Employers across all occupations and industries recognize specific transferable skills as key to entering the workforce but graduating college students and recruiting professionals differ in their perceptions of how proficient students are in those skills.   

To help equip students to notice and practice the meaningful connections between their college coursework, activities and involvement, and their career development and goals, the Offices of Career Connections is engaging faculty and staff, starting with skills-based language and related resources. For example, the Teaching Faculty Support Center's Skillify Your Syllabi workshops have helped faculty integrate the skills-based language and support.

"It was one of the best TFSC workshops I've attended," said Deb Korth, senior associate vice provost for student success and academic experience. "It was so helpful that I participated twice!"

The career-ready skills syllabus resources are available online at tips.uark.edu.

The Division of Student Affairs is challenging its 21-plus offices to incorporate career readiness skills and post-graduation planning conversations into student programming, job and volunteer position descriptions and performance feedback, individual student meetings, and within its own internal staff processes. Several Student Affairs teams are already incorporating the 8 Career-Ready Skills into their programming.

"UREC kicked off the academic year with an All-Staff Training focusing on the UA Career-Ready Skills and guiding our 200-plus student staff to brainstorm the ways in which they use the skills in their current positions," said Michelle Muzzillo, assistant director of outreach and staff development with University Recreation. "We also provide professional development sessions each semester that align with one of the UA Career-Ready skills that are open to our student staff and students across campus."

In the Office of Student Accountability, the eight career-ready skills have been thoughtfully integrated into the student accountability process. "We are actively integrating career readiness into the developmental conversations staff members have with students who participate in the process. Hearing officers discuss student decision-making skills and ways to help students engage in career readiness and development activities that help support future career success," said director Rachel Eikenberry.

The UA Career-Ready Skills include communication, critical thinking, leadership, professionalism, teamwork, perspective awareness, technology and career and self-development.

The 60-plus student leaders in the Center for Community Engagement who sit on the Volunteer Action Center's board have chosen to integrate the career readiness skills into their promotional descriptions for each board position. "The VAC Board provides hundreds of students with the opportunity to develop professional experience that cannot be taught in the classroom," said Gavin Miller, president of the Volunteer Action Center. "The UA Career-Ready Skills allows us to put a name to these career competencies, market our board positions more effectively, and better emphasize how specific board positions can prepare students for the workforce."  

RESOURCES for the U of A CAMPUS COMMUNITY  

Familiarize yourself, your students, and your teams with career-ready skill definitions and behaviors.

• Career-Ready Skills slide deck and facilitation guide ( beginner-friendly; script included)
• Contact Career Connections for additional questions

Align your course and program learning objectives and/or activities with career-ready skills.

• Skillify Your Syllabi worksheet

Invite students to prepare for interviews by describing the career-ready skill experiences they've completed in classes and programs.

• Career-Ready Skill experience reflection forms available via HogSync's UA Career-Ready Badge
• Tag events with Career-Ready Skills on HogSync