Career Readiness Index

Aurelian Skills Academy · Free

Career Readiness Index (CARI)

Find out how ready you are for the workplace, across the eight competencies employers look for, and get a personal 30-day action plan.

25 minutes · 60 questions in three short parts
Part 1: 32 workplace scenarios. Choose what you would actually do.
Part 2: 16 statements about yourself.
Part 3: a checklist of what you have done so far.

There are no trick questions. Answer honestly: the report is only useful if it reflects you. Your answers are saved on this device as you go. Aligned with the NACE career readiness competencies. This is a developmental self-assessment, not a psychometric diagnosis.

Have a code from your college?

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 1 of 32

Your final semester begins in two weeks. Classmates are applying to every job posting they see. You are not sure which roles suit you. What do you do first?

List what you are good at and enjoy, compare it with three or four job descriptions, and apply where they overlap.Ask a senior which company pays the most and apply there.Wait until campus placements start and take whatever company selects you.Apply to as many postings as possible; something will work out.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 2 of 32

In a mock interview, the panel says your answers were "too general". How do you respond?

Ask for one example of a general answer, rewrite two answers with specific examples, and practise them aloud.Memorise model answers from the internet for the common questions.Thank them and move on; you will do better in the real interview.Feel discouraged; mock interviews are not like real ones anyway.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 3 of 32

A job you want asks for a basic skill you do not have (for example, Excel pivot tables). The deadline is in ten days. What is the best move?

Skip it; you do not meet every requirement.Apply and mention you are a fast learner.Apply and write that you know it; you can learn it later.Spend the next week learning the basics with a free course, practise on a small dataset, then apply and say honestly what you can do.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 4 of 32

Six months into your first job, you realise the role is not what you expected. What is the most constructive step?

Stay quiet and keep doing the work.Complain to colleagues so management hears about it.Note what you enjoy and what you do not, then talk to your manager about tasks or growth paths that fit better.Resign and look for something better.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 5 of 32

You need to email a professor you have never met to ask about an internship in their lab. Which approach is best?

A long email describing your whole academic journey so they understand you fully.A WhatsApp message, since it gets a faster reply.A short, polite email: who you are, why their work interests you, what you can contribute, with your CV attached."Sir, any internship available? Please reply."

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 6 of 32

During a group presentation, a panel member asks a question you do not know the answer to. What do you do?

Say the question is outside the scope of the presentation.Say you are not sure, share what you do know, and offer to find out and follow up.Pass the question to a teammate without a word.Give an answer that sounds confident, even if you are guessing.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 7 of 32

Your manager gives quick instructions for a task, and you are unclear about the deadline and the format. What is the best response?

Wait for the manager to send written instructions.Start working and figure it out as you go.Ask a colleague what the manager probably meant.Repeat back what you understood and ask about the deadline and format before you start.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 8 of 32

A customer is angry and speaking loudly about a problem that was not your fault. What do you do?

Transfer them to your senior immediately.Let them finish, acknowledge the inconvenience, confirm the problem in your own words, and tell them the next step.Explain right away that it was not your fault.Ask them to calm down before you can help.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 9 of 32

A message forwarded in your class group says a well-known company is "hiring 500 freshers, pay ₹2,000 to register". What do you do?

Forward it to friends so they do not miss out.Ignore it without telling anyone.Check the company's official careers page and verified channels before doing anything, and warn the group if it is not listed.Pay quickly before the seats fill up.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 10 of 32

Your team's project results are much better than expected. What is the sensible next step?

Recheck the data and calculations for errors before presenting, and note any limits of the method.Ask the faculty whether the results look right.Make the results look a little less impressive so they seem believable.Present them immediately; good results speak for themselves.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 11 of 32

You have two offers: Company A pays 20% more; Company B offers structured training and a clear growth path. How should you decide?

Take whichever your family prefers.Compare both on learning, growth, stability, location and pay over two to three years, speak to someone working at each, then decide.Take A; salary is what matters most at the start.Accept both and decide later.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 12 of 32

Sales at the café where you intern have dropped for three weeks. The owner asks for your view. What do you do?

Say it is probably the season.Look at what changed in those three weeks (prices, menu, staff, competitors, timings), check customer feedback, then suggest one or two specific fixes.Recommend more social media posts.Suggest a discount; it usually brings customers back.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 13 of 32

In a team meeting, a colleague with a strong regional accent is interrupted and laughed at by others. What do you do?

Bring the conversation back to them ("I'd like to hear the rest of your point") and later tell the others it was not okay.Stay quiet; it is not your business.Laugh along so the mood stays light.Tell the colleague privately afterwards not to take it personally.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 14 of 32

Your group is choosing who presents the project. One member uses a wheelchair and the stage has steps. What is the right approach?

Assume they would rather not present.Choose someone else to avoid the problem.Let the faculty decide.Ask the member what they would prefer, and raise access with the organisers early if they want to present.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 15 of 32

You are forming a project team. Your close friends all come from the same background as you. What do you do?

