Career Readiness benchmarks may vary from university to university, but the qualities and skills that students need to hone in order to be ready to enroll into competitive programs and projects, sustain their performance, excel, and land their meaningful and purposeful career are very similar. While robust published tools and career toolkits in this area aren’t superfluous, the Career Design Lab (CDL) at Columbia University decided to develop their own. It’s called the “CROWN Global Career Passport”.
Career Readiness is a shared goal throughout the School of Professional Studies. It’s a collective effort focused on helping students master a number of areas including professionalism, learning objectives/standards, academic and career programming, and career preparedness. In it, you’ll find advice from the career experts to help you on your on journey into the working world.
How does it work? Well, first they are free! Second, they can make the most out of their passport by following these four simple steps: 1) Schedule an appointment with a Career Design Lab Coach to review, 2) Obtain “CROWN” stamps by attending events, 3) After collecting 10 stamps, bring in the passport and receive a free gift, a leather passport holder with the Career Design Lab logo embossed on the cover, 4) Come in for a Exit Interview before graduation and share your unique success story.
The earlier students learn about postsecondary pathways and careers, the sooner they can develop meaningful personal aspirations towards them. To access higher education, students need a clear sense of the roadmap to their goals and the critical resources at key transition points to eventually increase entry to a well-matched career. This includes exploration, financial knowledge, leveraging internship opportunities, digital identity development, positioning and branding, and transition activities.
