NACE Career Readiness Assessment
Through years of academic research and collaboration, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has created a reliable and validated career competency assessment tool. The NACE competencies have been identified by employers as valuable in any profession. You can use this tool to identify your career skill strengths and gaps, plan your next development steps, and be prepared to make a successful transition to the workplace.
At WKU, the assessment includes additional questions. These are from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (Kentucky CPE) initiative known as the Kentucky Graduate Profile. The KGP includes ten essential skills. Most of them overlap the NACE competencies. Two questions have been added to the assessment so that it covers both the NACE competencies and KGP skills.
For Students
The NACE assessment is currently in a pilot phase. This means that you will be prompted by a course instructor, program director, or other individual to complete the assessment. They will direct you to the Suitable activity that applies to the situation. Be sure to understand the instructions whenever you are prompted to engage with this tool. Additional information is provided in the sections below.
Important:
- Follow the instructor or program director's instructions for completing the Experience Description portion of the self-assessment. More information is in the "Completing the Self-Assessment" topic below.
- Read the activity descriptions in Suitable carefully. Do NOT complete two self-assessments in quick succession.
There are four main components of the assessment, including:
Demographic Questionnaire - The information supplied on this questionnaire is sent to NACE for research and development purposes. Only aggregate information- and no individually identified information- is sent. WKU does NOT use this information in any way.
Self-Assessment - This is the main portion of the assessment tool. You will rate yourself on the competencies and skills that employers value. You may rate yourself multiple times throughout your time at WKU.
Invite an Observer - You may invite someone to complete the same assessment with you (the student) in mind. The observer may be anyone and does not need a Suitable account or WKU email address.
Observer Assessment - This version of the assessment includes the same questions as the self-assessment except that they are worded to prompt an assessment of you by the observer.
The information supplied on the demographic questionnaire is sent to NACE for research and development purposes. Only aggregate information- and no individually identified information- is sent. WKU does NOT use this information in any way.
The demographic questionnaire must be done at least once, but it is not necessary to complete it each time you complete a self-assessment. Note: You should complete it again if it is presented to you as an activity that has been added to a Blackboard course as an assignment. This will ensure that you receive course credit for completing the assignment.
The demographic questionnaire includes thirteen multiple-choice and yes/no questions and takes one to two minutes to complete.
The self-assessment is the main portion of the assessment tool. You will rate yourself on the competencies and skills that employers value. You may rate yourself multiple times throughout your time at WKU. Do NOT complete two self-assessments in quick succession- submissions should be spaced over time to be meaningful.
The self-assessment includes 24 questions for NACE competencies, an Experience Description section, and six questions to cover the additional KGP skills. Follow the links at the top of this page to learn more about NACE and KGP. All competency and skill assessment questions are multiple-choice. The Experience Description section includes multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank. It may take a few minutes to complete the self-assessment.
The Experience Description provides general information about the particular self-assessment submission. Providing meaningful data will help you make use of the self-assessment in the future and will help provide data to improve the program. Read each item carefully and choose the best answer. Here is additional guidance for two items:
- Choose the Type of Assessment -
- Select pre-, post-, or mid- if you are taking the assessment in coordination with a particular development experience, such as an internship or course. Read the descriptions and select the appropriate one based on the timing of the self-assessment.
- Choose General if the other options do not apply.
- Describe the Learning Opportunity -
- If you are taking the assessment for a course, enter the Course ID (example: MGT-392-002) or enough information to identify the course (MGT 392 on TR at 9:15)
- If you are not taking the assessment for a course, enter a useful description (example: summer internship at Widget Corp)
You can see your assessment responses in the Forms area. Follow this link to see step-by-step instructions for the browser version of Suitable.
You may invite someone to assess you. The observer may be anyone and does not need a Suitable account or WKU email address. DO NOT INVITE YOURSELF TO BE AN OBSERVER.
Examples of people who can provide valuable insight as an observer include:
- your supervisor at your regular employment (including student employment on campus),
- your internship supervisor,
- a supervisor from a volunteer experience,
- a faculty member who has taught you in multiple classes, and
- someone who worked alongside you on a substantive project.
The Assign Observer form has five fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice questions and takes less than a minute to complete. You will supply the observer's name and email address when you complete the form. When you submit the form, an invitation to complete an observer assessment will automatically be sent to the email address you supplied.
