TUESDAY TEACHING TIP: From Classrooms to Careers

Research on teaching career readiness in the university classroom emphasizes integrating professional skill development directly into academic learning to better prepare students for life after graduation (Finch, Hamilton, Baldwin, & Zehner, 2013; NACE, 2022). Studies show that embedding career competencies, such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and digital literacy, within course content increases students’ confidence, employability, and ability to articulate their skills to employers.

Approaches grounded in experiential learning, such as project-based assignments, community partnerships, and reflective activities, help students connect disciplinary knowledge to real-world contexts. Faculty who make career preparation explicit by discussing transferable skills, offering feedback on professional communication, and inviting guest speakers from relevant industries foster stronger student engagement and a clearer sense of purpose (NACE, 2022; Jackson & Bridgstock, 2021).

This week, we challenge you to try something new to integrate career competencies in your class.

Here are some ways to do it:

• At the end of the quarter, encourage students to reflect on how they would describe what they learned in class in an interview or on their resume.
  
• Use reflective journals to help students identify and articulate transferable skills developed through coursework.
  
• Host a career panel or alumni Q&A session linking course concepts to career pathways. Faculty can find potential alumni speakers through Bronco Exchange.
• Before starting collaborative group projects, facilitate a classroom discussion about why teamwork and communication are considered critical career readiness competencies. After the project, follow up with a discussion about what they learned about the importance of teamwork and communication.
• Integrate career and personality assessments into your class to help facilitate classroom discussions on the topic of career goals. Use these sample assignments created specifically for the Career Center’s Focus2Career platform.
• Invite the Career Center staff into your classroom to lead a workshop. Submit a request through this Google Form.
  
  

Additional resources for teaching career readiness: 

• SCU Career Center
• SCU Job Prep Toolkit
• SCU Guide to Career Readiness Competencies
• SCU Career Influencers Network for Faculty, Staff and Alumni
• NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers). (2022). Career readiness defined.https://www.naceweb.org/career-readiness/competencies/career-readiness-defined/

 

DID YOU DO IT?

Let us know how it went. We would love to hear your feedback about how you implemented today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip in your classroom. Click here to fill out our 3-question survey. The survey is anonymous, but if you choose to enter your name, you’ll be entered in a drawing at the end of the quarter to win a new book from Faculty Development!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

• TOMORROW, November 12, 2025, 11:45am - CAFE: Classroom to Career
• Friday, November 14, 2025, 9am - On Campus Writing Retreat
• Friday, November 14, 2025, 1pm - Jeremy Hsu, Office Hour Workshop

WANT TO READ A LITTLE MORE?

• Finch, D. J., Hamilton, L. K., Baldwin, R., & Zehner, M. (2013). An exploratory study of factors affecting undergraduate employability. Education + Training, 55(7), 681–704.
  
  
• Hora, M. T., Chen, Z., Parrott, E., & Her, P. (2020). How do students conceptualize career readiness? Examining student experiences of career preparation in college. Journal of Education and Work, 33(6–7), 497–511.
  
  
• Jackson, D., & Bridgstock, R. (2021). What actually works to enhance graduate employability? The relative value of curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular learning and paid work. Higher Education, 81, 723–739.
  
  
• Kolb, D. A. (2015). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (2nd ed.). Pearson Education.
  
  
• O’Shea, S., & Stone, C. (2022). Supporting student employability: Exploring the role of academic staff. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(5), 1610–1623.

 

This week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip was prepared by Cara Chiaraluce and Dylan Houle on behalf of Faculty Development and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Missed a teaching tip? Read them all here. 

And check out our full calendar of CAFEs and other Faculty Development events.