So, it's obvious that you're not going to get hired unless you have the right skills. What are the right skills? It depends on what you want to do and what the company needs. You can't get the right skills if you don't know what they are.
Start with checking out some career options. Stanford has a cool site that will enable you to self-assess stuff you are good at and like to do. [Apr 2015: Sometimes I get a server error message when trying to access this site. If you do, click on 'Advanced' on the page and proceed to the site anyway.] Another way to look at career options is to snoop around the websites of professional organizations. You'll find the weirdest collection of esoteric organizations - and maybe one of them is your calling!
If you have some idea of what you want to do, then you have to find out what skills the industry values. Some of those prof organization websites will be helpful here, and so will the websites of companies in the industry. But there is no substitute for finding contacts at likely companies and talking to them. This is where LinkedIn and your college alumni websites come in handy. Use them to try and arrange Informational Interviews, either in-person or over the phone. (Check out this link to find a guide to questions to ask in the interviews). You can also use your Career Center and especially career days to talk to company representatives. Use these opportunities to gather specific information about the skills you'll need to be considered for a job when you are ready.
Obviously, you need to start this process early on, so that you can arrange to get the skills the market wants. Find the courses or outside training that will give you the required background.
And don't forget that some non-technical skills will be useful too: communications, presentations, general business knowledge, and knowledge about the specific industry you're interested in. For communications and presentation skills, I like Toastmasters. You'll get industry knowledge from those prof organization websites and get your general business knowledge from me at www.dougsguides.com/businessbasics.
