Translating Undergraduate Research Into Career-Ready Skills

Written by Research Ambassador Tanisha Shende '26

Introduction

A common question from undergraduate researchers is how to maximize the value that research can add to your professional life. It’s easy to think of research as separate from the “real world,” but your work holds so much value within and outside of academia. Your research experience isn’t just an academic achievement. It’s real, transferable work experience that can give you in-demand skills across every industry.

The purpose of this article is to support you as you transition into new experiences. We’ll explore how to strategically frame and communicate your research experience to ensure your true value is captured. Whether you’re planning for graduate school, pivoting to industry, or still figuring it out, learning to talk about your research intentionally is one of the most important professional tools you can develop.

Reframing the Internal Narrative

Reframing your resume starts with reframing your thoughts. Many students instinctively downplay their contributions, especially in academic contexts where humility is often the norm. One of the most common things we hear from students is, “I was just an assistant. I didn’t do that much.”

It’s an understandable instinct. Research can be intimidating, and if your name isn’t on a publication or you didn’t design the study yourself, it’s easy to feel like you were just on the sidelines. But the truth is, the way you think about your research directly shapes how you talk about it and how others perceive your contributions.

Let’s pause and think more carefully.

Did you troubleshoot when things didn’t go as planned?

Did you read and make sense of complex material?

Did you make independent decisions in uncertain situations?

Did you contribute ideas during meetings or writing sessions?

Did you take initiative without someone constantly guiding you?

If you answered yes to any of those, you didn’t just “help.” You contributed. You made the project possible. You demonstrated the very competencies employers look for: problem solving, communication, initiative, and resilience. You don’t need to have led a study to be proud of your role in it.

To uncover just how much you’ve grown, try reflecting on these questions:

What was the hardest problem you had to solve?

What did you have to teach yourself (a skill, a tool, a concept)?

How did you know your work mattered? What did it change or make possible?

Who depended on you, and what would have happened if you hadn’t done your part?

In what ways did you grow professionally, intellectually, or personally?

If this had been a job with a formal title, what would that title be?

These aren’t just personal reflections. They’re the building blocks of strong, authentic resume language. They help you articulate not just what you did, but why it mattered.

Mapping Research Experience to Career Competencies

Once you have this clearer sense of your experience, the next step is to translate it into the kind of language that employers recognize and value.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by using a framework of career competencies. These are broad, transferable skills identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as essential for workplace success across all industries. The good news? If you’ve done research, you’ve likely practiced many (if not all) of them already. The key is to recognize where those skills showed up and then communicate them in the language of action, impact, and professionalism. Below is a table mapping NACE’s 8 competencies to research skills:

Competency

Career & Self-Development

NACE’s Description

Proactively develop oneself and one’s career through continual personal and professional learning, awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses, navigation of career opportunities, and networking to build relationships within and without one’s organization.