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Welcome to THE UNM 5

Choosing to go to UNM and obtain a degree is a big commitment. It’s a commitment. It’s a commitment  to your goals. It’s a commitment to your career. It’s a commitment to your future. While attending UNM, you have the option to be involved in many opportunities. Everything you do at UNM is helping you get ONE STEP closer to starting your career.

Are you career ready?

The UNM 5 are the top skills employers are seeking in you, their potential employee. Being career ready involves understanding and articulating all you have learned and know about your field PLUS being able to apply that knowledge in the workplace. These UNM5 skills will prepare you for a successful transition from UNM into the workplace! The UNM 5 will get you started on a path of success!

The UNM5 can also help you develop the skills needed to change the world. For instance, to be an effective leader, you need to develop your ethical compass, expand your data analysis skillset, become a more effective communicator, and master group & team dynamics. To be an effective advocate for social change, you need to work on your own personal development, develop strong contextual communication skills, and understand values and beliefs from multiple perspectives. Explore the UNM5, and find your path to a better world.

Leadership, diversity and service learning are overarching values that encompass and make up all the UNM 5 skills. When looking over the UNM 5 skills, start to formulate a plan for your career path. You want to choose activities and classes that correspond to the skills you want to learn and master. This could include volunteering with student organizations, getting a leadership position that incorporate your values, taking a public speaking course or getting an internship during the summer. In addition, you want to apply these skills to your future career plans - whether that be continuing your education or moving into your career position after graduation.

This website helps you get started on understanding YOUR UNM 5 essential skills to set you up for success. For more information, or if you want to talk through UNM 5 further, please contact Jenna Crabb, Director of Career Services at jennas@unm.edu.

Good luck!

Important UNM 5 Links:

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The UNM5 are the top skills employers are seeking in our students. National benchmarking studies have all defined career readiness and what it takes for a graduate to be career ready for their intended career path. UNM5 can help our students be more successful in obtaining a chosen career by teaching them how to articulate their learned skill sets related to their area of study. These skills can be obtained in and out of the classroom through all they accomplish at UNM.

There are many ways faculty can be involved in this process. Faculty play an integral role in connecting with their students on many levels – from the classroom to advisor and mentor roles. Understanding the importance of being career ready – and how to infuse these skills into the curriculum will not only help our students be more competitive in today’s job market but will also help students connect what they learn in the classroom to the skills needed for the workplace.

Here are a few ways to integrate UNM5 into your curriculum:

  • Assign the UNM5 essential skills to your assignments and learning objectives
  • Include career-based learning assignments within course
    • Invite employers and/or alumni to your class to illustrate the skills and knowledge needed for that industry and tie to your teaching for that particular class.
    • Invite Career Service’s staff to speak about the importance of having the degree – but also knowing how to articulate the skills they are learning through your assignments and course objectives
  • "Walk the walk and talk the talk" – be able to understand the UNM5 essential skills needed to be competitive and successful in your field; be able to talk them up and make the connections to these skills with what you are teaching students every day about your subject.

Today’s workforce is ever changing. We need to keep updated and help our students be the most competitive for the jobs they desire. Having a degree is a huge accomplishment – being able to articulate the skills with the knowledge obtained with their degree to an employer will help students gain that competitive edge to get hired and make a difference in their professional field.

The UNM 5 helps you articulate to students the concepts you will help them master, and helps you define and measure the impact you have on student learning.

First, by visibly attaching UNM 5 skills and subskills to each student event or opportunity you sponsor, students will be able to seek out your programs that best match their personal learning and professional goals. By utilizing the UNM 5 language, you can further help students articulate their lessons learned in terms that future employers will recognize and value.

If you would like to learn more about how you can maximize the UNM 5, please email Jenna Crabb, Director of Career Services, at jennas@unm.edu.