COMM 202 T31&T32

Wednesday 12pm - 2pm Sarah Brennan

Week 4 Week 5 Week 6

CLASS: Intro to Skills

Matrix

CLASS: Skills Matrix

Presentations

CLASS: Resume &

Cover Letter

DUE: Job Posting Assignment

DUE: Skills Matrix

Draft

DUE: Skills Matrix

Feb 10 (6+2 stories)

Thats less than one story per day!

What do YOU want out of this course?

It starts with YOUR stories!

Strengths SkillsRELATOR — Teamwork, conflict management

MAXIMIZER — Initiative, awareness

FUTURISTIC — Planning, willingness to learn

IDEATION — Creative, innovative

STRATEGIC — Leadership, analytic

S-T-A-R FormatSITUATION

TASK

ACTION

RESULT

LINK

The WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? Set the scene

The WHY? The objective, obstacle or issue you had to conquer

The HOW? What did you consider/do to overcome the situation

What skills were applied — you vs. team

The OUTCOME What was the result of your (teams) actions?

The LESSON How is this relevant to the employer?

Show how what you learned & what you took away

The BIG Picture

Resume

Cover Letter

Interview

Skills Matrix

Your Resume, Cover Letter, and Interview are the Lego blocks to building your

dream job

Your Skills Matrix is the foundation

Skills Matrix …

Skills Matrix

Situation Task Action Result LinkI was the Event

Assistant at GranFondo

Canada, managing the recruitment of

volutneers.

I was responsible for recruiting 900 volunteers. Our focus was on creating an

engagement program to ensure the

volunteers felt valued and

appreciated.

Each newly registered volunteer received a

personalized phone call from myself to welcome

them onto the team while addressing any specific

needs or concerns. I maintained regular

communication through a bi-monthly newsletter

announcing contests and providing event updates. As the event date approached, I created and released a 6-

page training guide — a concise summary of their roles and responsibilities,

my contact information, and an overview of the event.

I was able to measure

engagement by tracking a retention rate of 80% on the

event day while also collecting qualitative

feedback from volunteers through

insightful conversations.

Through this experience I learned

the importance of building relationship

with volunteers so they feel valued and know their efforts are greatly appreciated.

… Cover Letter …

Cover Letter

During my internship as the volunteer coordinator for GranFondo Canada, I implemented an

engagement program for 900 volunteers. Each newly registered volunteer received a

personalized phone call from myself to welcome them onto the team while addressing any specific

needs or concerns. I maintained regular communication through a bi-monthly newsletter

announcing contests and providing event updates. As the event date approached, I

created and released a 6-page training guide — a concise summary of their roles and

responsibilities, my contact information, and an overview of the event. I was able to measure

engagement by tracking a retention rate of 80% on the event day while also collecting qualitative

feedback from volunteers through insightful conversations. Through this experience I learned

the importance of building relationship with volunteers so they feel valued and know their

efforts are greatly appreciated.

… & Resume.

ResumeObtained an overall 80%

retention rate for the volunteer program through consistent and

personalized communication.

Failure FormatSITUATION MIS-STEPS FAILURE LESSON ACTION

The WHO? WHAT?

WHERE? WHEN?

Explain the context

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?

Why are you better for it?

How did you overcome the

failure?

OR

What will you do moving forward?

Failure Stories• Story clearly indicates what went wrong and

accountability is taken

• Majority of story focuses on lessons learned — personal & professional development

• Student shows what would be done differently if faced with a similar situation

• GOAL: Be authentic, humble, & accountable

An Example…

4 - ExcellentStudent has demonstrated an excellent standard in stories. The diversity and quality of stories and proof of CAN/WANT/FIT is clearly apparent.

3 - GoodStudent has begun to build a solid foundation for their resume/cover letter and interview prep moving forward. The diversity and quality of stories and proof of CAN/WANT/FIT is apparent however is not exceptional.

2 – SatisfactoryStudent has a start to understanding their CAN/WANT/FIT to a specific posting though needs to be further developed.

1 – UnsatisfactoryStudent may struggle to prove their CAN/WANT/FIT to a specific job posting given the limited knowledge provided.

Weight

6 Positive STAR Stories

Story meets all of the criteria of STAR listed above and is: Logical Concise Employer Centric

Story meets the majority of the criteria of STAR listed above and is: Logical Concise Employer Centric

Story is complete and meets the majority of the criteria of STAR listed above however does not meet one or more of the following: Logical Concise Employer centric

Story is either incomplete or does not clearly cover STAR format.

X6

6x4=

24 marks possible

2 Failure Stories Story outlines the situation, mis- steps and lessons learned. Personal accountability and reflection is very clearly evident. Majority of the answer is focused on the lesson learned.

Story outlines the situation, mis- steps and lessons learned. Personal accountability and reflection is apparent. Part of the answer is focused on the lesson learned.

Story outlines the situation, and what went wrong. However personal accountability is not proven and/or student does not have “Plan B” if faced with this situation again.

Student fails to outline story and lesson

X2

2x4=

8 marks possible

Remember, stories can come from ANYWHERE!

Activity1) Take 5 minutes to brainstorm a story in STAR format

2) Pair up and share your story

• Applicant — 2 minutes to tell story

• Interviewer — 1 minute to give feedback • Is it specific enough?

• Is the skill relevant?

• Is there any missing information?

• Is it confusing? Does the story flow?

• Is the story relevant for an interview?

Action Items1. SKILLS MATRIX due next week — 3 STAR Stories + 1 Failure

2. Next week is TUTORIAL

3. OFFICE HOURS start next week

4. Come see me if you are not receiving WEEKLY EMAILS