Let the faculty decide.Team up with friends; working together will be easier.Pick by skills needed, and include people with different backgrounds and viewpoints.Pick members at random.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 16 of 32

A coworker shares a joke about another community in the office group chat. Several people react with laughing emojis. What do you do?

Leave the group.Message the coworker privately that the joke is hurtful and inappropriate at work; raise it with a manager if it continues.React with a laughing emoji so you are not left out.Post an angry reply calling them out in public.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 17 of 32

Your project team keeps postponing work, and the deadline is a week away. No one has been named leader. What do you do?

Wait for someone else to take charge.Complain to the faculty about your teammates.Do the whole project yourself to make sure it gets done.Call a short meeting, break the work into tasks with owners and dates, and set a quick daily check-in.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 18 of 32

As event coordinator, you made a scheduling mistake that left a guest speaker waiting for an hour. What do you do?

Apologise to the speaker but avoid discussing it with the team.Blame the volunteer who was supposed to check the timing.Say nothing; the event went fine in the end.Apologise sincerely to the speaker, own the mistake with your team, and change the process so it does not repeat.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 19 of 32

A quiet team member rarely speaks in meetings but submits excellent work. What would a good leader do?

Give them fewer tasks so they are not overwhelmed.Recognise their work in the meeting and ask them one-to-one how they prefer to share ideas.Leave them alone; their work is fine.Ask them direct questions in meetings to force them to speak.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 20 of 32

Two of your team members strongly disagree on how to do a task, and work has stopped. What do you do?

Pick the option you prefer and move on.Tell them to sort it out themselves.Escalate to the manager immediately.Hear both views, agree on what success looks like, then decide together (or test both quickly) and confirm who does what.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 21 of 32

You realise you will miss a deadline by one day because of an error you made. What do you do?

Wait until the deadline and then explain.Ask a colleague to cover for you.Submit on time with the error and fix it later.Tell your manager now, explain briefly, give a new time, and say how you will avoid it next time.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 22 of 32

Your online interview is at 10:00. Your internet is unreliable. What do you do?

Ask to reschedule; it might not work.Join by phone audio only.Join at 10:00 and hope it works.Test your setup the day before, keep mobile data as a backup, join five minutes early, and have the recruiter's contact ready in case you drop.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 23 of 32

A friend at another company asks you to share a client list from your internship "just to see". What do you do?

Ask your manager whether it is allowed.Refuse politely; company and client information is confidential.Share part of it.Share it; it is only a list of names.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 24 of 32

You accepted an offer, and a week later a better offer arrives. What is the professional thing to do?

Stop replying to the first company.Weigh both carefully; if you switch, inform the first company promptly and politely, and check any terms you agreed to.Accept the new offer and inform the first company only on joining day.Decline the new offer automatically; you have given your word.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 25 of 32

One group member has not contributed for two weeks. What do you do?

Leave their name off the final submission.Report them to the faculty right away.Do their share yourself.Talk to them privately, ask what is going on, and agree on a specific task and date.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 26 of 32

Your team chooses an approach you think is weaker than yours. What do you do?

Go along without saying anything.Work on your own approach on the side.Explain your reasons once, clearly; if the team still decides otherwise, commit fully to the chosen approach.Refuse to work on it.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 27 of 32

You finish your part of a project early. What do you do?

Start on next week's work.Relax; you have done your share.Tell the team you are free.Check with teammates whether anyone needs help, and review how the parts fit together.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 28 of 32

Your manager praises you publicly for work that a teammate did most of. What do you do?

Tell your teammate privately that you will mention it later.Accept the praise; teamwork means shared credit.Stay quiet to avoid embarrassing the manager.Thank the manager and credit your teammate's contribution on the spot.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 29 of 32

You are asked to analyse 2,000 rows of survey data. You only know basic spreadsheet use. What do you do?

Count the answers manually.Learn the functions you need (sorting, filters, pivot tables, charts) and analyse it properly in a spreadsheet.Ask a friend to do it for you.Look at a sample of 100 rows and estimate.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 30 of 32

You use an AI tool to draft a report for your internship. What is the responsible way to use it?

Use it for a first draft, check every fact and figure, rewrite it in your own words, keep confidential data out of it, and follow your organisation's rules on AI.Use it but do not tell anyone.Avoid AI completely; it is cheating.Submit the AI draft as it is; it is well written.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 31 of 32

You receive an email that looks like it is from your college asking you to "verify your account" through a link. What do you do?

Check the sender's address and the link without clicking, and confirm with the college through its official channel.Forward it to classmates to ask what they think.Click the link and log in quickly.Delete it and do nothing else.

Part 1 of 3 · Scenario 32 of 32

Your team must collaborate on a document while working from different places. What is the best setup?

Each person writes separately and someone merges at the end.Email versions back and forth.One person types everything others send on WhatsApp.Use one shared online document with edit access, clear sections for each person, and version history on.