Are you career ready? 

Whether you’re working in retail, food service or on-campus leadership positions, the skills you’re gaining now are preparing you for your dream career. 

Don’t sell yourself short. Reframing how you look at the entry-level jobs you’re working now can make you more marketable to future employers. 

“Any employer is going to want to know you’re reliable, dependable, and efficient—all those things come from those entry-level jobs,” says Laura Knox, assistant director of campus student employment in the Career Center. “It’s not just grunt work you’re doing; you are shaping the character and tone of the whole workplace.”

A great way to start is by reviewing the eight National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness competencies—a common and important set of skills employers across industries look for in college students and recent graduates. 

• Career and self-development
• Communication
• Critical thinking
• Equity and inclusion
• Leadership
• Professionalism
• Teamwork
• Technology

Beyond your GPA, employers want to know that you can think and communicate effectively and professionally. The Career Center offers a variety of opportunities for students to gain and improve these skills, both online and in person.  

In-person opportunities

You can build on your professionalism and career and self-development competencies by interacting with peers and employers at Speed Networking events and the Spring 2026 Mega Job & Internship Fair.

“You want to infuse professionalism in everything you do. Students should recognize that they are developing these skills on athletic teams, in student organizations and in group projects,” Knox says.

You’re not behind. There are all sorts of ways you can apply the NACE competencies to your daily life, and they are something you can constantly improve on.

Laura Knox, Assistant Director of Campus Student Employment, TU Career Center

Through workshops, Knox empowers on-campus student employees to see how their contributions to campus actively meet NACE competencies and how they can articulate that the skills gained in their current jobs are relevant to jobs they’ll apply for in the future.

“If you’re working 20 hours a week while being a full-time student—defacto you have rockin’ time management skills. That’s something that’s really valuable in all fields,” she says.

Online development

TU offers a wide range of online professional development opportunities to enhance your career readiness and help you assess where you are in that journey.

LinkedIn Learning

With your TU ID, you have access to LinkedIn Learning Premium. The self-development platform offers in-depth courses that help you enhance your critical thinking, communication, technology skills and more.

Focus2

The comprehensive career planning tool helps you explore your interests, skills and values to identify potential career paths and academic majors that best suit you.

One of the most valuable tools Focus2 offers is the "Am I Career Ready?" subtest, which helps you get a good picture of the areas in which you are strong, and those where your skills can be refined

Focus2 also gives you tailored, impactful suggestions to further guide your development in each of its career readiness skills.

Knox wants to remind students that they’re doing just fine. “You’re not behind. There are all sorts of ways you can apply the NACE competencies to your daily life, and they are something you can constantly improve on.”