Career Readiness for Faculty and Staff: Introduction to Career Competencies
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), developing career competencies is critical for success in today’s job market. By mastering these competencies, students can enhance their employability and stand out in the job market. In fact, a recent survey conducted by NACE found that employers consider career competencies to be just as important as technical skills when evaluating candidates for job openings. By learning and developing these competencies through coursework, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities, students can position themselves for success in their future careers. With the support of educators, mentors, and career counselors, students can build the skills and confidence they need to achieve their career goals and make a positive impact in their chosen fields.
In this resource, we will:
- Analyze the key career competencies necessary for success in the workplace
Why Core Competencies?
In 2015, the National Association for Colleges and Employers launched their research initiative to address the fundamental need for new college graduates and the professionals who serve their career development needs and recruit them into the workforce: a shared understanding of what is needed to launch and develop a successful career, a common vocabulary by which to discuss needs and expectations, and a basic set of competencies upon which a successful career is launched.
An initial task force—made up of NACE members from both career services and university relations and recruiting—developed the career readiness definition and associated competencies. These were subsequently reviewed and updated by a task force of members in 2017 to reflect feedback from members who were using the competencies with students.
In addition, after the initial launch, NACE undertook work to identify behaviors that could be associated with the competencies, partnering with SkillSurvey to validate those behaviors.
Further Reading on Career Competencies: Development and Validation of the NACE Career Readiness Competencies 2022-nace-career-readiness-development-and-validation.pdf
Exhibit flexibility in handling change, being able to juggle multiple demands, and adapting to new situations with fresh ideas or innovative approaches.
- Embrace uncertainty with optimism and a problem-solving mentality to create an ideal outcome
- Openness and the ability to learn new information
- Take on problems with a positive mindset and adapt accordingly
Active engagement in continued career growth through an understanding of unique skills and experiences as well as connections to career champions.
- Understand personal values, interests, skills and strengths
- Pursue and apply feedback from connections to support growth towards career-related goals
- Embrace opportunities to learn and develop to support career plans
Share information, ideas and perspectives clearly and effectively while actively taking in information from the environment.
- Consider the needs, goals and motivations of others to ensure communication is clear and organized
- Recognize the impact of diverse learning styles, varied individual communication abilities, and cultural differences
- Understand the ways communication continues to evolve and adapt approach to support success in a specific medium
- Understand the different ways people consume information and adapt approach to align with various communication outlets available
- Actively listen to others without interruption
Generate new, varied and unique ideas, and making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.
- Challenge existing paradigms and propose alternatives without being constrained by established approaches or anticipated responses of others
- Employ a combination of knowledge, skills, abilities, and sense of originality to creatively
- Show a willingness to tap into one’s creative self in order to bring forward new work or ideas
Understand how to use technologies ethically to advance the common good.
- Seek out new technologies and learn how they enhance your work
- Use technology to improve efficiency and productivity
- Identify appropriate technology for completing specific tasks
- Quickly adapt to new or unfamiliar technologies
- Utilize information, construct ideas, and capitalize on technology to achieve strategic and social goals
Respect the dignity of each person for the unique contributions that each person brings.
- Demonstrate flexibility to diverse ideas and new ways of thinking
- Identify personal biases and evaluate your own privilege while staying open to constructive feedback
- Actively contribute to inclusive and equitable practices that influence individual and systemic change for members of historically marginalized communities
- Seek personal growth through global and cross-cultural interactions and experiences that enhance one’s understanding of people and the context they live in
- Solicit and use feedback from multiple cultural perspectives to make inclusive and equity-minded decisions
Understand the unique culture of each workplace and demonstrate effective work habits that support an equitable work environment.
- Act equitably with integrity and accountability to self, others and the organization
- Demonstrate dependability (e.g., report consistently for work or meetings)
- Set meaningful goals, meeting and/or exceeding those expectations
- Employ strong attention to detail and show a high level of dedication toward doing a good job
- Express gratitude to supervisors, colleagues and clients
* “Professionalism” as a workplace expectation may privilege white and Western values, resulting in discriminatory actions and practices that exclude people from non-dominant cultural groups. We recognize this term may be weaponized against students and alumni so it is important to prepare them for those conversations.
Recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.
- Inspire, persuade, and motivate self and others under a shared vision
- Seek out and leverage diverse resources and feedback from others to inform direction
- Use innovative thinking to go beyond traditional methods
- Serve as a role model to others by approaching tasks with confidence and a positive attitude
- Motivate and inspire others by encouraging them and by building mutual trust
- Plan, initiate, manage, complete and evaluate projects
Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.
- Listen carefully to others, taking time to understand and ask appropriate questions without interrupting
- Effectively manage conflict, interact with and respect diverse personalities, and meet ambiguity with resilience
- Be accountable for individual and team responsibilities and deliverables.
- Employ personal strengths, knowledge, and talents to complement those of others
- Exercise the ability to compromise and be agile
- Collaborate with others to achieve common goals
- Build strong, positive working relationships with supervisor and team members/coworkers
Explore evidence, ideas, issues and values before accepting or formulating a conclusion.
- Consider multiple hypotheses, gather, and analyze information from a diverse set of sources to fully understand a problem
- Accurately summarize and interpret data with an awareness of personal biases that may impact outcomes
- Effectively communicate actions and rationale, recognizing the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of stakeholders
- Make decisions and solve problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgement
Summary
By learning and developing these competencies through coursework, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities, students can position themselves for success in their future careers. With the support of educators, mentors, and career counselors, students can build the skills and confidence they need to achieve their career goals and make a positive impact in their chosen fields.