6 Extracurriculars to Jumpstart Your Career

By Jody Bell

For many college students, extracurriculars are one of the most valuable components of their college career. 

Not only does it make you feel more attached to your college, but there are a ton of extracurriculars that can jumpstart to your career.

In my case, my extracurricular involvement led to numerous internships with start-ups, funding for my ventures, and it even helped me land a summer internship at Blackrock!  

With so many different extracurricular organizations to choose from, it can be a bit confusing knowing where to allocate your time. That’s exactly why we’ve put together a guide to the top extracurriculars that will help jumpstart your career! 

1. Hackathons

Are you entrepreneurial and looking for a gamified way to develop your skills? Well a hackathon might be a great way to do just that!

A hackathon is an event that is hosted by an organization, company, or even college, that serves as a fast-paced incubator program. Participants form teams and build websites/apps and then package them into start-up ventures – however the catch is that they only have 24-48 hours to do this. Plus, normally the groups are based around diverse skill sets - you may have one business student, one software developer, and one engineer for example. This often means participant’s don’t know each other and then spend a full day or two working very closely together. 

Not only is this a bunch of fun, but students can network across various industries, refine their entrepreneurial skills, and develop their ability to work with an extreme time constraint. Plus, winning teams normally receive funding for their venture and many will go on to continue to develop their start-ups after the hackathon.

2. Incubator programs

If you’re looking to build a venture in a more supportive environment, an incubator might be a great option! 

Incubators can help support entrepreneurs at any stage in their venture-creation to give them the structure, guidance, and tools needed to build a successful company. Many colleges offer incubator programs or courses for credit, and additional organizations exist to specifically support young entrepreneurs. 

Girls With Impact is actually a type of incubator, however the focus is moreso on the development of our students through the building of a venture, as opposed to the building of the venture itself. Based on how much time you want to commit to this, the stage of your venture, and current funding levels, there are a bunch of different incubators you could explore. 

3. Coding certifications

Knowing some basic coding is becoming increasingly important in a growing number of industries, ranging from business to the medical field. 

Naturally, many college students are majoring in computer science/software engineering, or minoring in a related field. However, these course tracks are often some of the most demanding classes that institutions offer and put students through intense math and data courses. While incredibly valuable, some students may be intimidated by these courses or simply not have the time. Instead of entirely abandoning the idea of picking up some coding skills, look into coding certifications and courses you can take online. These certifications teach only the most crucial technical skills for coding, but for many students just looking to increase their technical vocabulary and gain some exposure, it provides a nice introduction to the field. If you have find that coding has piqued your interest, you could take a longer certification course or even bootcamp to immerse yourself in the space - however these can be time-consuming so it may be wise to do this in the summer. 

Many institutions offer free or discounted online coding courses, and there are also plenty of free resources available. 

4. Pitch competitions

A pitch competition is fairly similar to a hackathon, however, it is usually more focused on business ideation and presentation as opposed to product creation. 

In a pitch competition, there is an institution or organization that presents a very general problem or topic, and participants are instructed to come up with a 60-90 second pitch for a business. Communicating a problem, solution, and business strategy in such a short period of time can be incredibly difficult, however, if you are looking to build public speaking skills it is a great opportunity! 

In some instances these pitch competitors result in cash prizes of seed-funding for the venture you pitch. 

5. Model UN/debate club

If entrepreneurship is of interest to you, but the public speaking component of pitching is intimidating, a Model United Nations or debate club might be a great program to join!

In both of these groups you do have to engage in public speaking, however, it is more of a discussion setting as opposed to an individual monologue as would be presented in a pitch. Additionally, you prepare talking points in advance (and collaboratively.) This generally makes public speaking far less intimidating and a great way to build your confidence. 

6. Investment clubs/programs

Most colleges have an investment program that allows students to invest real money as a cohort – even if you aren’t planning on going into finance, this is a great opportunity to learn more about the stock market. 

In both entrepreneurship and average coursework, your work is independently ideated and self directed. Alternatively, the stock market is an entirely unpredictable external force, and students in investment programs develop unique and transferable analytical skills. Plus, as you prepare to enter your career you can learn how you can invest and make the most out of your salary. 

In terms of job readiness, many top financial institutions recruit directly out of an institution’s investment program for finance and even tech-related positions. 

For more information on what extracurriculars are available at your college, reach out to your career center, center for entrepreneurship, or center for academic affairs. Additionally, there are plenty of hackathons, pitch competitions, certifications, and incubators that are offered online and could be found with a quick google search. 

If you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out with me at jody.bell@girlswithimpact.com. 

Jody Bell, 21 is Girls With Impact’s Editor in Chief and a program graduate from Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, business and leadership program for girls 14-24, turning them into tomorrow’s leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators.