The SkillPath Professional Development and Career Readiness Center helps Graceland University students prepare for success after graduation by integrating career readiness across the academic curriculum. Since all first year students in the residential program complete both a primary major and a second major in Transformational Leadership, Graceland is in a unique position to ensure all students become career ready as part of their academic experience. This includes guiding students through milestones such as developing a résumé and LinkedIn profile, building a professional portfolio, attending networking events, and connecting with a professional mentor.
Catharine Craig, MEd
Catharine Craig serves as Director of the SkillPath Professional Development and Career Readiness Center at Graceland University, where she helps students navigate their professional journeys with purpose. A three-time certified resume writer and recipient of multiple TORI (Toast of the Resume Industry) awards, she draws on more than 18 years of experience in career services and professional writing. In addition to helping to connect students with alumni and employers, Catharine helps them craft stand-out career documents that position them for success after graduation. Her private-sector portfolio includes collaborations with professionals and executives from organizations including Google, Amazon, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Microsoft. A former member of the National Résumé Writers’ Association (NRWA) Board of Directors, she has also been a featured speaker at the NRWA and Career Thought Leaders Association’s national conferences.
Catharine Craig
Through my Transformational Leadership major, I gained leadership experience that progressed from identifying my strengths to leading organizations and mentoring others. The program combined coursework with campus roles, service projects, and a capstone portfolio, giving me real experience leading teams, managing challenges, and strengthening organizational culture. I graduated with a strong academic foundation and practical leadership skills that prepare me to contribute to your team right away.
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Transformational Leadership Highlights
Goal: Help recruiters and hiring managers find you through LinkedIn search—and want to connect.
LinkedIn is a people search engine. Recruiters search by keywords, titles, skills, schools, and locations.
The algorithm prioritizes: Exact keyword matches, profile completeness, recent activity, 2nd-degree connections.
Examples:
Write in first person. Keep it short. Don’t write more than 5 lines of text without creating some kind of visual break. Write in very brief paragraphs. You can include bullets. You can include icons or design elementsInclude:
Example:
I was elected House President through a competitive peer election and university interview process, serving as the leader of an inclusive residential community of more than 40 undergraduate women on a campus ranked among the most diverse in Iowa. In this role, I managed residential programming, enforced university policies, oversaw budgets, resolved conflicts, and led a student leadership council.
HIGHLIGHTS:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Led team of 5 student leaders to plan, organize, and execute 2 campus events involving 120+ participants.
POLICY ENFORCEMENT: Conduced weekly house meetings and one-on-one conferences to ensure residents were aware of alcohol and drug-free campus policies. Created incident documentation, wrote fines, and collaborated with Area Coordinator to conduct room searches.
✔ Professional photo
✔ Keyword-rich headline
✔ About section completed
✔ Experience with bullet points
✔ 50+ skills listed
✔ Activity in last 30 days
Bottom line: Optimize your impact by using keywords and broadening your network. Write in a conversational narrative. Interact with others or post comments/content at least a couple times per week.
