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Career Readiness Checklist

 

Important terms

Generic skills

Skills that are possessed or learnt, which help to achieve success in both studies and a career.

These include problem-solving, effective communication, critical thinking and effective participation in team work.

Typically, generic skills are the "transferable" skills you are expected to take into a workplace from your time at university.


Transferable skills

Skills that are learnt or developed in one situation and then used or applied in a new situation.


Employability skills

Skills that are identified by employers as good or desirable skills for all employees to have and which are usually of great importance in the workplace. These are often also called generic, or transferable skills.


Selection Criteria

A list of essential and desirable skills, attributes, experience or educational qualifications that have been identified by an organisation as being necessary for a position.

The Career Readiness Checklist is a self-guided tool to help you prepare for the transition from university to the workforce.

Working through this checklist will help you identify your skills, as well as direct you to the many resources available to assist you with this transition.

Consider the statements listed in the checklist categories below (in relation to yourself) and answer "yes" or "no". The objective is to be able to eventually answer "yes" to all of them.

For those you answered "no" to, or were unsure of, use the resources listed to help you better prepare yourself for employment.

  1. Identifying your skills
  2. Setting career goals
  3. Gaining experience
  4. Job searching
  5. Preparing a resume/going for an interview

Identifying your skills

  • I can identify the skills I have gained from my degree which employers may find desirable (generic skills, rather than subject knowledge).

If you have answered "no" to this statement, consider the following resources:

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Setting career goals

  • I have identified the career I would like.
  • I have thought about what it is about this career that attracts me.
  • I have thought about the sectors I would consider working in (such as private, government, health education, media, travel).
  • I have identified the sort of job titles in these sectors that I could be suitable for.
  • I can list the skills required for these types of jobs.

If you have answered "no" to any of these statements consider the following resources:

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Gaining experience

  • I am already doing / have recently done paid or volunteer work.

If you have answered "no" to this statement consider the following resources:

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Job searching

  • I know of at least three online job search resources.
  • I have identified a variety of offline resources for job searching.

If you have answered "no" to any of these statements consider the following resources:

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Preparing a resume/going for an interview

  • I can summarise my relevant personal experience in terms of work, education and extracurricular activities.
  • I am familiar with different resume formats.
  • I know how to tailor a resume to a specific target industry.
  • I know the key points to be included in a cover letter.
  • I can clearly articulate to an employer in an interview my background and skills as they relate to a specific position.
  • I know how to seek feedback after completing a job interview.

If you have answered "no" to any of these statements consider the following resources:

Careers Centre workshops:

  • preparing resumes and cover letters
  • addressing selection criteria
  • interview skills
  • resume clinics
  • interview practice.

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