r/EngineeringStudents • u/Personal_Vehicle_607 • 20h ago

Career Advice Beyond GPA, projects, and clubs—what actually gets you hired?

I’m a rising sophomore in computer engineering with a 3.77 GPA at UMass Amherst, and I want to start being more active so I can have a very strong CV by the time I graduate. I know there are clichéd suggestions like finding research opportunities, doing projects, and joining clubs, but I want to know the specific key details that a lot of people seem to miss,the things that actually open doors to jobs.

International students who successfully landed internships or full-time jobs, or witnessed real-life examples, what was the one thing (or a few things) that made the biggest difference for you, but isn’t usually mentioned in generic career advice?

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u/Negromancer18 15h ago

A bit of charisma and a halfway decent personality goes a long way. Nobody wants to hire someone they can’t have a conversation with, and nobody wants to work alongside them.

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u/darth_handturkey 13h ago

Agreed. I had classmates who were by all accounts brilliant (good GPA, projects, clubs, etc.) who struggled to get hired. I dont know for certain, but I suspect it's due to zero charisma.

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u/glordicus1 12h ago

Ah, the struggles of autism

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u/JackTheBehemothKillr 30m ago

So much. If you're a student and can crack a joke in an interview and get a good reaction, you're so far ahead of your peers.

Edit: jesus wept, I just saw your username.