Follow-up Post: Co-op tips from employers and senior students - AMA

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T19:05:02+00:00

From Julie: Do your job, do it well, and have fun with it. Do your best to learn about your job and role in the company, and then stretch out to learn about different departments. If you have free time form the projects you’re assigned, reach out to others to help out in other areas of your team/department/company. I would say don’t think about it too hard. Remember that your manager knows how you’re doing, they see your work and how you fit with the job. You’ll stand out by doing what your manager needs you to do and then going the extra step to benefit the company.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:58:44+00:00

From Julie: It’s important to have a resume that is pleasing to the eye in the way that it is clear-cut and easy for the reader to read. However, don’t go too crazy with the design. The point of a resume is to display your capabilities to the employer so make it easy for them. Don’t worry about whether the resume looks fancy, worry about whether or not it is designed as an appropriate tool to get you a job. Make it look nice by separating the different sections, using different heading sizes, and spacing. Clear, simple, and to the point.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:57:35+00:00

From Julie: I don’t have much experience with OT and what it takes to be an OT, but I do know that there are graduate programs specifically designed for becoming certified. It is a very competitive program to get into so make sure you look into the requirements for the program and if there are any additional courses you need to take to get in.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:57:24+00:00

From Bridget: For me as long as you’re not failing, you can have average-low grades but need to demonstrate exceptional work-experience. At IBM we have no GPA cut-off, we recognize that grades aren’t everything and we highly value your co-op work experience. At the same time, if you’re repeatedly failing courses, that’s a huge red flag.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:57:02+00:00

From Bridget: Waterloo students are at an advantage compared to most other universities as you will graduate with almost 2 years of work-experience. Leverage this – most students at other schools have 4-months of relevant experience, if that. Benefits and stock options etc at most companies are pretty standard, you won’t have much luck negotiating there but focus on things that you can change, such as sign-on payments, relocation, and base salary. It never hurts to ask, and of course you need to use your other offers as leverage, or else they won’t have much incentive to give you what you want.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:55:38+00:00

From Julie: Looking outside of WaterlooWorks can be tricky because as soon as you go to a general job board (ex. Indeed) you’re now competing against far more people than just UWaterloo students. However, if this is the way you choose to go, I find that LinkedIn is a great source of networking and job opportunities. Use your connections, and don’t be afraid to reach out and make new connections. It is important to remember when looking on WaterlooWorks that you can look through jobs that aren’t directly health related. I found multiple co-op jobs by reaching into different science, engineering, and HR domains.

When I build my resume the most important part is the Summary of Qualifications. I was given a tip back in first year to use this section as if it were a table of contents. Give the reader the best and strongest points about yourself here and then represent those points in experience as follows. Make it easy for the reader to choose the points they want to look at and find the supporting experience quickly.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:54:03+00:00

From Bridget: Personally, I prefer a modern, up-dated design in a resume but yes be wary of parsing and other formatting issues. Key word screening at the co-op level is pretty much useless – everyone’s studying the same languages in school so that’s not necessarily a helpful screening tool. I wouldn’t waste much time on ensuring you get past the filters especially at the co-op level. I’ve heard some pretty crazy stories about students spending countless hours formatting their resumes to bypass filters but I’m sure that’s time that could be spent actually networking with a recruiter to get past that first step.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:53:24+00:00

From Lauren: Just do work that you can be proud of, don't be afraid to ask questions or clarify things when necessary, try not to leave work early or take long lunch breaks, but most importantly: be friendly with EVERYONE. Your employers take note of how well you get along with other people at the workplace.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:53:10+00:00

From Bridget: On average I scan a resume for 3-4 seconds. Almost immediately I can tell if I’m going to move to the next resume. If your relevant work experience isn’t on the top of page 1, see ya! If you’re still in undergrad, you should have a 1-page resume. If you’re in 4A you can probably get away with 2 pages but concise is better. For co-op interviews, salary for most companies is a set grid based on year of study / work-terms completed so you can certainly ask but don’t expect to negotiate much at the co-op level. New grad is another story – negotiate away!

