Integrating Career Competencies

In collaboration with our first Faculty Fellow, Natalia Smirnova, a framework was created to provide a scaffolded approach to enhancing NACE career competencies within the student experience, referred to as the 4As.

• Awareness – Stay up-to-date on best practices and trends by collaborating with the Career Center and utilizing resources developed by the Center.  Use NACE competencies in your verbal and written communications with students.
• Alignment – Match competencies with curriculum, learning objectives, assignments, lectures, research, field experience, etc.  Connections that are intentional and transparent allow students to absorb the role of competency development in their learning and future career. 
• Articulation – Encourage and involve students in the process of connecting career competencies to coursework.  Have students reflect on process and how competencies elevated learning.  Create bullet point statements for resume, stage practice interviews, identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• Assessment – Allow times for self-assessment and reflection on competency development.  How well are students articulating these competencies in preparation for post-graduation success.  Where are there more areas for competency enhancement?

For more information on how to create transparency within course learning objectives with respect to competency integration, you are encouraged to read this document.

Use this tool to align learning objectives, assignments, activities and assessments with the NACE Career Competencies.  Being intentionally transparent with skills students will build will aid students in articulating their competency development to future employers.

One way to intentionally infuse career readiness is to include career-relevant language in your syllabi.  Adding the career language below into your syllabi is a great step in helping students to recognize the valuable career-related skills and competencies they are gaining in the courses you teach.

Identifying and articulating the NACE Career Competencies, technical, and transferable skills you acquire in this course and during your time at UConn are critical to  Becoming Career Ready and your success both as a student and post-graduation. In this course, you have opportunities to enhance and gain the Career Competencies and skills that employers and graduate programs are seeking. This will occur via assignments and class conversations and will contribute to your ability to identify and articulate these competencies and skills when applying for leadership roles, internships, jobs, graduate school, fellowships, and more. For assistance in identifying and articulating these competencies and skills,  schedule an appointment with a Career Coach at the Center for Career Development.

Below are two examples of syllabi provided by faculty that incorporate career language and align objectives and student outcomes with the NACE Career Competencies.

CHEG 4140 Fall Syllabus 2023_Final.docx 

AAAS-ENGL 3212_Kim Syllabus.docx 

For additional examples, as well as language specific to humanities, STEM, and Common Curriculum courses, you are encouraged to visit the Center’s HuskyCT Organization, Career Readiness Resources for Classroom and Advising Integration. Need access? Submit this request form. 

Creating assignments that pull in elements of career are great ways to help students make the connection between the content of the course and post-graduation success.  Here are a couple of samples of ways to foster career development through assignments.  Additionally, our HuskyCT organization, Career Readiness Resources for Classroom Integration and Advising, hosts a repository of similar samples awaiting your perusal.

• AH 1100 – Career Portfolio of activities completed throughout the semester/ Sample 1, 2, 3
• EDLR 3091 – NACE Career Competency Analysis