Are you Career Ready?

Career Ready Week | April 1-4, 2024

Missed Career Ready Week? We’ve got you covered! Watch the recordings from the virtual sessions or schedule an appointment today to get the help you need for your career!

Career Readiness

Career competencies are the skills employers rate as the necessary foundation for a successful career. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), through a task force of national employers and career services professionals, identified eight competencies associated with career readiness.

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  1. 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.
  2. COMMUNICATION Clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization.
  3. CRITICAL THINKING Identify and respond to needs based on an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information.
  4. INTERCULTURAL FLUENCY The ability to engage and include others from diverse cultures, proactively develop a culture of belonging and respect, and seek to understand individual differences..
  5. LEADERSHIP Recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.
  6. PROFESSIONALISM Knowing work environments differ greatly, understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.
  7. TEAMWORK Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.
  8. TECHNOLOGY Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.

Recommended Action! Connect with Student Life and enroll in all workshops for their Leadership Development Workshop series. This series of workshops focuses on developing your Career Ready competencies in an interactive and engaging format. Find out more at the Student Life events page.

Career Planning

A career plan lists short- and long-term career goals and the actions you can take to achieve them. You’ve already completed the first part of your planning by starting your degree at ACC! Career plans help you make decisions about your future career and identify the extracurricular activities, research, and internships that will make you a strong job candidate.

Why Career Planning is Necessary

In today’s rapidly changing world, new career paths are constantly unfolding, traditional ones are being changed, and shifts are taking place in occupation skills and educational requirements. Career Planning will help you identify early in your education any gaps in skill attainment and help you learn how to articulate these critical skills to employers. Get involved in activities to expand your skills and build your career competencies now. When you graduate, you’ll be better prepared to land your dream job.

Career Planning Checklist

0-15 Hours

15+ Hours

  • If you are considering changing majors or are still undecided about your major, schedule an appointment with a Career Counselor for in-depth assessment and guidance
  • Gather information on salary and regional labor market research through Career Coach
  • Explore the job market to learn about trends that affect your field. TIP: Use Handshake to research employers connected to ACC.
  • Update your Handshake profile and upload your resume. NOTE: Have your resume reviewed by Career Services before you upload to Handshake and start applying for jobs. Employers are looking for professional resumes.
  • Consider career-related volunteer opportunities to develop your skills and experience
  • Search job and internship postings through your Handshake account and research the skills needed for each position
  • Develop strong relationships with faculty in your department—they can be critical to your success
  • Attend a job fair or networking event and conduct an informational interview with an employer hiring in your field. 
  • Enroll in Strategies for Today’s Jobs, a free job search preparation course for all ACC students
  • Review the skills (competencies) employers want and plan for how you will acquire these skills before graduation
  • Join organizations that offer you a chance at leadership roles
  • Attend local association meetings to meet potential employers
  • Use online social networks (follow your favorite employers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, others). You can learn about trends and meet people in your field.
  • Practice your interview skills with Big Interview (free account with your ACC email)
  • Check with your instructors to find out if there is an internship tied to any of your current or next semester’s course
  • Google yourself! Check your social media presence and clean up inappropriate or outdated posts
  • Update your resume and have Career Services optimize your resume for your job search
  • Identify strong references from your professors who know your scholarly abilities
  • Identify strong references from supervisors who know your real-world experience and work skills
  • Attend networking events and job fairs to see what types of organizations are hiring and which positions are offered

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