How Can I Become Career Ready?

Becoming Career Ready is the development of eight Career Readiness Competencies that you might also think of as necessary skills for success in today’s workforce and other post-collegiate pursuits.

Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.

  • Listen to others
  • Manage conflict
  • Be accountable
  • Compromise and be agile
  • Collaborate
  • Strong, positive relationships

Recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.

  • Inspire, persuade, and motivate
  • Use innovative thinking
  • Serve as a role model
  • Encouraging others
  • Plan, initiate, manage, complete, and
  • evaluate

Identify and respond to needs based upon an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information.

  • Make decisions and solve
  • problems using sound, inclusive
  • reasoning and judgment
  • Gather and analyze information
  • Summarize and interpret data
  • Multi-task

Knowing work environments differ greatly, understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

  • Be present and prepared
  • Act with integrity and accountability
  • Meet or exceed goals
  • Attention to detail
  • Positive personal brand

Clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization.

  • Verbal, written and non-verbal abilities
  • Active listening, persuasion and
  • influencing skills
  • Ask appropriate questions
  • Clear and organized communication

Demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures. Engage in anti-racist practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism.

  • Solicit and use feedback from diverse
  • perspectives
  • Seek global cross-cultural
  • interactions
  • Keep an open mind
  • Flexibility in adapting to diverse
  • environments

Proactively develop oneself and one’s career through continual personal and professional learning, awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses, navigation of career opportunities, and networking to build relationships within and without one’s organization.

  • Continual growth
  • Plans and goals
  • Curiosity
  • Advocate for oneself
  • Networking

Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.

  • Navigate change and be open to learning
  • Use technology to improve efficiency
  • Quickly adapt
  • Manipulate information
  • Integrate information