COMM 202:Career Fundamentals

T24 & T25 with Samyta Rai

Let’s get some admin stuff out of the way

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www.tinyurl.com/202tinder

Please bring your name cards to tutorial, this is how I will be tracking your attendance and participation!

Today’s Agenda:

1. Get to know your TA2. Course Expectations3. Putting together a skills matrix4. Activity5. Action Items

Getting to know your TA

Hi, I’m Samyta!

1

Soooo who really am I?

1

2

Above Surface

Below Surface

Soooo who really am I?

1

2

Above Surface

Below Surface

1) Professional Experiences

2) Extracurricular Involvements

Professional Experiences &

Extracurricular Activities

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

COMM 202 SAC

Leading with Confidence ProgramCOMM 202 TACPA Recrutit

Soooo who really am I?

1

2

Above Surface

Below Surface

1) Personality Type2) Interests3) Stories of Failure

Personality Type and

Strengths

Des

crip

tion

Myers Briggs Personality Type

ESFJ..which stands for, extraversion, sensing, feeling, and judgement

Wha

t thi

s lo

oks

like • I’m usually quite loud and

expressive• I focus on details rather than

the ”big picture”• My emotions play a large part

in my decision making process• I like things to be organized

and structured in a logical way

Strengths Quest Personality Type

1. Achiever2. Responsibility3. Relator4. Competition5. Communication

• I am driven and productive• I enjoy close relationships with

others• I take ownership in everything I

commit to• I enjoy friendly competitions• I find it easy to put my thoughts

into words

My Interests

Times that I have failed…

▹ In my first year, I almost switched faculties and did not think Sauder was for me…

▹ I completed the entire COMM 101 group project and almost nearly failed…

… and how I got back up

on my feet afterwards ▹ In my first year, I almost switched

faculties and did not think Sauder was for me…

▹ I completed the entire COMM 101 group project by myself and almost nearly failed…

▹ I pushed myself and got involved in clubs, which made me resilient

▹ Although my group was not willing to help, I took this group project as a learning opportunity and started to speak up for myself. The following semester, I had a group project and we got 95% just because we communicated well.

“Success is most often achieved by those who

don’t know that failure is inevitable.- Coco Chanel

Course Expectations

2

Treat this course like a rehearsal – a safe place to practice!

What it looks like in class…

▹ Contributing and sparking in-class discussions

▹ Using proper in-class/email etiquette

▹ Being punctual and prepared for each class

▹ Not using technology during class

▹ NOT PLAGARIZING

It’s all about professionalism!

and how it impacts your final grade…

10% of your course mark

BUT that doesn’t mean

you can’t be yourself!

In fact, you should!

Ø It makes you more relatable and likeableØ It helps you build trust and form relationshipsØ You’ll be happier and most satisfied in your professional pursuit

Weekly Tutorial

Assignments

Most tutorials, you will have to prepare one assignment, such as…• BCC coaching

appointment• LinkedIn Profile• Job Posting Research• Cover Letter draft• Interview Stream

Each assignment is worth ~2% for a total of 10% in the course

Assignments will be collected in the first 5 minutes of class. All assignments handed in late will receive a grade of zero!

Skills Matrix

3

What you will need to do* For the Skills Matrix assignment, you will need to produce two sets of deliverables:1. 6 positive STAR stories2. 2 failure stories

*Rubric can be found on the COMM 202 blog: Assignments > Skills Matrix > Marking Rubric (bottom of page)

/30

Why is the Skills Matrix important?

The Skills Matrix will help you to clearly articulate your

experiences and strengthsto employers during the application and interview

process.

It will act as the foundation for the rest of your professional toolkit.

Skills Matrix (positive STAR & failure stories)

Week 6 – 8: Cover Letter

Week 6 – 8: Resume

Week 10 – 12: Interview

Professional toolkit

What are positive STAR stories?A positive STAR story is a structured

example of a time when you exhibited a personal strength or skill.

Step #1: Translating your skills into strengths

Strengths Quest themes

1. Achiever

2. Responsibility

3. Relator

4. Competition

5. Communication

Skills

1. Passionate, determined, driven

2. Dependable, reliable, commitment

3. Empathy, trustworthy, teamwork

4. Determined, work ethic, motivated

5. Inspire, listener

Step #2: Communicating your skills with “STAR” statements

Skill demonstrated: Initiative

Situation• Context• Who?• What?• When?• Where?

