On-campus jobs offer more than just a paycheck—they're a valuable stepping stone toward future career success.
Building Bobcat Success is an interactive module created to help empower students to make the most of their on-campus employment experience. As student employees, you will gain access to Building Bobcat Success: Competencies for Career Development in your Canvas course list. While this is not a “traditional course” in the sense that there are no grades, assignments guide students through development and articulation of the top skills employers seek.
If you are a student employee and do not see Building Bobcat Success: Competencies for Career Development in your Canvas Course list or are not a student employee but would like access to the module, please email signatureacademicexperiences@ohio.edu.
Coming Fall 2025
Building Bobcat Success: Competencies for Career Development Module
Coming in Fall 2025
Through collaboration with Career Services , this module will help you to evaluate your current areas of preparedness so you can identify target areas that you want to develop. The core competency areas follow.
Career & Self-Development
Sample behaviors include:
- Show an awareness of own strengths and areas for development.
- Identify areas for continual growth while pursuing and applying feedback.
- Develop plans and goals for one’s future career.
- Professionally advocate for oneself and others.
- Display curiosity; seek out opportunities to learn.
- Assume duties or positions that will help one progress professionally.
- Establish, maintain, and/or leverage relationships with people who can help one professionally.
- Seek and embrace development opportunities.
- Voluntarily participate in further education, training, or other events to support one’s career.
Communication
Sample behaviors include:
- Understand the importance of and demonstrate verbal, written, and non-verbal/body language, abilities.
- Employ active listening, persuasion, and influencing skills.
- Communicate in a clear and organized manner so that others can effectively understand.
- Frame communication with respect to diversity of learning styles, varied individual communication abilities, and cultural differences.
- Ask appropriate questions for specific information from supervisors, specialists, and others.
- Promptly inform relevant others when needing guidance with assigned tasks.
Critical Thinking
Sample behaviors include:
- Make decisions and solve problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgment.
- Gather and analyze information from a diverse set of sources and individuals to fully understand a problem.
- Proactively anticipate needs and prioritize action steps.
- Accurately summarize and interpret data with an awareness of personal biases that may impact outcomes.
- Effectively communicate actions and rationale, recognizing the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of stakeholders.
- Multi-task well in a fast-paced environment.
Leadership
Sample behaviors include:
- Inspire, persuade, and motivate self and others under a shared vision.
- Seek out and leverage diverse resources and feedback from others to inform direction.
- Use innovative thinking to go beyond traditional methods.
- Serve as a role model to others by approaching tasks with confidence and a positive attitude.
- Motivate and inspire others by encouraging them and by building mutual trust.
- Plan, initiate, manage, complete and evaluate projects.
Professionalism
Sample behaviors include:
- Act equitably with integrity and accountability to self, others, and the organization.
- Maintain a positive personal brand in alignment with organization and personal career values.
- Be present and prepared.
- Demonstrate dependability (e.g., report consistently for work or meetings).
- Prioritize and complete tasks to accomplish organizational goals.
- Consistently meet or exceed goals and expectations.
- Have an attention to detail, resulting in few if any errors in their work.
- Show a high level of dedication toward doing a good job.
Teamwork
Sample behaviors include:
- Listen carefully to others, taking time to understand and ask appropriate questions without interrupting.
- Effectively manage conflict, interact with and respect diverse personalities, and meet ambiguity with resilience.
- Be accountable for individual and team responsibilities and deliverables.
- Employ personal strengths, knowledge, and talents to complement those of others.
- Exercise the ability to compromise and be agile.
- Collaborate with others to achieve common goals.
- Build strong, positive working relationships with supervisor and team members/coworkers.
Technology
Sample behaviors include:
- Navigate change and be open to learning new technologies.
- Use technology to improve efficiency and productivity of their work.
- Identify appropriate technology for completing specific tasks.
- Manage technology to integrate information to support relevant, effective, and timely decision-making.
- Quickly adapt to new or unfamiliar technologies.
- Manipulate information, construct ideas, and use technology to achieve strategic goals.
Looking for Employment?
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On-Campus Student Jobs
Visit the Ohio University Jobs website and use the Student Jobs tab.
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Federal Work Study
A program for students who received Federal Work Study as part of their Financial Aid package.
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PACE (Program to Aid Career Exploration)
An OHIO-based program that supports internship-like work. A separate application for this program is required and eligibility information is on the website.