follow these simple rules when writing your resume, to make sure it's ATS compliant:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Add keywords throughout your resume that help ATS software match your application to the job description. A higher match means your application is more likely to proceed to be reviewed by human eyes.
• Include clear headings that make it easy to identify each section of your resume. This will help any ATS software navigate your resume during the scanning process.
• Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
• Use concise language to keep the length of your resume to between one and two pages. This will make it easier to scan for ATS applications.

Takeaways for your activity director resume

The best resumes focus on your skills and the value you've added to previous roles, rather than focusing on your duties and responsibilities. Choose the most suitable resume format for your experience levels, and focus on tailoring your resume based on the requirements listed in the job description.

Remember, Jobseeker resume templates and other tools make it easy to create a resume and cover letter that leaves a positive impression on hiring managers. Sign up now to start building your perfect resume. Whatever job you're applying for, a professional cover letter can make all the difference to your chances. Use Jobseeker's HR-approved tools and cover letter examples to inspire your applications.

Sources:

(1) Tips for Writing a Federal Resume, U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs/tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume

(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/