As a student in the early stages of your studies, you must be excited about the vast number of career paths in front of you! You may not know it yet, but the preparations you make today will impact your career options by graduation.
Enrol in Career Catalyst (CFG1002) to equip yourself with essential career skills such as resume writing, creating your personal brand and elevator pitch, and sharpening your interviewing skills. When done well, they will set you apart and help you maximise your chances of getting the internship and job that you have always wanted!
Besides picking up these technical career skills, Career Catalyst will also enable you to enhance important life skills such as building a greater sense of self-awareness, learning how to better communicate and build relationships professionally, broaden your global perspectives, and enhancing your digital literacy skills through the use of various career tech tools.
Get Internship-ready
Discover the importance of internships in securing full-time employment
and how to land your first internship
Career Pathways
Identify your career interest(s) and
build a personal brand aligned to it
Captivating Resumes
Learn how to craft a resume and cover letter
that
stands out among other applicants
Interview & Networking Excellence
Receive expert tips on interview preparation
and build a networking strategy that works for you
Programme Details & Registration
Course Units: 2 Units, Unrestricted Elective (UE) Course.
Career Catalyst (CFG1002) does not count towards the limit on the number of Level-1000 courses in fulfilment of graduation requirements.
Assessment and Grading Basis: CS/CU
Pre-requisites: No requirements
Schedule: For AY 2023/24 Semester 2, Career Catalyst will be offered twice in a semester - in Term 1 (Weeks 1-6) and Term 2 (Weeks 7-12). The format will mostly be e-learning on NUS Canvas, where you can complete the weekly e-learning sessions at your own time and pace. However, there will be two face-to-face classes, scheduled during Weeks 1 and 4 (for Term 1 students) and Weeks 7 and 10 (for Term 2 students).
Registration has commenced for AY 2023/24 Semester 2. You may register via the registration links below:
CHS (FASS)
CHS (FoS) + Nursing
CDE 1 (BME, ChBE, ESP, MSE, ME)
CDE 2 (BArch, BLA, CVE, EVE, ID, IPM, PFM)
CDE 3 (EE, ISE), Biz, Others
SOC + CEG
Class Schedule
The complete schedule of classes can be found here.
For any questions on this course, please email careercatalyst@nus.edu.sg.
Course Structure
Face-to-Face Session 1:
Your Roadmap Towards Career Readiness
- Introduction to the course
- Knowing Yourself
- Knowing the Market – Outlook & Benchmarks, Career Roadmaps, Recruitment Trends and Cycles
- Technical vs Transferable Skills
- Preparing for the Future of Work: Four Year Roadmap
- CFG Tools and Resources
Learning content:
- Attend face-to-face session (Term 1: Week 1 or Term 2: Week 7)
- View online contents on Canvas
- Post-course resources:
- CFG Resources
E-learning Session 2:
Effective Resumes and Cover Letters
- Key Objectives of Resumes and Cover Letters
- Crafting results-oriented C.A.R. statements relevant to Job Descriptions
- Benchmarking your Resume with VMock Resume
- Drafting effective and targeted cover letters
Learning content:
- View online contents on Canvas
- Post-course resources:
E-learning Session 3:
Professional Branding and Global Mindsets
- Creating and maintaining a professional online presence
- Global mindsets for future career success
- Introduction to Elevator Pitch and Networking (including introduction to VMock Interview)
Learning content:
- View online contents on Canvas
- Post-course resources:
Face-to-Face Session 4:
A Recruiter’s Perspective on Hiring Trends and Interview Preparation
- Types of interviews and selection processes
- How to prepare for interviews
- Introduction to the interview response frameworks & techniques
- Sharing of hiring trends by invited employer representatives
Learning content:
- Attend face-to-face session (Term 1: Week 4 or Term 2: Week 10)
- View online contents on Canvas
- Post-course resources:
E-learning Session 5:
Networking and Professional Presentation
- Networking and its purposes
- Tools for successful networking
- Growing your professional network
- Networking techniques: Introduction/Elevator Pitch
Learning content:
- View online contents on Canvas
- Post-course resources:
E-learning Session 6:
Internships and Workplace Behaviour
- Importance of internships and how to maximise the experience
- Tips for being a “super intern”
- Guidelines on workplace behaviour and professionalism
Learning content:
- View online contents on Canvas
- Post-course resources:
Assessment Instructions for Students
All assessment components for this CS/CU graded course must be completed and submitted for review by the instructors by the end of the final week of the course in Week 6 (Term 1) or Week 12 (Term 2). If you miss the stated deadline for any assessment component, no late submissions will be allowed and you will score 0 marks for that assessment component.
Grading Components:
| Assessment Task |
Assessment Weightage |
| View all course Contents on Canvas and Completion of Quiz (20 questions in total) |
20% |
| Creation and completion of profile on IAAS (Internship-As-A-Service) | 20% |
| Uploading of Elevator Pitch on VMock Interview | 20% |
| Uploading of Resume on VMock Resume | 40% |
| Total course Score |
100% |
Passing Criteria for CFG1002:
To obtain a CS grade, you must satisfy all of the following requirements:
- Attend both face-to-face classes (Term 1: Week 1 and 4; Term 2: Week 7 and 10) and complete all assignment components
- Obtain a minimum of 12/20 for the quizzes (one mark will be allocated to each correct answer for 20 questions)
- Attempt at least one recording of your elevator pitch on VMock Interview (video score is immaterial)
- Obtain a minimum of 60/100 for your resume score on VMock Resume
What our students say
“Honestly, this course was really useful to me, and I found it very helpful in my interviews and resume writing. I previously was not very sure how to write a cover letter but after this course, I was more clear of what they wanted.”
SoC student
“The course was extremely helpful to learn about the basics that we have to know about job application and careers in general. It's a good stepping stone and eye opener to help us start off. It also helps us build our portfolio early and teaches us the do's and don’ts.”
FASS student
“I like how it was an 'own time own do' sort of course; gave a lot of flexibility in when I wanted to complete the tasks. The materials were of splendid quality and instructions were clear. Definitely more in–depth tips in career planning, which I found extremely helpful.”
FoS student
“Through Career Catalyst, I learnt various essential career skills such as resume writing, elevator pitch and ways to sharpen my interview skills. These greatly helped me in getting an internship and to excel in them. Wait no more, enrol in Career Catalyst today!”
CDE student