Skill Mapping Exercise

Skill Mapping Exercise – Faculty Overview

The Skill Mapping Exercise is a ready-to-use assignment designed to help students connect their academic experiences to tangible, real-world skills and career pathways. Faculty can use it as an in-class activity, a homework assignment, or a discussion starter in advising or capstone courses. It supports career readiness by helping students recognize the value of their major and articulate it to employers.

Why You Might Use This Assignment

  • Makes career connections explicit. Students identify the skills they are developing through coursework, research, and experiential learning.
  • Supports reflection and articulation. The prompts encourage students to practice connecting skills to industries, which strengthens resume writing, interviewing, and networking.
  • Works across any discipline. The template is adaptable for majors in humanities, STEM, business, social sciences, arts, and more.
  • Easy to integrate. It can be completed in 10–15 minutes or expanded into a deeper reflective assignment or class discussion.

How to Use or Download the Template

  1. Download the file.
  2. Upload it into your course as an assignment, page, or discussion prompt.
  3. Add brief instructions (e.g., “Complete the table and respond to the reflection prompts before next class”).
  4. Optional: Invite students to share one skill or industry connection with a peer or the whole class.
  5. Optional for grading: Ask students to submit a completed table and brief reflection.

What Students Do

Students:

  1. List 3–5 skills they’re developing in their major.
  2. Fill out the table with examples from their courses, research, projects, or outside experiences.
  3. Connect those skills to potential industries.
  4. Reflect using prompts like:
    • Which skills are most transferable?
    • What surprised you?
    • How could you talk about these skills in a resume or interview?
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