NACE Career Competencies

Career readiness is a foundation from which to demonstrate requisite core competencies that broadly prepare the college educated for success in the workplace and lifelong career management.

Are you career ready?

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) makes it easy for you to assess career readiness. Use these 8 Career Readiness Competencies to gauge where you are at currently and to inform what areas to improve so that you can set yourself up for success in your career.

Career & Self-Development

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.

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Identify your strengths and areas for development.
Apply the feedback you receive to your work – either in your current position, or in your future career.
Develop a plan and set goals for your future career.
Display curiosity and seek out opportunities to learn.
Take on new roles, accept leadership opportunities, or seek additional training to help you grow as a professional.
Establish and build relationships with people who can help your professional growth.

WAYS TO SAY IT

Thank you for that feedback. I think I can apply what you suggested to...
Are there additional responsibilities you could assign me?
Thank you for trusting me with leading that. I look forward to more opportunities like that in the future!
You seem to really enjoy your work. I would love to learn more from you!

Communication

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

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Be an active listener.
Build your verbal, written, and non-verbal (body language) communication skills.
Communicate in a clear and organized way with respect for the different learning styles, abilities, and cultures of those with whom you interact.
Ask specific and appropriate questions to fill in your knowledge gaps and advocate for yourself when you need help.

WAYS TO SAY IT

I’m stuck on this task. Do you have a moment to help me?
I would love to learn more about that. What’s a good time for us to talk about it?
Thank you for telling me that. I’ll let you know if I have any follow up questions.

Critical Thinking

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

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Make decisions using good reason and judgment.
Take time to fully understand a problem by gathering and analyzing all available information.
Anticipate what you will need to accomplish your work and create action steps to help you get there.
Study and share information with an awareness of personal biases that you may have.
Manage multiple tasks even in busy or demanding environments.

WAYS TO SAY IT

I need more information before I can make a decision about that.
Do you have more information about this? I want to make sure I fully understand this problem before I move forward.
It’s difficult for me to relate to this situation. Can you provide some insight so I can make an appropriate decision?

Equity & Inclusion

Demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different cultures, and engage in anti-racist practices.

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Request and consider feedback from multiple cultural perspectives to make equitable decisions.
Actively advocate for inclusion, equitable practices, justice, and empowerment for historically marginalized communities.
Keep an open mind to diverse ideas and new ways of thinking.
Demonstrate flexibility by adapting to diverse environments.
Address systems of privilege that limit opportunities for members of historically marginalized communities.

WAYS TO SAY IT...

My lived experiences aren’t the same as yours, so I’m eager to hear your perspective on this.
I hadn’t thought about it that way before.
What pronouns do you use?
This is a new experience for me. I’m looking forward to listening and learning from all of you.

Leadership

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

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Inspire, persuade, and motivate yourself and others.
Use innovative thinking to go beyond the traditional way of doing something.
Serve as a role model to others through your confidence and positive attitude.
Plan, initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate projects.

WAYS TO SAY IT...

I would love the opportunity to take the lead on this project!
I know we can tackle this project together as a team – thanks for your hard work!
Maybe there’s another way we can solve this problem and make this better than ever!

Professionalism

Understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Demonstrate integrity and accountability to yourself, others, and the organization.
Build a positive personal brand that represents your values.
Be present and prepared to demonstrate your dependability.
Show a high level of dedication toward doing a good job by being detail-oriented, checking your work, and consistently meeting or exceeding goals.

WAYS TO SAY IT...

Let me review my work one more time before submitting it to you.
This is something that’s important to me, and I want you to know about it so you better understand the kind of person I am.
I’m going to make time to do a good job on this because I know it’s important to the work we do here.

Teamwork

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

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Listen carefully to others, take time to understand, and ask appropriate questions without interrupting.
Manage conflict when it arises and respectfully interact with your team members.
Use your personal strengths and knowledge to support the work of the team.
Be open to compromise and collaboration with others to achieve goals.
Build strong, positive working relationships with your team members.

WAYS TO SAY IT

Thanks for sharing those ideas! May I ask a follow up question?
I’m sorry you’re feeling upset. Would you like to talk about it, or should we take a break from this topic?
I see your point. Maybe we can take some parts of your idea and some parts of mine to make this the best it can be.

Technology

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

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SAMPLE BEHAVIORS

Be open to change and adapt to new or unfamiliar technology.
Identify appropriate technology for completing specific tasks.
Use technology to share information, develop ideas, and achieve goals.

WAYS TO SAY IT...

I haven’t used this technology before, but I’m excited to learn more about it!
I think this technology will make our work easier and get the job done faster.
I’ll send you an email about this, and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Have some work to do?

Parkside faculty and staff are committed to helping you connect with experiences to enhance your career readiness. That includes putting learning in action through through community-based learning courses, internships on campus and in the community, research, study abroad, and so much more.

Explore Learning in Action

Carnegie Foundation Elective Community Engagement Classification

Campus Compact - Campus in Action - Civic Action Planning Initiative

The Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

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