COMM 202: Lecture 2Intro to Job Search and Telling Your Story

Agenda

• SQ Review

• Job Search basics• Telling Your Story• Intro to the Skills Matrix/STAR Stories

strengthsquest review

Most common:• Restorative

• Relator

• Individualization

• Achiever

• Competition

• Harmony

Least common:• Self-Assurance

• Belief

• Connectedness

• Command

• Arranger

• Activator

Most Common Themes

The 4 domains of leadership

EXECUTING INFLUENCING RELATIONSHIP

BUILDING

STRATEGIC

THINKING

ACHIEVER ACTIVATOR ADAPTABILITY ANALYTICAL

ARRANGER COMMAND DEVELOPER CONTEXT

BELIEF COMMUNICATION CONNECTEDNESS FUTURISTIC

CONSISTENCY COMPETITION EMPATHY IDEATION

DELIBERATIVE MAXIMIZER HARMONY INPUT

DISCIPLINE SELF-ASSURANCE INCLUDER INTELLECTION

FOCUS SIGNIFICANCE INDIVIDUALIZATION LEARNER

RESPONSIBILITY WOO POSITIVITY STRATEGIC

RESTORATIVE RELATOR

interested?

Copies in the CLC

Check out your top 5 themes- Affirm your themes- Developing your themes- Your themes in Academics- Your themes in Career

Choices

why?

What do they want to know…

Do I want the job?

Can I do the job?

Am I a good fit?

How do employers hire?

Ads & Job Boards

Recruitment Agencies

Professional Organizations

Networking/Word of Mouth

Contacts from existing staff

Internal promotion / lateral moves / temps / consultants

Where are most jobs found?

80%

Why does the HJM exist?

Employers like to save money!

Employers hire people they know!

Employers hire people referred to them!

Employers hire people they meet at the right time!

Tools of the job search

1. Your key selling points – skills matrix2. Not the job posting – but someone you know

– Your network/info interviews!

3. Your resume & cover letter4. Follow up5. Interviewing skills

telling your story

telling your story

• Stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts and figures alone.– Stories shape how others see you

– Stories are tools of power

– Stories persuade

4 elements of successful stories

• A goal – why are you telling your story? What do you want your audience to think at the end?

• Grab attention – why would people want to listen to your story?

• Engage – relatable, engaging and compelling –elements of a good story

• Enable – memorable and easy to retell.

SKILLS MATRIX

WHY SKILLS MATRIX?

Three reasons to identify and practice your competencies:

1.Reflect on your experiences• Identify your own competency levels and employability• Measure your progress towards your goals• Improve the quality of your work

2.Strengthen the link between your academic and workplace learning

• Bring your learning to life3.Express your value to employers

• Competency-based or behavioral questions in interviews• E.g. Tell me about a time you had to share bad news with a

boss of colleague.• E.g. Give me an example of a conflict you’ve had in the

workplace and how you resolved it.

Resume Tool

Cover Letter Tool

Interview Tool

• UNIQUE stories for accomplishment statements

• compelling stories for body paragraphs

• preparing by anticipating questions

• ensures BREADTH across skills & experiences

foundation

Situation

• Set the scene• Who?• What?• Where?• When?

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/Link

• The Lesson/Outcome

• What was the result of your actions/decisions?

• How are they relevant to the skill/job?

• Needs to be employer centric

Using STAR to tell your story

S T A R

first skills matrix attempt

Skill Experience Situation Task Action Result Link

Leadership Sales Associate @Nike Store

There was a rush on Christmas

Eve, my manager went home sick

People were abandoningsales and the line-ups were really long

I told everyone to move to their own stations and had the experience

d cashiers take the line-ups.

$20,000 in sales

what is wrong with this?

Action didn’t go into enough detail (50%-60% of the story)

Action doesn’t reflect the Skill

Significance of the Result

Missing Link

More Details Needed

second draft

Skill Experience Situation Task Action Result Link

Sales Associate @

Nike Store

Christmas Eve

Rush, manager

went home

sick, usually

our largest

sales day of the

year, but new

SportsCheck

had opened in

the mall down

the street and

we feared

losing

customers

Our line up

were getting

long and

customers

began

abandoning

their intended

purchases in

the line up. We

usually have a

one sales rep

to one

customer

policy, but even

after calling in

extra staff, we

couldn’t meet

demand

I proposed that we

move to a “zone

defense” strategy and

placed different people

in their areas of

expertise. Because I

had built strong

relationships with my

team and had gotten to

know their strengths, I

was able to delegate

tasks efficiently. Two

people who were great

cashiers took cash full

time, I ran women’s

shoes, another rep ran

men’s shoes, etc. and

then directed our

customers to the check

out once we had made

the sale.

Moved

customers

quickly

through the

store, had

much

shorter line

up, and had

a record

high

Christmas

Eve with

over

$20,000 in

sales

(almost

double the

previous

year)

Shows my

ability to

lead in

times of

stress and

not only

survive,

but thrive

Lea

de

rsh

ip

1. Team work2. Problem Solving3. Organization4. Communication 5. Adaptability6. Technical skills7. Analysis8. Initiative9. Learning10.Resilience

from Job Outlook 2014, National Association of Colleges and Employers

top skills employers are looking for:

• Personal Management• Managing Information• Commitment to quality• Professional behavior• Social Responsibility• Continuous Learning• Cross-cultural skills

comeback stories“Failure stories are either change of perspective or

art of the recovery”

Comeback/Fail Stories

Situation

Mis-steps

Failure

Learnings

Action Steps

SelfAw

areness/Accountability

Situation/context – 5W’s

What led to the failure?

What was the failure?

Upon reflection, what did you learn in this situation?

What would you do /have you done differently (if) in this

situation again?

fail story

What makes a good STARL?

STARL stories must be:

• Observable• Measurable (qualitative/quantitative)• Linked to the workplace, academic

environment and other life experiences• Use transferable skills tailored to where

you are going• Based on performance (results) instead of

task (duty)