Financial WISDOM: How to Get Hired (and Succeed at Work) B E1150

When: Thursdays, 3–4 pm, 1 October – 5 November
Where: Online via Microsoft Teams
Who: Grades 9 and up

Planning for a career can be challenging at the best of times. The rapid advancement of AI, which is upending industries and labour markets, can feel overwhelming. Whether we like it or not, we need to plan to work in a world that is being permanently changed by AI. In this course, Travis Callaway, an AI investor, university instructor, and businessman, will help students prepare for higher education and career decisions in the age of AI, using practical examples and real-life scenarios so that students can prudently plan for their workplace futures. 

Session 1: Discovering Your Talents and Career or Vocation

Objectives:

1. Reflect on personal strengths, interests, and values
2. Differentiate between a job, a career, and a vocation
3. Discuss various career paths and how a career unfolds over a lifetime 
4. Exercise on discovering talents

Session 2: Exploring Career Paths and Opportunities

Objectives:

1. Learn how to research career fields and the requirements for them
2. Explore higher education (e.g., university), the trades, and entrepreneurial options
3. Discuss education requirements and options for several popular or common career paths, focusing on how AI is changing many traditional career paths
4. Exercise on researching college, university or trade school options 

Session 3: Essential Skills

Objectives:

1. Learn about the importance of communication, teamwork, and problem-solving
2. Discuss the growing importance of empathy, communication and adaptability in the workplace due to AI
3. Learn about time management, professionalism, and key technology familiarity  
4. Connect workplace skills to virtues such as diligence, honesty, and integrity 
5. Exercise on how a certain technology skill-set (e.g., Microsoft Excel) can be used in the workplace to make business decisions 

Session 4: Resumes, Job Applications, and Interviews

Objectives:

1. Learn how to write a resume and cover letter
2. Understand how to complete job applications
3. Learn about hiring practices and mistakes to avoid when looking for a job, especially as AI changes the hiring practices of companies  
4. Practice interview skills
5. Exercise on conducting a mock job interview 

Session 5: Financial Literacy in the World of Work 

Objectives:

1. Learn how opportunity cost impacts career decisions, and how to think about making career choices through a financial lens 
2. Understand the different ways to be paid for work (salaries, hourly, project-based, commissions, etc.) and the pros and cons of each 
3. Learn how to read a paycheck and understand deductions including taxation 
4. Discuss budgeting with earned income
5. Exercise on building a personal budget to help make career decisions   

Session 6: Building Your Career Plan and Next Steps

Objectives:

1. Develop a personal career action plan with several options included
2. Identify your personal next steps: courses, networking, volunteering, internships, etc. 
3. Discuss potentially exploring entrepreneurship alongside a career path
4. Exercise on coming up with a business idea and starting a small business 

Looking to achieve CALM outcomes?

Money and Finance Made Easy aligns very well with General Outcome 2: Resource Choices of CALM 20 by covering banking, budgeting, credit, saving, investing, and real-world financial decisions, helping students learn to use their financial resources prudently, while Investing Made Easy builds depth in the saving and investing portion of this outcome. Signing up for both courses would offer a comprehensive foundation in financial literacy that meaningfully supports the CALM 20 General Outcome 2: Resource Choices. Additional supplementation of learning activities may be necessary. Please consult the Alberta Program of Studies for more information. 

Participating in the Financial WISDOM: Starting Your Own Business Workshop will help you achieve many of the specific learning outcomes associated with CALM 20 within the General Outcome 3: Career & Life Choices. The strongest alignment with the CALM outcomes is in the areas of exploring and advancing careers through entrepreneurship, as well as in developing planning and decision-making skills essential for lifelong career growth. Additional supplementation of learning activities may be necessary. Please consult the Alberta Program of Studies for more information.

Instructor Bio: Travis earned a Bachelor of Arts in Law & Society at the University of Calgary, a Master of Business Administration in Finance at Durham University in England, the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is currently completing a Master of Theological Studies at the University of Toronto. He has worked in the advertising, technology start-ups, real estate and higher education industries in addition to working in the finance and investment industries. He was previously Vice President of Finance for an AI-dependent technology business and a venture capitalist who invested in multiple AI start-up companies in Canada, the United States, Europe and Latin America. He teaches at both the University of Calgary's medical school and Mount Royal University's business school.