For Best Results: Let your observer know to expect the invitation to complete an assessment. Sample text for your conversation or email:
I have invited (will invite) you to provide feedback for me on my "soft skills" (also known as "transferable skills"). You should have received (will receive) an email with the link to an assessment. There are multiple-choice questions and a place for you to supply some feedback in your own words. I will be able to see your answers and I really appreciate accurate and constructive information from you. I will use your feedback to be better prepared to begin my career. Please let me know if you have any questions or if the email did not arrive. Thank you very much for your time!
The version of the assessment for observers includes the same questions as the self-assessment except that they are worded to prompt an assessment of you (the student) by the observer.
If you need to RE-send the invitation, follow the instructions provided in this link:
Resending the NACE Observer Invitation via the Suitable Mobile App
If you need assistance, email suitable@wku.edu with your name, Toppermail, and an explanation of what is needed.
Your self-assessment and assessment responses from observers are most useful when you can compare them side-by-side!
Your Career Readiness Report allows you to see all, or specifically selected, assessment responses in one place in an easy to understand format. You must have completed at least one self-assessment AND have received at least one observer assessment to have a Career Readiness Report.
Understanding the Career Readiness Report (what it includes, how to understand the data)
How to Access YOUR Career Readiness Report
Browser/Web version of Suitable, only - not available in the Mobile App
How to Share Your Career Readiness Report
Browser/Web version of Suitable, only - not available in the Mobile App
In most cases, your observers and instructors will not see your Career Readiness Report
unless you share it with them.
Follow this link to see a sample Career Readiness Report for a "test student."
For Observers
NACE (the National Association of Colleges and Employers) is a widely recognized organization that studies what skills employers value most in today’s workforce. Based on this research, NACE developed an assessment that helps students evaluate how well they apply these skills in real‑world situations. At WKU, this assessment is delivered through the Suitable platform. Suitable is one of only two NACE partners authorized to offer it.
In addition to completing the assessment themselves, students can invite others to provide feedback on their skills. This feedback is called an Observer Assessment.
An Observer is anyone the student chooses—there is no requirement to be affiliated with WKU, and no Suitable account is needed. Observers are most helpful when they are familiar with the student’s work, such as through a job, internship, class project, volunteer role, or similar experience. Common observers include supervisors, instructors, team leads, or project managers.
Observer Assessments allow students to compare their own views of their skills with how others see them. Because people often view their abilities differently than others do, this outside perspective provides valuable insight. The feedback helps students better understand their strengths, identify areas for improvement, and effectively focus their efforts on developing skills that support future career success.
The student will prompt the system to send you an email with an invitation to provide an assessment response for them. To begin, click the link in the email.*
The assessment includes 24 questions for NACE competencies, an Additional Information section, and six questions that cover additional skills in the Kentucky Graduate Profile. Follow the links at the top of this page to learn more about NACE and KGP. All competency and skill assessment questions are multiple-choice. The Additional Information section includes the following questions:
- What best represents your relationship to this student? (multiple choice)
- If applicable, at which employer or institution did you observe the student? (short answer)
- Starting with the most important, please comment on the top 3 ways that this individual could improve upon their work performance. (long answer)
- Starting with the most important, please comment on the top 3 work-related strenths of this individual. (long answer)
It may take a few minutes to complete the assessment. Note that the student will be able to see your feedback responses. Please keep your responses honest and constructive.
When you are ready, submit the assessment. You will receive an email confirmation that the assessment response was submitted.
*Generally, each Observer will receive an email with one link. Observers who receive a high volume of requests may receive one email with multiple links. In this case, click the link for each student to complete the assessment for that student. Return to the email and click the next link to proceed to the next student's assessment.
Your responses will become part of the student's Career Readiness Report. You will not be able to directly access it, but the student may choose to share a link to the report with you. Follow the link, below, to learn more about the Career Readiness Report.
Understanding the Career Readiness Report (what it includes, how to understand the data)
Follow this link to see a sample Career Readiness Report for a "test student."
The student can prompt the system to re-send the invitation email with the link to the assessment, if needed. You may also contact suitable@wku.edu to re-send the email or for other information or assistance.
We greatly appreciate your time and thoughtfulness!
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.