This document contains the notes from a tutorial for the course COMM 202: Career Fundamentals. The TA, Amanda Bamford, introduces herself and shares her background, interests, and stories of failure and recovery. She outlines the course expectations, including assignments, grading, and professionalism. She then explains the skills matrix assignment, where students will write positive examples of their skills using the STAR method and examples of failures and lessons learned. The TA provides examples and guidance for completing these assignments.

1. COMM 202: Career
Fundamentals
Amanda Bamford
T02 & T16

2. Please Hand in Your StrengthsQuest Assignment
Your
Assignment
You
All assignments must be handed in the first 5 minute of class

3. Quick Administrative Ask
We need your email address to send you reminders!
Please go to this link and fill out the information:
http://bit.ly/2p0G0QG

4. Our Agenda for Today
1. Getting to know your TA
2. Course expectations
3. Creating a skills matrix

5. Getting to Know Your TA

6. Who Am I?

7. Who Am I?
• Extra-curricular involvement
• Professional experience

8. Extra-Curricular and Professional Experience
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Sauder Centre for
Social Innovation
and Impact Investing
COMM 101 TA
BMMP Mentee
HR Competitor Marketing
Competitor

9. Who Am I?
• Personality type
• Interests
• Stories of failure

10. Personality Assessments
WhatThisLooksLikeDescription
Myers-Briggs Personality Type
INFJ
• I am reserved in my attitude yet
confident in my convictions
• I prefer to align myself to goals
that are bigger than myself
• I’m an idealist and someone who
believes in doing the right thing, no
matter the consequences
...which stands for introverted,
intuitive, feeling, and judging
StrengthsQuest Themes
1. Restorative
2. Input
3. Intellection
4. Strategic
5. Connectedness
• I love facing problems and trying to solve them
• I’m very curious and introspective, craving
lots of information (inner and outer knowledge)
• I’m adaptable in the face of challenges
• I’m a believer of “things happening for a
reason” and that there are few coincidences

11. Some of My Interests

12. Times I’ve experienced failure…
At the end of 3rd year (2017), I applied
to the Brand Management Mentorship
Program, got an interview, but was
extremely unprepared and was not
accepted into the program.
I asked for feedback and identified all the areas in which I
was a weak candidate. I then ensured that I worked
continually to improve in those areas (limited experience
and lack of personal focus) and prepped for the 2018
cohort interview through mock interviews with alumni of
the program.
Made the cohort and made it into the resume book.
At the end of 3rd year, I applied to a
dozen jobs, had a few final round
interviews, and was ultimately rejected
from all of them.
When I had secured an interview with Nintendo, I visited
Hatinder Hari in the BCC before both interview rounds to
prepare questions that I could expect and improve my
performance overall.
Successfully got the internship!

13. …and how I picked myself back up
At the end of 3rd year (2017), I applied
to the Brand Management Mentorship
Program, got an interview, but was
extremely unprepared and was not
accepted into the program.
I asked for feedback and identified all the areas in which I
was a weak candidate. I then ensured that I worked
continually to improve in those areas (limited experience
and lack of personal focus) and prepped for the 2018
cohort interview through mock interviews with alumni of
the program.
Made the cohort and made it into the resume book.
At the end of 3rd year, I applied to a
dozen jobs, had a few final round
interviews, and was ultimately rejected
from all of them.
When I had secured an interview with Nintendo, I visited
Hatinder Hari in the BCC before both interview rounds to
prepare questions that I could expect and improve my
performance overall.
Successfully got the internship!

14. Course Expectations

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

16. It’s all about professionalism
What this 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 PLAGIARIZING
10% of your
course mark!
…and how it impacts your final grade

17. …but that doesn’t mean you can’t be yourself!
In fact, you should!
• It makes you more
relatable and likeable
• It helps you build trust
and form relationships
• You’ll be happier and
more satisfied in your
professional pursuit!

18. Weekly Tutorials Assignments
Most tutorials, you will have to prepare
one assignment, such as…
• StrengthsQuest
• Skills Matrix Presentation
• Job Posting Research
• Cover Letter/Resume Draft
• ECR Assessment
Each assignment is worth 2% for a total
of 10% in the course
Assignments will be collected in the first five minutes of class. All
assignments handed in late will receive a grade of zero!

