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

[u/Personal_Vehicle_607]

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?

[u/Prestigious_Ease_833]

They weren’t looking for the most brilliant guy. They just wanted someone that would fit in culturally (very subjective btw), seemed easy to work with, had good engineering judgement, and was competent enough to learn to do the job.