NACE Competencies

While some majors have a more direct link to specific careers, others create infinite possibilities.  No matter the major, industry or area of interest, students must be able to develop and articulate certain skills and competencies to achieve their post-graduation goals.

Instructors teach career competency skills everyday. Research from the University of Waterloo shows that students need more support in articulating these skills in order to connect them with future opportunities like research, internships, graduate school and employment. The goal is for students to be able to...

1. Name and define competencies.
2. Practice and reflect on their growing competencies.
3. Transfer these competencies to different contexts.

Naming these competencies directly in your syllabus and connecting them to assignments helps students become aware of these skills and use them with more intention and purpose. Students are then better prepared to demonstrate these skills to employers when it comes time to pursue career opportunities. 

The National Association of Colleges and Employers identified eight core career-readiness competencies by conducting research with career-services professionals, employers, university-relations and recruiting organizations from across the country. Employers from across all disciplines are looking for these eight competencies among college graduates and beyond. They are:

• 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.

  Sample behaviors: 

  • Show an awareness of own strengths and areas for development.
  • Identify areas for continual growth while pursuing and applying feedback.
  • Display curiosity, develop plans and goals for one’s future career.
  • Assume duties or positions that will help one progress professionally.
  • Establish, maintain, and/or leverage relationships with people who can help one professionally.
  • Voluntarily participate in further education, training, or other events to support one’s career.
• Communication

  Clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization.

  Sample behaviors:

  • Understand the importance of and demonstrate verbal, written, and non-verbal/body language abilities.
  • Employ active listening, persuasion, and influencing skills.
  • Communicate in a clear and organized manner so that others can effectively understand.
  • Frame communication with respect to diversity of learning styles, varied individual communication abilities, and cultural differences.
  • Ask appropriate questions for specific information from supervisors, specialists, and others.
  • Promptly inform relevant others when needing guidance with assigned tasks.
• Critical Thinking

  Identify and respond to needs based upon an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information.

  Sample behaviors:

  • Make decisions and solve problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgment.
  • Gather and analyze information from a diverse set of sources and individuals to fully understand a problem.
  • Proactively anticipate needs and prioritize action steps.
  • Accurately summarize and interpret data with an awareness of personal biases that may impact outcomes.
  • Effectively communicate actions and rationale, recognizing the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of stakeholders.
  • Multi-task well in a fast-paced environment.
• 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.

  Sample behaviors:

  • Solicit and use feedback from multiple cultural perspectives to make inclusive and equity-minded decisions.
  • Actively contribute to inclusive and equitable practices that influence individual and systemic change.
  • Advocate for inclusion, equitable practices, justice, and empowerment for historically marginalized communities.
  • Seek global cross-cultural interactions and experiences that enhance one’s understanding of people from different demographic groups and that leads to personal growth.
  • Keep an open mind to diverse ideas and new ways of thinking.
  • Identify resources and eliminate barriers resulting from individual and systemic racism, inequities, and biases.
  • Demonstrate flexibility by adapting to diverse environments.
  • Address systems of privilege that limit opportunities for members of historically marginalized communities.
• Leadership

  Recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.

  Sample behaviors:

  • Inspire, persuade, and motivate self and others under a shared vision.
  • Seek out and leverage diverse resources and feedback from others to inform direction.
  • Use innovative thinking to go beyond traditional methods.
  • Serve as a role model to others by approaching tasks with confidence and a positive attitude.
  • Motivate and inspire others by encouraging them and by building mutual trust.
  • Plan, initiate, manage, complete and evaluate projects.
• Professionalism

  Knowing work environments differ greatly, understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

  Sample behaviors:

  • Act equitably with integrity and accountability to self, others, and the organization.
  • Maintain a positive personal brand in alignment with organization and personal career values.
  • Be present and prepared.
  • Demonstrate dependability (e.g., report consistently for work or meetings).
  • Prioritize and complete tasks to accomplish organizational goals.
  • Consistently meet or exceed goals and expectations.
  • Have an attention to detail, resulting in few if any errors in their work.
  • Show a high level of dedication toward doing a good job.
• Teamwork

  Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.

  Sample behaviors:

  • Listen carefully to others, taking time to understand and ask appropriate questions without interrupting.
  • Effectively manage conflict, interact with and respect diverse personalities, and meet ambiguity with resilience.
  • Be accountable for individual and team responsibilities and deliverables.
  • Employ personal strengths, knowledge, and talents to complement those of others.
  • Exercise the ability to compromise and be agile.
  • Collaborate with others to achieve common goals.
  • Build strong, positive working relationships with supervisor and team members/coworkers.
• Technology

  Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.

  Sample behaviors:

  • Navigate change and be open to learning new technologies.
  • Use technology to improve efficiency and productivity of their work.
  • Identify appropriate technology for completing specific tasks.
  • Manage technology to integrate information to support relevant, effective, and timely decision-making.
  • Quickly adapt to new or unfamiliar technologies.
  • Manipulate information, construct ideas, and use technology to achieve strategic goals.

Binghamton University Faculty and Staff are also invited to become NACE Members. Contact Jessica Lane-Rwabukwisi by email at jlanerwa@binghamton.edu to learn more. 

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Integrate the NACE Career Competencies in your syllabus and curriculum with these tools

1. Faculty may consider "mapping" the NACE Career Competencies to assignments within the syllabus, in order to build their awareness of each competency.
2. Additionally, faculty can consider incorporating the NACE Career Competency assessment into the beginning and end of their course so that students can assess and reflect on how they've improved these skills with the course content and exercises. To request access to this assessment in PDF or an adaptable Word version, email jlanerwa@binghamton.edu