The Next Step: CSU Graduate Career Readiness Training
This training supports CSU graduate students to develop and showcase the competencies that matter most in today’s workplace.
What is The Next Step?
The Next Step is an eight-module asynchronous course that is hosted by the CSU, but developed by faculty across 8 CSUs (including SDSU). All SDSU graduate students can access the course with their [email protected] email address.
The modules are based on the eight career readiness NACE competencies:
- Career and Self-Development
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Equity and Inclusion
- Leadership
- Professionalism
- Teamwork
- Technology
Students can complete any or all of the modules at their own pace. Once they complete a module, they earn a badge. If they complete all eight modules, they also earn a CSU microcredential in career readiness.
Faculty and Staff can also enroll in the course to better understand the content and align it with their programming.
Click here for FAQs and how to enroll.
Through structured reflection, exposure to common workplace tools and frameworks, and applied activities, students examine how their academic and professional experiences translate into career-ready skills. The course provides the foundation to recognize existing strengths, build new capabilities, and confidently communicate professional value.
- A foundation aligned with the eight NACE Career Readiness competencies, giving students the employer-aligned language and structure needed to communicate strengths in ways workplaces value.
- Guided reflection on academic and professional experiences to help students identify the diverse skills they have built and understand how those skills transfer to workplace contexts.
- Engagement with workplace scenarios, examples, tools, and frameworks that build confidence in existing abilities and support intentional competency development.
- Strengthen ability to articulate competencies in interviews, workplace interactions, resumes and portfolios.
- Students can complete competency modules at their own pace and earn independently Linkedin shareable badges to fit their immediate professional development interests or needs. When completed all eight badges stack into the microcredential.
