What is one thing students should do outside the classroom to improve career outcomes?

One of the most impactful things students can do outside the classroom to improve career outcomes is to practice professional storytelling—specifically, learning how to translate lived experiences into career-ready narratives. It's not enough to simply do projects, internships, or side gigs. What separates standout candidates isn't the bullet points on their resume—it's their ability to articulate why those experiences matter in a way that connects to future employers' needs. The modern job market isn't just scanning for credentials. It's scanning for coherence: Can you show how your unique journey, skills, and mindset are aligned with the role? Students who begin to shape that story early—through blogging, video reflection, informational interviews, or even posting on LinkedIn—build two things that most graduates lack: clarity and visibility. Clarity in understanding what environments they thrive in and how they create value. Visibility in showing up as more than a GPA or a list of courses. Take Malcolm, a third-year psychology major who worked part-time in a campus food pantry. At first, he thought it wasn't "relevant" to his career path. But after reflecting and posting about how he optimized the volunteer scheduling process and developed a resource guide for low-income students, he caught the attention of a non-profit's hiring team. His story wasn't about charity—it was about initiative, systems thinking, and user empathy. That connection got him a summer internship in community research. A recent study by NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) found that students who practiced self-reflective storytelling—either through mock interviews, online profiles, or writing about their experiences—were 60% more likely to receive job offers within six months of graduation. The key variable? Their ability to contextualize their experience in ways that hiring managers could recognize as valuable. So the advice is simple but transformative: Don't just do the thing. Learn to frame it. Learn to connect your choices, actions, and insights into a story that shows who you are becoming—not just what you've done. It's not about waiting to be impressive. It's about learning how to make your experience speak for you. That's a career skill no classroom can teach—and no algorithm can replace.

If you want to actually move the needle on your career, you've got to build a public "proof of work" trail. Contributing to open-source projects is the best way to do that. Look, a high GPA is fine--it proves you can follow instructions--but a public pull request proves you can solve problems inside a messy, living codebase. In our hiring cycles at Developers.dev, we consistently see that candidates who've navigated real-world code reviews and community standards hit the ground running way faster than those with only academic projects. This isn't just about how well you can code; it's about professional discipline. GitHub's own research shows that over 80% of software engineers attribute their professional growth to community-led initiatives. On top of that, nearly 70% of employers are now specifically looking for people who have practical experience with version control and collaborative workflows. When you contribute to a public repository, you're providing a transparent record of how you handle feedback and how you communicate with a team. Those are signals a traditional resume just can't convey. The transition from being a student to a professional is usually a massive shock because real-world work is iterative and collaborative, not linear like a classroom assignment. By engaging with open-source communities early, you're basically removing the risk for your first employer. You aren't just telling them you know how to code--you're showing them exactly how you work. In a crowded job market, that's the ultimate competitive advantage.

The single most impactful thing students can do outside the classroom is build a compelling online presence. In today's job market, your digital footprint often speaks louder than your degree. Start with LinkedIn; not just creating a profile, but actively optimizing it. Share insights about your field, comment thoughtfully on industry posts, and showcase projects you're working on. I've seen countless candidates land opportunities simply because they were visible and engaged online. When hiring managers search for talent, they're looking at what you've built and shared, not just where you studied. Beyond LinkedIn, develop a portfolio that demonstrates your skills in action. Whether it's a GitHub repository, a design portfolio, or case studies of problems you've solved, tangible proof of your abilities matters more than listing skills on a resume. This is especially crucial for remote opportunities, where employers need confidence that you can deliver results independently. The beauty of building your brand now is that it compounds over time. Every article you share, every project you document, and every connection you make creates opportunities you can't predict. I've built my career around connecting talent with companies, and I consistently see that the people who invest in their online presence early are the ones who have choices when it comes to their careers, not just applications.

The best thing you can do outside the classroom is get real-world experience, as early as you can. An internship, co-op, or even a part-time role gives you proof you can deliver, as well as a clearer sense of what you actually enjoy. Pick something where you can own a small, real problem end to end. Ask for responsibility, ship the work, and get feedback from people who will actually use what you built. If you cannot land an internship yet, do the closest substitute: a volunteer role, a paid campus job, or a project for a local business. Then write it down in plain language. What was the problem, what did you do, what changed, and what you'd do differently next time. This becomes your interview fuel, because you can talk through decisions and tradeoffs instead of only listing classes. The people who stand out are the ones who've lived the messy middle and kept going. Real experience teaches you how to learn fast, communicate clearly, and make progress when the path is not obvious. It also gives you references who can vouch for how you work, which is a big unlock early in a career.