19. Creating a Skills Matrix

20. 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)
/24

21. Why Is The Skills Matrix Important?
Skills Matrix (positive STAR
and failure stories)
Week 6 – 8: Cover Letter
Week 10 – 12: Interview
Week 6 – 8: Resume
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

22. What Are Positive STAR Stories?
A positive STAR story is a structured example of a time
when you exhibited a personal strength or skill.

23. Step 1: Translating Your Strengths Into Skills
1. Restorative
2. Input
3. Intellection
4. Strategic
5. Connectedness
StrengthsQuest Themes Skills
• Problem-solver, challenger, analytical
• Inquisitive, knowledgeable, learner
• Thinker, introspective, imaginative
• Intuitive, focused, adaptable
• Idealistic, empathetic, purposeful

24. Step #2: Communicating Your Skills with “STAR” Statements
Situation Task Action Result Lesson/Link
• Context
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• The objective,
issue, or
obstacle you
had to
overcome.
• Why is this
story
significant?
• The “how”
• What did you
consider/ do
to overcome
the situation
• What skills
were applied
• Your vs team
actions
• What was the
result of your
actions/
decision?
• How are they
relevant to the
skill/job?
• Needs to be
employer
centric
• The Lesson
• How will I use
this in the
future?
Fill out the 5 areas for each of your skills
Skill Demonstrated: Strategic Influencing

25. Step #2: Communicating Your Skills with “STAR” Statements
Situation Task Action Result Lesson/Link
I was the
National
Account Intern,
supporting the
management of
the Amazon
Canada account.
Assigned to the
Amazon Canada
account, one of my
responsibilities was
securing product listings
for Amazon.ca.
However, when I
routinely suggested that
Amazon Canada list a
limited edition product
that was launching in
the fall alongside the
standard edition, they
rejected my suggestion
and claimed that the
SKU was too similar to
the regular version.
Determined to build my
account, I analyzed the
sales trends of previous
limited edition Nintendo
products that had
Amazon Canada had
sold in the past,
uncovering that all the
SKUs either sold out
before or shortly after
the product's launch. I
then presented my
analysis to the Amazon
Canada buyer, settling
their worries about the
product's sales potential.
Amazon Canada
agreed to list the
product,
securing
$240,000 in
future revenue
for Nintendo of
Canada Ltd. as
the product
eventually sold
out as expected.
Using evidence
to build my case
is an effective
way to persuade
others. Through
this skill, I can
connect with
others positively
while being
analytical in my
thought.
Skill Demonstrated: Strategic Influencing
Fill out the 5 areas for each of your skills

26. 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!

27. How To Create a Failure Story
Situation Misstep Failure Lesson Action Steps
• Context
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• What did I do
wrong?
• How am I
accountable
for the
mistakes
made?
• What
happened as
a result of my
actions?
• What did I
learn through
this failure?
• How did I
overcome OR
what will I do
now?

28. How To Create a Failure Story
Situation Misstep Failure Lesson Action Steps
Digital Marketing
Intern at Awake
Labs, working on
a crowdfunding
campaign for a
product launch.
Our campaign
was under-
performing and I
was desperate to
get our
campaign sales
up. I made
several
recommend-
ations without
any supporting
analysis that it
would drive
sales.
As a result, my
team and I
wasted our time
executing tactics
and new
campaign perks
that did not help
the campaign
reach its goal
and only 75% of
the $50K goal
was reached
after 2 months.
Every business
decision that will
use up a solid
amount of
resources (in this
case, our time)
needs to be
based in
evidence and
analysis to
support that the
action will help
push towards the
end goal.
In the years
since, I’ve been
continually
training my mind
to be more data-
driven and have
since made
successful
decisions rooted
in fact and
analysis.

29. What A Good Failure Story Will Demonstrate
Authenticity
Ability to Learn
Resilience

30. Action Items for Next Week
1. Sign up for your BCC appointment!
Instructions on Canvas and worth 10%!
2. One-on-one signups (optional) with me
for next week
URL: https://tinyurl.com/amanda202
3. Skills Matrix drafts due on September 24th
(T02) 28th (T16) at the start of class:
2 positive STAR and 1 failure stories
4. Final Skills Matrix due October 4th on
Turnitin:
6 positive STAR and 2 failure stories

31. How to Get in Touch with Me
1. Email: comm202.1@sauder.ubc.ca
2. One-on-ones: Sign up at
https://tinyurl.com/amanda202
3. Tutorials: Feel free to approach me
before or after
4. Office hours: Will become
available throughout the term as
assignments come up!

32. Questions?
Have a great day!