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CC Home Career Center Explore Careers Competencies for Career Readiness

Competencies for Career Readiness

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

By learning how to intentionally develop, demonstrate, document, and explicitly articulate core “career readiness” competencies, you can strengthen your candidacy for internships and jobs, as well as accelerate your career mobility and advancement.

9 Core Competencies

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Career and Life Design

The ability to proactively manage your personal and professional growth throughout your life journey.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competence in Career and Self Development?

Adapt to changes imposed by external circumstances, such as a pandemic requiring you to transition to remote learning and working.
Visit the Career Center.
Practice interviewing.
Develop professional relationships and support network.
Try things to test your interests or ideas.
Develop plans and goals for your future.
Seek and embrace development opportunities.

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Communication

The ability to articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively to exchange information, using a broad range of communication styles, appropriate platforms to deliver and receive messages, and effectively communicate to different audiences in a variety of situations.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in Communication?

Use the Colket Center for Academic Excellence to enhance your writing skills.
Volunteer or participate in an issue-based coalition through the Collaborative for Community Engagement.
Become a sustainability volunteer or intern.
Join a club or organization and seek out opportunities to contribute.
Become a leader for Outdoor Education.
Participate in Residential Experience events.
Seek out a student employment opportunity.
Join a Wellness Resource Center organization or participate in a WRC workshop like the Journaling Series
Become an Admission Ambassador engaging with prospective students and parents.
Ask open-ended questions so the person you’re speaking with can provide you with relevant and necessary information.

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Critical Thinking

The ability to exercise sound reasoning to analyze information, make decisions, identify problems, and develop workable solutions.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in Critical Thinking?

Evaluate multiple job offers to choose the optimal opportunity.
Take a class that requires you to recognize, build, and assess arguments and ideas.
Join the debate team.
Participate in one of the CCE’s issue -based coalitions.
Take a variety of classes that emphasize different “ways of knowing”. Work with a faculty adviser and Student Success Specialist to help you select a class.
Practice self-reflection in evaluating a recent decision you’ve made.
Be open-minded when meeting with your team and listen to your partner’s suggestions, hear them out and adjust your strategy based on their suggestions.
Evaluate the reliability of information sources used for research papers.
Get involved in research projects with faculty such as SCoRE.

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Equity and Inclusion

The ability to demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from all identities and cultures. Engage in anti-racist practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in Equity and Inclusion?

Solicit and use feedback from people with multiple cultural perspectives.
Engage in conversation and dialogue around identities and cultures different than your own.
Identify resources and engage in your own personal learning and development about your identity and identities different from your own.
Join a multicultural student organization.
Participate in an off-campus study opportunity.

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Leadership

The ability to recognize and leverage personal and the individual strengths of others to achieve common goals and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in leadership?

Follow your interest: join a campus organization and be active, become a Outdoor Education trip leader, or lead an intramural sports team.
Become a Priddy Trip Leader.
Apply for a position as a Residential Advisor.
Lead a volunteer opportunity or become a part of the CCE coalitions.

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Manage Information

The ability to obtain, critically interpret, use, and communicate information, turning qualitative and quantitative data into knowledge.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in managing information?

Seek a research opportunity through SCoRE.
Considering taking a research methods class.
Research career information and employer opportunities, analyzing what meets your needs and interests.
Seek guidance and advice when using unfamiliar information platforms.
Take an Excel course, workshop, or YouTube video online.
Complete some LinkedIn skills assessments related to data management.

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Personal and Professional Effectiveness

The ability to demonstrate accountability to self and others through effective habits to be productive in work and life.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in personal and professional effectiveness?

Participate in related Career Center programs
Take the PathwayU Assessments on the Career Center Website
Reflect on your goals and develop a plan with the Advising Hub and Career Center
Participate in The Butler Center and other Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming
Complete skill assessments on LinkedIn
Ask for feedback from your supervisor or professor

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Teamwork

The ability to collaborate with others toward a shared goal, participating actively, and maximizing team performance.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in Teamwork?

Take a class that requires team projects.
Be an active participant and volunteer to support work on a committee or team.
Get a campus job where you contribute to the team.
Pursue an opportunity with Outdoor Education.
Volunteer through the Collaborative for Community Engagement.
Join an intramural sports team.

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Technology

The ability to select and leverage existing technologies and use them ethically to solve problems, complete tasks, and accomplish goals efficiently. Ability to identify, learn, and effectively use new and emerging technologies.

What are some ideas of ways you can continue to develop your competency in technology?

Take a computer class at CC.
Get a campus job where you will use technology.
Volunteer through the CCE to help a non-profit organization that needs help with technology.
Learn a computer language through a free class like CodeAcademy.
Complete a micro project through an organization like ParagonOne.
Get involved in a data science competition platform like Kaggle.

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Report an issue - Last updated: 08/22/2024