Here's the single thing I think students should do outside the classroom to improve their career outcomes: Join and actively participate in extracurricular clubs with intentional diversity — not just race or gender, but socioeconomic diversity — especially those centered on social justice or activism. I believe this so strongly because nearly every top performer in my company and in the organizations I've advised who did this in college has had a faster, more resilient career trajectory. Most students think these activities are just "resume boosters." They're not. They're training grounds for the soft skills that actually determine who accelerates in the first five years of a career. Technical skills might get you a seat at the table, but skills like empathy, stakeholder management, persuasion, and conflict navigation are what keep you there and move you up. I've seen this clearly in agency environments. Many highly credentialed graduates struggle to lead or win buy-in until they're "battle tested." Meanwhile, students who spent time in activist or advocacy groups learned those skills early — through messy negotiations, conflicting viewpoints, and the challenge of aligning people with opposing beliefs toward a shared goal. Their empathy muscles were trained in practice, not theory. One of our recent hires at Outreacher.io told me she moved from associate to manager in under 18 months largely because of her background in cross-cultural advocacy groups at university. She had experience moderating conflict, building consensus, and driving delivery across polarized groups — exactly what she now does leading project teams. Leaders like her are a big reason our two-year retention rate now exceeds 80%, double the agency average. If students want to act on this, they should seek out organizations driven by causes bigger than themselves and commit fully. The networks built there aren't just broad — they're meaningful, values-aligned, and career-shaping. I've seen firsthand how often they open doors later on.

I started by running my neighbor's restaurant social media for free. Within two months, their weekend reservations doubled, and suddenly people were calling me about paid work. Nothing beats actually doing the work. You learn faster, make real connections, and end up with examples that actually mean something. Just find a local shop that needs help and start. The clients will follow.

I have witnessed the digital learning revolution transform education, yet the most impactful career advancement strategy remains surprisingly simple. Students must build authentic professional relationships well before graduation day arrives. This means moving beyond theoretical knowledge into practical engagement with industry professionals through informational interviews, virtual coffee chats and targeted networking events. The digital landscape offers unprecedented connectivity, but meaningful relationship building requires intentional effort. Students who dedicate just two hours weekly to connect with professionals in their target field gain critical contextual understanding that classroom learning cannot provide. These interactions reveal the unwritten expectations of their chosen industry and create advocates who can later become references or mentors. This human-centered approach consistently yields better long-term career outcomes than solely focusing on academic achievement.

One of the best things students can do is step into the real world of their chosen field before they graduate. I often think about a marketing student I know who joined the Chartered Institute of Marketing while still studying. Through that membership, he didn't just get learning content, he found a network, practical frameworks, and real examples of how marketers solve day-to-day problems. It helped him see how theory fits into real work and gave him confidence when applying for jobs. The same idea applies across many careers. Online learning outside of your academic studies plays a big part. Platforms like Intellek SkillsHub help students build skills in business software and tools they will use every day at work. When students combine study with real industry learning, they step into their career already speaking the language employers expect.

The strongest move students can make is learning how real decisions get made in the real world. This rarely happens inside a classroom. We see students grow faster when they follow leaders in their field and study why certain choices were made. They read case stories, watch interviews, and observe patterns across both success and failure. Over time, they begin to understand how pressure, limits, and timing shape decisions. This habit sharpens thinking and helps students build their own voice. It allows them to connect ideas across fields and move beyond textbook answers. During interviews, these students explain context and tradeoffs instead of repeating theory. That difference stands out. Over time, this kind of learning builds business sense and calm judgment. Both matter more than tools or titles for long term career success.

The results of developing a few pieces of documented work beyond coursework have more impact than additional certifications. Employers react to information that demonstrates how an individual thinks, makes up his mind, and acts on it. A small project done on your own, like a simple market analysis, a summary of what grants you can get, or a process memo, is an indication of readiness that transcripts do not give. Even in cases where the work is not perfect, hiring managers always take more time to review people who demonstrate applied thinking. The development is quicker when students post such work secretly on a personal web page or LinkedIn account. Exposure is not as important as transparency. Discipline is shown by clear goals, a set of specific constraints and a final product. The data of internal hiring in the professional services indicates that candidates who have visible projects enter the interview process more rapidly and have fewer screening calls. The surprise advantage is the self-belief. Learners that are able to identify work that they did without being taught talk more eloquently of their worth. ERI Grants follows the same tendencies in grants decisions. Researchers prefer candidates who demonstrate action, rather than thinking. Careers follow the same rule.

