September 15th 2017

1. COMM 202:
Career Fundamentals
T18 & T19 with Natiqa Babar

2. Let’s start off!
1) Assignment Collection
2) Info Collection: www.tinyurl.com/202tinder
3) Pay course fees : https://webforms.sauder.ubc.ca/students/pay-fees
3) Introductions

3. Our Agenda for Today
1. Getting to know your TA
2. Course expectations
3. Putting together a Skills Matrix

4. 1. Getting to know your TA

5. On the surface1
2 Below the
surface

6. On the surface1
2 Below the
surface
1) Extracurricular
involvements
2) Professional work
experience

7. Before
UBC
After UBC

8. On the surface1
2 Below the
surface
1) Personality type
2) Interests
3) Stories of failure

9. 1) My personality type
Strengths Quest Personality Type
1. Learner
2. Communication
3. Competition
4. Achiever
5. Ideation
1. I am a fast-learner and adjust to change with ease.
2. I like to initiate ideas or conversations
3. Competition gives me a rush and tends to motivate me
4. I equate satisfaction with productivity
5. I thrive in brainstorming environments, particularly in
teams

10. 3) Times I have failed
First year, I applied for a
sales position at Lego. I
choked during the group
interview and fled the scene
as soon as possible,
Sometimes, I failed by
giving up opportunities
without even trying them;
thinking I wasn’t good
enough to apply!

11. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the
courage to continue that counts.”
- Winston Churchill

12. 2. Course Expectations

13. Treat this course like a…
…a safe place to practice

14. It’s all about professionalism
What this looks like in class...
• Contributing and
speaking in-class
discussions
• Using proper
in-class/email etiquette
• Being punctual and
prepared for each class
• Not using technology
during class
• NOT PLAGIARIZING
… and how it impacts your final grade
5% of
your
course
mark

15. …but that
doesn’t mean
you can’t be
yourself!

16. In fact, you should!
• It makes you more relatable and likeable
• It helps you build trust and form relationships
• You’ll be happier and most satisfied in your professional pursuit

17. 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
Weekly tutorial assignments
Assignments will be collected in the first 5 minutes of class. All
assignments handed in late will receive a grade of zero!

18. 3. Putting Together a Skills
Matrix

19. What you will need to do*
For the Skills Matrix assignment, you
will need to produce two sets of
deliverables:
1. 6 positive STAR stories
2. 2 failure stories
*Rubric can be found on the COMM 202 blog: Assignments > Skills Matrix > Marking Rubric (bottom of page)

20. Why is the Skills Matrix important?
Skills Matrix (positive STAR & failure stories)
Week 6 – 8: Cover Letter
Week 6 – 8: Resume
Week 10 – 12: Interview
The Skills Matrix will help you
to clearly articulate your
experiences and strengths to
employers during the
application and interview
process.
It will act as the foundation for
the rest of your professional
toolkit.
Professional
toolkit

21. What are positive STAR stories?
A positive STAR story is a structured
example of a time when you
exhibited a personal strength or
skill.

22. Step #1: Translating your strengths into skills
1. Learner
2. Communication
3. Competition
4. Achiever
5. Ideation
Strengths-Quest Themes Skills
• Fast learner, Vigilant, Critical thinking
• Empathy, Articulation, Initiative
• Passion, Determination, Work-Ethic
• Problem solving, Big-Picture envisioner
• Innovation, Creativity, Team-work

23. Step #2: Communicating your skills with “STAR” statements
Situation
• Context
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
Task
• The objective,
issue or
obstacle you
had to
overcome.
• 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/decision
s?
• How are they
relevant to the
skill/job?
• Needs to be
employer centric
Link
• The Lesson
• How will I use
this in the
future?
Skill demonstrated:
Fill out the 5 areas for each of your skills

24. Step #2: Communicating your skills with “STAR” statements
Situation
My marketing class
required the creation
of an original video.
Task
No one had any major
videography
experience. I was the
only one with any
viable equipment.
Action
• I saw an opportunity
to contribute and
volunteered to
research
videography.
• I met with
photographers on
campus and
requested for a short
lesson.
• I practised mock
videos and
convinced them to
let me borrow their
equipment.
Result
The team could now
efficiently focus on
the task at hand and
we delivered a
well-put video.
It received the highest
number of online
views in our class.
Link
• I am a highly
proactive individual
and will be
constantly searching
and pursuing for
opportunities to
create an impact in
all of the work that I
do.
Fill out the 5 areas for each of your skills
Skill demonstrated: Initiative

25. 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!

26. 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
OR what
will I do
now?

27. How to create a failure story
Situation
• During my
time at
Faubourg, a
group of
customers
dined and
dashed.
Misstep
• While trying
to multitask, I
was at the
back-end of
the restaurant
when I should
have been up
front.
• I should have
timed my
appearances
more
frequently.
Failure
• As a result,
the restaurant
lost about $85
in sales.
Lesson
• I learnt to
stay more
vigilant and
careful while
at work.
• I learnt that
mistakes
happen and I
should not
hold it against
myself.
Action Steps
• I created a
mental
checklist that
would help
me stay
organized and
on top of my
customers.
This would
help reduce
all
possibilities
of repetition.

28. What a good failure story will demonstrate
Resilience Ability to Learn
✓ ✓ ✓
Authenticity

29. 1. One on one signups (optional) with me for next
week
2. Skills Matrix drafts due on October 6th
at the
start of class: 2 positive and 1 failure stories
3. Final Skills Matrix due October 13th
on
Turnitin: 6 positive and 2 failure stories
Action items for next week

30. 1. Email: comm202.4@sauder.ubc.ca
2. I need your info: please fill out the form at
www.tinyurl.com/202tinder
3. One on ones: sign ups for timeslots next
week. (I will sending out an email)
4. Tutorials: feel free to approach me before
or after
5. Office hours: available throughout the term
as assignments come up (keep posted!)
Let’s stay in touch! Call me
maybe?

31. Questions?

32. Have a nice day!