Communicating with Students
We understand that students greatly value the guidance and advice they receive from their professors. Therefore, this section will provide examples for how faculty can get started discussing and incorporating career readiness content to include:
- Sample email to students
- How to incorporate career readiness into the syllabus
- Samples of kinds of integrated activities & learning outcomes in alignment with the career readiness competencies
Subject: Maximize Your Career Potential with the Center for Career & Professional Development
Hi Students/Class,
I want to remind you about an invaluable resource available to you here at the Center for Career & Professional Development. The Center is dedicated to helping you explore career paths that align with your major and interests, search for jobs and internships, prepare for interviews and grad school applications, negotiate your job offer, and so much more. Connecting with a Career Coach and using the resources in the center are important career development next steps.
Whatever your career goals may be, the Center is here to support and partner with you. Don’t wait until graduation to start using their services, start immediately!
You don’t need an appointment to get help from the Center. You can drop in for Career Chats in Library 257 & 258 (days/times) to meet with a professional career coach to discuss any aspect of your career journey or drop by Student Services SVC 2088 to meet with a Career Peer (days/times) for a review of your resume, CV, cover letter, assistance with using Handshake or preparing for an event. For the most current information and events, visit their website at careers.usf.edu.
Also, be sure to log into your Handshake account where thousands of internship and job opportunities are waiting for you. You can find more information about Handshake (insert link). You can also view jobs and internships by major or field of interest (insert link).
Research has shown that completing an internship while in college doubles your chances of securing a job after graduation. Experiential learning opportunities such as internships, research, practicum, clinical work, and student teaching prepare you for the world of work and can enhance your grad school applications.
I highly encourage you to seek out these opportunities during your time at USF to apply what you’ve learned in class and hone your skills.
Regards,
Your Professor, Ph.D.
National research indicates that college students who receive career advice from faculty experience greater career mobility. Faculty can support students by explicitly connecting coursework to career plans. You can incorporate these connections into your course syllabus through syllabus statements, assignments, activities, and resources. This approach can be implemented without altering your curriculum!
Begin by identifying the NACE career readiness skills that students will develop through your course. Then, highlight these skills in your syllabus using the provided examples. The competencies can be found on our website: https://careers.usf.edu/resources/career-readiness-competencies/
Additionally, encourage students to visit the Center for Career & Professional Development for additional assistance in translating these skills into applications, interviews, internships, jobs, graduate school, and more. Students should also be encouraged to use our online resources. If your syllabus includes a resource section, consider including some or all of the resources listed in the Example Resources section.
Example 1 – Statement for Syllabus
This course will provide you with the development of the following essential skills: [list skills]. These career readiness skills will help prepare you for future career opportunities including internships, jobs, and graduate school. You can learn more about these essential skills and how to connect them to your career (locate where career readiness skills are listed on our website/guide and include)
Example 2 – Statement for Syllabus
Essential Skills Developed
Communication: This course will build your verbal communication skills through weekly discussions on assigned readings. You will also have presentations, both an individual and group, where you will share your research with the class. You will develop written communication skills through assignments including weekly reflections and a final case study summary.
Teamwork: This course will build your teamwork skills during your final group case study presentation and research summary. You will work with a team to write a paper on a global research topic and present your findings together to the class.
Example 3 – Assignments & Activities
Incorporating the Career Readiness Competencies
The following examples illustrate how to incorporate the NACE career readiness competencies into your course syllabus. By embedding these essential skills into your coursework, you provide students with valuable opportunities to develop competencies that are critical for their future careers.
Each competency is paired with practical examples of course activities and assignments that foster the development of these skills. You can use these examples or other content that’s most applicable to your course to enhance your syllabus and support your students’ career readiness.
Communication: Clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization.
Examples:
- Writing research papers and professional emails
- Creating and delivering presentations
- Participating in class discussions and debates
- Developing visual aids like slides and infographics
- Asking insightful questions during lectures and discussions
- Practicing active listening and persuasive communication
- Crafting compelling narratives and elevator pitches
Teamwork: Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.
Examples:
- Engaging in group projects and team-based assignments
- Conducting experiments and lab work with partners
- Co-authoring reports and papers
- Adapting to diverse team dynamics and resolving conflicts
- Coordinating roles and responsibilities within a group
Critical Thinking: Identify and respond to needs based on an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information.
Examples:
- Solving real-world problems through case studies and simulations
- Analyzing and interpreting data sets
- Participating in debates and defending viewpoints with evidence
- Writing research papers that require synthesis of information
- Engaging in project-based service learning
Leadership: Recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.
Examples:
- Leading group projects and delegating tasks
- Innovating solutions to complex problems
- Providing constructive feedback to peers
- Building trust and fostering collaboration
- Motivating team members towards a shared vision
Professionalism: Understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.
Examples:
- Meeting assignment deadlines and attending classes punctually
- Upholding academic integrity and honor codes
- Producing high-quality, error-free work
- Holding oneself and team members accountable
- Providing progress updates on projects
Technology: Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.