Building a real product and trying to sell it to an actual business is one of the best things a student can do. You learn how to talk to customers, handle rejection, and just get things done. Even if your first pitch crashes and burns, you'll learn more than from any classroom assignment, and that's what makes you stand out to employers.

I advise students to participate in side gig opportunities such as paid surveys, focus groups and market research studies when they are in school. Not only do these experiences provide students with additional funds to help pay for their expenses, but it also gives them insight into real business decision making and consumer insights that most classroom environments can't truly replicate. The skills you learn about how to put your opinion into words and how companies collect consumer feedback are extremely valuable in *any* career, plus you're already establishing a habit of entrepreneurial thinking by starting to diversify your streams of income early.

The one thing students should do outside the classroom to improve career outcomes is to job shadow in the potential career fields. Those experiences can provide valuable information about the job, give students opportunities to speak with "real people" in the field, and can help them determine if they want to pursue that field or not.

Volunteering at local organizations forced me to solve real problems with no script. One time our entire event system crashed an hour before start. You just learn to adapt quickly and stay calm. That ability to figure things out when they go wrong is something I never could have learned from a textbook.

Honestly, the SEO work students do on real projects is what gets them hired faster than anything else. We had one new hire who optimized a site for a local shop, and that taught him more than any class. He learned to fix actual problems and see what worked, which gave him a confidence you just can't get from a textbook.

Talk to family friends. Without a doubt, this is the most powerful option and the one that will open the most doors for you. Many people talk about networking and connections, and they often say that if you don't have contacts, you just need to go out and make them. This is simply not true. Most of the people I know who are in better positions achieved them thanks to family connections. Even people who were very well connected at university—who belonged to different associations, had links to the business world through organizing events, and so on—have struggled to find decent positions and to move forward. The only thing many of these activities brought them was a large number of promises that were never fulfilled. With this, I don't mean that you shouldn't try or that you shouldn't attempt to connect through these kinds of activities, but I would keep expectations low. If you really want results, I recommend starting a round of contacts with family friends. They don't even need to be in the same sector—just mention that you're studying and ask them to let you know if they hear of anything. In the world of networking there is a lot of posturing. It's better to rely on people who know you and appreciate you, and above all, who are willing to stand up for you.

One of the most powerful things students can do outside the classroom is have real conversations with people already working in the roles they aspire to long before they need a job. Not networking for referrals, but asking how their careers actually unfolded, what skills mattered in practice, and what they wish they had learned earlier. These conversations reveal the gap between academic learning and workplace reality far better than any syllabus. Students who do this start making smarter choices about projects, internships, tools, and skills because they understand what the job truly demands. They stop preparing for exams and start preparing for the work itself.

One of the most impactful things students can do outside the classroom is get real exposure to how work actually happens through internships, part-time roles, freelance projects, or even structured volunteering. Academic knowledge builds foundations, but careers are shaped by applied skills. When students work on real problems, they learn how teams operate, how deadlines and accountability work, and how to communicate in professional settings. This experience also helps them discover what they enjoy and what they do not, which is just as valuable. From an employer's perspective, candidates who have hands-on experience stand out because they require less ramp-up time. Even short projects demonstrate initiative, adaptability, and an understanding of workplace expectations. These are signals grades alone cannot provide. Students who actively seek practical exposure early tend to make better career decisions, build stronger networks, and transition into full-time roles with more confidence and clarity.

Spending time with people who already do the kind of work you're aiming for can change everything. When I shifted from manufacturing into women's wellness, the most useful lessons came from casual interviews and getting my hands dirty on small projects, not from anything I read. Whether you pick up a part-time job in the field, shadow someone for a few weeks, or volunteer with a young company, that real-world exposure shows you which skills actually matter and where to put your effort. We see this all the time with interns. The ones who stand out aren't just strong academically--they've tried to apply what they know. Sometimes it's as simple as building a personal site or contributing to an open-source project. Those small steps show initiative and practical judgment, and they tend to open the door to better opportunities down the line.

Get out there and work on something real. It doesn't matter much whether it's a small paid gig, a passion project, or helping out a neighborhood business for free--just find a way to get your hands dirty. One of our interns picked up their first paying client after they offered to run Instagram ads for a local bakery. A year later, we brought them on because they could talk about actual outcomes instead of textbook ideas.