What is Career Readiness?

Author: Aaron Chen '26 - Career Peer Educator 

Career readiness is essential for college students and graduates to succeed in the workplace and manage their careers effectively. It's like a toolbox of core skills that everyone needs. 

For undergraduates and new graduates alike, career readiness will help you set and achieve your career goals, no matter what you study. It’s like building a solid foundation for successful future job/career opportunities. 

While there are many ways that you can prepare to be “Career Ready,” NACE (the National Association of Colleges and Employers) has defined eight key career readiness competencies that employers want to see in future employees. The UVA Career Center’s Exploration Team encourages you to implement these in your toolbox.  

1. CAREER & SELF-DEVELOPMENT: Know your strengths and weaknesses, explore various career paths, network with employees, and always be willing to learn!   

   • Actively seek and apply feedback to identify areas for continual growth! 

   • Prepare for upcoming interviews with behavioral questions like “What is your greatest weakness/strength?”  

2. COMMUNICATION: Effectively share and listen to ideas, facts, and perspectives with others! 

   • Ask questions to supervisors, peers, and others to get the information you need! 

   • Be an active listener when people are communicating with you! 

3. CRITICAL THINKING: Understand various situations and relevant information to identify and address needs effectively! 

   • Collect and review information from different sources and people to fully grasp a problem. 

   • Try to make decisions and solve problems with unbiased judgment and reasoning! 

4. EQUITY AND INCLUSION: Show that you value and include people from diverse cultures, both locally and globally. Actively oppose racism by challenging biased systems and policies. 

   • Stand up for fairness, equality, and empowerment for historically marginalized groups 

   • Plan DEI-related activities to increase global cross-cultural interactions and experiences! 

5. LEADERSHIP: Utilize and recognize personal and team strengths to achieve professional and personal goals 

   • Inspire, motivate, and empower others! 

   • Lead by example by tackling tasks with confidence and a positive outlook! 

6. PROFESSIONALISM: Learn how to work effectively in different environments, demonstrate good work habits, and contribute positively to your workplace and community. 

   • Be dependable and prepared (ex. Going to meetings early or on time)!

   • Consistently achieve set goals and expectations! 

7. TEAMWORK: Work together with others to achieve common goals, respecting different perspectives and sharing responsibilities. 

   • Build strong and positive relationships with your peers and supervisors! 

   • Collaborate! Collaborate! Collaborate! 

8. TECHNOLOGY: Use technology responsibly to work more efficiently, complete tasks, and achieve goals. 

   • Adapt to changes and learn new technologies quickly. 

   • Understand what technology to use to complete specific tasks! 

Building skills in these 8 areas will set you up for success no matter where your career takes you! When applying to jobs or internships, demonstrate career-readiness in your resume and cover letters. Make sure to practice talking about these in an interview and meet with career counselors if you have further questions on how to be “career-ready!”