Task• The objective,

issue or obstacle you had to over come.

• Why is this story significant?

Action• The “how”

• What did you consider/ do to overcome the situation

• What skills were applied

• Your vs. team actions

Result• What was the

result of your actions/decisions?

• How are they relevant to the skill/job?

• Needs to be employer centric

Link• The Lesson

• How will I use this in the future?

Fill out the 5 areas for each of your skills

Step #2: Communicating your skills with “STAR” statements

Skill demonstrated: Initiative

Situation•During my internship at McKinsey this past summer, I participating on a recruitment planning call.

Task•During this call, the team was brainstorming more engaging ways to market McKinsey’s internship program.

Action•I saw an opportunity to contribute and suggested creating a marketing video

•After the meeting, I created a workplandetailing the timeline, steps, and resources required

•I presented the plan and outlined the benefits to the Recruitment Manager and got his buy-in and proceeded in creating the video

Result•After creating the video, I received praise from both the Recruitment Manager and the Managing Partner of the office for taking initiative and ownership over the project, even as an intern

Link•I am a highly proactive individual and will be constantly searching and pursing for opportunities to create an impact in all of the work that I do.

Fill out the 5 areas for each of your skills

What is a failure story? A failure story is an example of a time when

something went wrong and the lessons you learned and steps you took to correct the issue.

These types of questions are very likely to come up in interviews – and ones that you definitely need to prepare ahead of time for!

How to create a failure story

Situation• Context• Who?• What?• When?• Where?

Misstep• What did I do

wrong?

• How am I accountable for the mistakes made?

Failure• What happened

as a result of my actions?

Lesson• What did I learn

through this failure?

Action Steps• How did I

overcome ORwhat will I do now?

How to create a failure story

Situation• Entered the

National Consulting Case Competition with a team 3 others

• This was the first case competition for most of us

Misstep• Before presenting,

I started to psych myself out and loss confidence in myself, became very nervous.

• During the presentation, I forgot what I was going to say

Failure• As a result, our

presentation did not have a cohesive story line and we did not make it into the finals

Lesson• I learned two

things: 1) believe in yourself is extremely important, and 2) we are all human and it’s OK to mess up

Action Steps• I was resilient and

didn’t let this experience deter me from entering into other case competitions

• I practiced with other smaller-scaled competitions and re-entered the following year

What a good failure story will demonstrate:

AuthenticityResilience Ability to learn

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Office HoursRSVP on COOL for Skills Matrix Office Hours!

1. Tuesday, Jan 23rd: 12:30 - 2pm

2. Thursday, Jan 25th: 12:30 - 2pm

3. Tuesday, Jan 30th: 4 - 5:30pm

***Locations have not been confirmed, but will be

somewhere in Henry Angus

Activity Time

4

Take out your notebook/piece of paper and answer these following questions…

1. What is a career path that you have always wanted to pursue, but feel intimidated or discouraged from actually pursuing it? In other words – if money wasn’t an issue, what would you be doing?

2. What does success mean to you?

3. I want you to visualize a typical work day that is 5 years from now. Describe your surroundings, who you’re talking to, and what kind of state are you in? Do not write your job title or the company name.

Keep this piece of paper, and we will revisit it in our last tutorial.

Action items for next week:

1. One on one signups (optional) with me for next week: www.tinyurl.com/202dates

2. Skills Matrix drafts due on Jan 22nd at the start of class: 2 positive and 1 failure stories (you will be presenting in small groups)

3. Final Skills Matrix due at 11:59PM on Jan 31st

on Turnitin: 6 positive and 2 failure stories

4. Pay Course Fee: Online or at HA 443

5. Book your BCC coaching appointment

6. NEXT WEEK IS LECTURE!

1. Email: comm202.7@sauder.ubc.ca

2. One on ones: Sign up available here for timeslots next week

3. Tutorials: Approach me before or after tutorial

4. Office hours: Available throughout the term as assignments come up (stay tuned)

How to get in touch with me:

Thanks!

Any questions?Have a great day!