Professional Conduct &

Presentation

CPS-2001 CAREER PLANNING SUCCESS

 Module Objectives

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:

1.Discuss common professional expectations of the Canadian workplace

2.Distinguish between classroom and workplace expectations
3.Discuss common workplace performance evaluation criteria and methods
4.Discuss consequences of failing to meet professional workplace expectations to both the
employee and the employer
5.Create and deliver a presentation that meets professional standards
CANADIAN
WORKPLACE CULTURE &
EXPECTATIONS
THE BALANCE OF HARD & SOFT SKILLS

Hard Skills Soft Skills

Teachable abilities or skill Also known as
sets that are easy to "people skills" or
quantify. "interpersonal skills"
Often specific to the job Universal to any job

50/50
Values in Canadian Workplace Culture

Self-sufficient, yet team focused

Equality
Informality
Punctuality
Integrity
Adaptable
Problem-solving
Going beyond the call of duty
5 Major Areas of the Canadian Workplace Culture

• Communication
• Image
• Diplomacy
• Work Ethic
• Relationship-building
The Highly Valued Problem-solver

Needed in any position

Brings value to employers
Sparks innovation
Improves performance and
the bottom line
10 Common Canadian Work Values
Canada Contrasting Values from Other Cultures
Directness, Honesty, Openness Indirectness/increased directness
Equality Rank or Status
Self-direction Hierarchy
Embrace Change
VS Tradition
Time is Money Time Flexible
Short-term Outlook Long-term Outlook
Individual & Privacy Focus on Group
Work is a Priority & often a Form of Identity Less Work Focused as an Identity
Action & Achievement Relationships-focused
Self-improvement Birthright or fate
Student vs. Employee Expectations

• Hard & Soft Skills

• Punctuality & Attendance
• Quality of Work
• Feedback
• Initiative
• Engage & Contribute
• Continuous Learning
• Communication & Presentations
• Conflict Resolution
• Relationship-building
• Personal Appearance

How may expectations vary from the classroom to the professional workplace?
Activity:
Ways to Display Self-sufficient Integrity
Workplace Professional
Behaviour
Team player Adaptable

Instructions:
In pairs, choose 3 soft skills from Punctual Problem-solver
the word cloud and provide
specific examples of how to
embody these values. Be
prepared to share with the class
Reliable Trustworthy
Workplace Performance/Feedback
Various processes used to evaluation employee performance

?
Example: Performance Evaluation Discussion

Most performance reviews will be built on six fundamental

components:
• Communication
• Collaboration and teamwork How do the employer and the
• Problem-solving employee benefit from a
• Quality and accuracy of work performance discussion?
• Attendance and dependability
• Ability to accomplish goals and meet deadlines
Various
Performance
Evaluation
Methods

(Kissflowprocess, 2020) https://kissflow.com/hr/performance-management/employee-performance-appraisal-method/

Consequences of Poor Performance

What do you think the consequences are for

?
poor performance?

Short-term/long-term?
Consequences to the individual and future
career?
Professional Presentation

A professional presentation
has a polished look and feel!
15 Key Elements of a Professional Presentation
• Clear presentation objective and conclusion - what is the purpose
• Well-rehearsed and backup plans in place (just in case)
• Practice transitions (if team presentation)
• Slide consistency (same look and feel)
• Visually driven - limited text
• Brand consistent, if relevant
• Quality content and relevant quality images (Pixabay/Pexels etc.)
• Technical equipment tested and mastered
• Remain in eye contact with your audience
• Storytelling, no reading
• Well dressed
• Stays within time limit
• Include audience if appropriate (questions, polls etc.)
Check out this article: https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/business-
• Free of spelling/grammatical errors
presentation-mistakes--cms-27325
• Includes references if applicable
Visual Mistakes to Avoid

Inconsistent use of images:

