Information

Future employers will want to know what you've achieved.

You will have gained a lot of experience from the event both in concrete terms of preparation towards the specific subject, but also the 'soft skills' of communication, participation, argumentation and research. Employers are increasingly interested in those who can give more than just a degree or a brain (although both are useful). Drawing on outside experience will provide this.

Academic institutions are likely to want someone with skills, not just grades.

You're now more than just a brain, you've shown you have something more than the rest. It's not just employers who want to know about this, it's colleges and universities too. If you haven't had time or the options to study different courses, your event may be the chance to demonstrate an interest in a completely different subject area, and one which is rarely studied at a lower level.

The experience you have may be more than you could get in a job.

It's often hard for undergraduates and young students to get relevant experience of skills and work. This is especially the case in high risk professions such as law, where you have to be right first time to give advice, and humanitarian work where it's very competitive. Using participation in a student event as a means to break into these careers can be particularly effective.

How should you use your experience?

Refer to your participation

Make the most of your achievement

Bring out all the benefits to you...

...and how they benefit the person you're addressing it to

...and finally

Now that you've got this far, build on your achievement by going on to do more events and getting more experience. The first one is always the most daunting, after that, the sky's the limit and you'll be surprised just how important your involvement is.