Examples:
- Utilizing virtual tools for presentations and collaboration
- Learning and applying new software and technologies
- Analyzing data using technology tools
- Selecting appropriate technologies for specific tasks
- Teaching peers to use new technology responsibly
Equity & Inclusion: Demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures. Engage in anti-racist practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism.
Examples:
- Discussing and respecting diverse perspectives in class
- Participating in cross-cultural experiences and dialogues
- Advocating for equity and inclusion in group activities
- Seeking and valuing feedback from diverse viewpoints
- Adapting to and thriving in diverse environments
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 to build relationships within and without one’s organization.
Examples:
- Reflecting on personal strengths and areas for improvement
- Incorporating feedback from faculty and peers into development plans
- Seeking internships and extracurricular learning opportunities
- Exploring various career paths and industries
- Networking with alumni and professionals
- Preparing professional documents such as resumes, cover letters, and personal statements
Integrating Curriculum
Embedding Career Readiness Competencies into Curriculum
Embedding NACE Career Readiness competencies into the curriculum can be instrumental in both the students’ future success and meeting the expectations of employers. Some other important factors are:
- Fostering a connection between education and employment: Many students graduate with strong academic knowledge but lack the practical skills needed in the workforce. Employers are focusing strongly on skill-based hiring and are looking for students that possess the essential skills required for the industry, company and role. Embedding NACE competencies ensures that students develop essential skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving in addition to the knowledge gained in their academics.
- Promoting Employability: By incorporating these competencies into the curriculum, academic departments can help students build a robust set of skills that are strongly correlated with what employers are seeking. This can contribute to improvements in students’ career readiness and can make them more competitive candidates in the job market.
- Embracing a Personal and Professional Growth-Mindset: NACE competencies are focused on both personal and professional development. Skills such as adaptability, leadership, and ethical decision-making are valuable not just in the workforce but are also crucial life-skills to have.
- Facilitating Career Exploration and Preparation: Through curriculum, students can be introduced to and exposed to the NACE Career Competencies. This can help students understand the importance of these skills in their careers of interest. In addition, it can encourage students to seek out opportunities to apply these skills in real-world context such as projects, internships, or other career-related experiences.
- Promoting Lifelong Learning: At the Center for Career & Professional Development, we believe that career development is a lifelong learning experience. By embedding career readiness competencies into the curriculum, students can be inspired to view learning as a continuous process. It can help them to understand that career development is an ongoing journey, and they should seek to continuously build and refine their skills throughout their career progression.
- Increasing Student Engagement: Through the integration of career readiness competencies into the curriculum, students can see how their learning experience is aligned with their career preparedness and development. This can promote more engagement in their skill development and foster more motivation and determination which can potentially produce better academic performances and a more focused educational experience.
- Strengthening Institutional and Departmental Reputation: Institutions that prioritize career readiness are often viewed favorably by both students and employers. Graduates who are well-prepared for the workforce can enhance the institution and department’s reputation for producing talented, qualified, and competitive candidates.
- Supporting the goals of our Center: Embedding career readiness competencies into the curriculum also supports the goals and mission of the center. It provides a strong foundation for coaching students on their career development. Furthermore, it promotes a cohesive and collaborative focus on students’ personal and professional development that aligns with the skills and competencies that employers’ values.
Example #1:
How Does this Class Prepare You for Your Career?
This class will also help prepare you for your career. In this class you will master the following competencies (NACE competencies). When you successfully complete the class assignments, you should include these skills on your resume/curriculum vita.
Critical Thinking: Gather and analyze information from a diverse set of sources and individuals to fully understand a problem. Accurately summarize and interpret data with an awareness of personal biases that may impact outcomes (Assignments: Sociological Research Paper; Canvas Discussion Posts)
Equity/Inclusion: Identify resources and research from scholars to understand and address structural inequality and bias in key social institutions. (Assignments: Sociological Research Paper; Sociological Poster Presentation)
Teamwork: Build collaborative relationships with classmates from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, and viewpoints. Work collaboratively with others to complete a project. (Assignment: Group Research and Presentation)
Example #2:
Connecting CHM 2045 (General Chemistry) to Your Career
In this course, you will have the opportunity to develop skills and competencies that employers are seeking in the job market. For instance, here is a NACE Career Readiness Competency that you will develop in this course and some practical ways that you can articulate these competencies to employers:
Communication
Communication is a vital competency and skill that is required in the workplace. Whether you are new to the role or advanced in the industry, you will be expected to illustrate effective communication through the ability to articulate our thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively both verbally and in written form to individuals inside and outside of the organization.
In this course, you will demonstrate this career readiness competency through various assignments and projects such as writing a formal report summarizing an independent research project. In this project, you will be able to showcase your thoughts and ideas of an independent research project, provide a review of scientific literature on the topic, describe experimental methods and procedures, provide graphical data of the experimental results, and a discussion of the significance and findings of the experimental results.
Practical application of competency:
On your resume, you can articulate this career readiness competency by including this assignment in a “Project Experience” section on your resume. Ensure that you include the title of your paper and detail your methodology and findings in succinct bullet points using the PAR method. On your LinkedIn, you can portray this career readiness competency by sharing the articles you researched and the conclusions you drew from your literature review to encourage and facilitate discussion with professionals in your field of interest.