• Choose one style and stick
to it (i.e. realistic or clipart,
do not mix)
Visual Mistakes to Avoid
Watermarked & low resolution images:
• Watermarked images are off limit!
• Low resolution images are blurry and
do not have a polished professional
feel
(uconomix.com, 2021) https://www.uconomix.com/Products/uMark/

Did you know that photo sites such as Pexels and Pixabay allow
royalty-free access to professional images as long as it is not used
for commercial use?
Visual Mistakes to Avoid
Meet Bear
• Once upon a time there was a •
bear that lived in the woods and
liked berries. He went searching
for berries everyday at the same
time
• Bear had no family but he had
lots of friends. He liked walking
with his friend the turtle every
morning.
• Today was a special day because
it was bear's birthday
Text heavy:
• Leaves the audience overwhelmed and likely
Bear was hoping to have a
nice birthday cake made with
to tune out
lots of honey. He hopes to
have birthday decorations
• Use key words that allow you to storytell
such as little flags
• Use relevant images to help tell the story
Meet Bear
• Bear's home
• Bear's friends
• Bear's birthday
Visual Mistakes to Avoid
Balance your slide content:
Meet Bear
• Avoid the feeling that a slide is off balance
• Arrange your text boxes and images in a
balanced format - easy on the eye

Meet Bear
Time to Reflect!

?
What areas of your presentation
skills would you like to enhance
Putting Your Teamwork and Presentation Skills to the Test

Career Prep Team Video Assignment (15%)

Pre-Recorded Videos Will be Presented In Class Week 5
Career Prep Team Video Assignment (15%)
Objective: Demonstrate an organized and effective preparation approach for WIL term
Instructions:
• Team of 5-6 members assigned by your instructor
• As a team create an 8–10 minute (maximum) video that includes the following content:
⚬Personal examples of how to position yourself well for the WIL term (i.e., brand
profile, elevator pitch marketing materials etc.)
⚬Personal examples of skills assessment and development
⚬Personal examples of job search action plans (tracking of information, networking
etc.)
⚬Examples of how you prepare for and master interviews
• The video should have a brief introduction and closing (conclusion)
• The video must have accompanying slides for the presentation and all members must
have their cameras on
• All members must equally contribute and appear on screen
• The video must have a professional look and feel and must be well-rehearsed (consider
how to transition from between different presenters)
Career Prep Team Video Assignment (15%)

Note: It is important to make the video personalized by sharing actual examples of

team members' approaches, rather than generally discuss how you can sell yourself
etc. Your instructor is aware of how this is done, they are interested in seeing how
you actually plan to prepare for success during the WIL upcoming term and future
career

Submission Instructions:
Please upload video by specified date; each team will present their pre-recorded
videos In-Class Week 5

! References
There is no need to reference the material used in the slides/video as long as it is owned by team
members. However, citations and references must be included if additional information is used for the
video (APA format)
Career Prep Team Video Assignment - Marking Criteria (15%)
Format & Organization
• Follow specified length and video format requirements
•
•
Information is presented in a logical sequence
Video has an introduction and closing (drawing a conclusion)
/3
• Correct references inlcuded (if necessary)

Content
• Personalized examples and storytelling, rather than generic and general comments
• Addresses all four content areas, how to position/market yourself, personal skills assessment/development, Job search action plan management and
how to prepare and master interviews
• Relevant and up-to-date examples used /6
• Correct terminology applied

Visual Aids
• Slides are professionally designed, following design principles outlines in class
• Consistent look and feel, well-balanced, professional images /3
• Supporting the storytelling in the presentation, rather than reading from slides

Technical
• Free of spelling & grammatical errors
Smooth transition between speakers, no background noise, no distracting backgrounds. Cameras and microphones turned on
•
• Upbeat, smiling personality and professionally dressed presenters
/3
• Well-rehearsed, storytelling rather than reading/static presentation of information
• Interesting and engaging for audience

Total /15
Time to Get to Work!

Teams will now begin planning their

presentations for the remainder of class