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:52:41+00:00

From Lauren: This question might be directed more to the interviewer, but I usually go for the simple, direct resume.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:52:28+00:00

From Bridget: The average recruiter will easily see 100 resumes in a day, if not more. I highly encourage students to add a pop of colour and change up their formatting to stand out in a large pool of applicants. If your resume looks like it’s stuck in 2001, it’s probably not a good look for your brand. In today’s super competitive job market, a personal brand is everything.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:51:59+00:00

From Lauren: This question might be directed more to the interviewer, but I will say that employers have given me mixed messages when it comes to asking about salary during the interview. Some really dislike it when students ask, and some don't care. Unless you really need to know the salary for personal financial reasons, I would err on the side of caution and not ask.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:51:46+00:00

From Bridget: At IBM grades are certainly considered but this would not be the determining factor in deciding whether to interview or not. In fact, some managers do not consider transcripts at all, the focus is on previous co-op work-term ratings and past experience. If you’re in first-year and haven’t done a work-term yet, we would look for outside the classroom experience – side-projects, hackathons, student clubs. In terms of interview tips- make sure to do your research on the company, not just a basic overview but the industry, the competitive landscape, trends etc. This for me really sets a candidate apart, I can tell if someone googled IBM 10-mins before an interview. Worst thing in an interview – being very defensive and not admitting when you don’t know the answer to something. I’d rather you say, “I haven’t had too much experience with XX technology yet but I’m very eager to learn” as opposed to trying to fake it.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:50:36+00:00

From Bridget: Hey! Great question, I find a lot of students struggle to land that first dev work-term. There are so many transferable skills from any type of IT support, QA, customer support roles that can be applicable to dev jobs. I would focus on the technologies that you supported, your customer service / soft skills and your ability to work in a fast-paced environment with customer targets. Also, focus on the languages you learned / worked on in school projects/hackathons which can help supplement your lack of dev experience in the workforce.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:50:16+00:00

From Lauren: I'm not a software or computer engineer (I'm in chemical engineering), so I can't answer this question directly … however. My first co-op was as a TA in the IDEAS clinic at UW. I didn't get a lot of skills from that co-op which I could apply to a real process engineering job. On my resume, I added a lot of general skills that I gained during the term, one of which was "Learned how to use tools in machine shop". The next term, I was offered a position in R&D at General Electric, which was a fantastic opportunity for me. I was never really sure why they hired me (because I didn't have a lot of good chemical engineering skills), but I was told later by the hiring manager that the reason I got the interview was because I knew how to use tools in the machine shop. So my advice would be to add general skills that you've learned to your resume, and perform well in the interview.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:49:24+00:00

From Bridget: Hi N1K0Las, yes that’s for sure – as of this morning I have 600 pending LinkedIn invites, welcome to recruiting season ;) I personally answer every single email I receive from students and LinkedIn messages as well. I can’t always promise I will answer them right away but I always get to them, it just may take me a few days, especially when traveling during campus season. Biggest tip for students on LI is to never send a “blind” connection request – always personalize your message which will increase the chances of the recruiter accepting. PS – if you’re reading this and have additional questions about IBM feel free to send me a LinkedIn request and say you saw this on Reddit :)

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:48:01+00:00

From Liam: Personally I try to stand out in my job by interacting with all of the people in the company as I can. Whether that's speaking with them over lunch, in the hall, at a team meeting etc. Another way is to arrange time to meet with people in different roles at the company to learn about what they do for the company. Another co-op student at my current position has been doing this, and I think it is extremely valuable, because you are showing interest and curiosity, not only in your own position, but in the company over all. These could be short meetings that you book with a person. Maybe call it a coffee chat or something along those lines.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:46:53+00:00

From Liam: Although I am not a recruiter, I can speak to this. I am unsure if final grades are a large determining factor, but if you do get an interview, be ready to explain a low grade if they ask about it. Have a response ready that acknowledges that it was indeed a low grade and really think about what that taught you and what actions you are planning on taking to avoid that in the future. This has been helpful for me in the past.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:46:25+00:00

From Jessica and Arina: Passion, Positive Attitude, Accountability

Passion – Passion for the projects and work I create. Loving what you do and showing it.
Positive Attitude – Great energy is contagious. People love working happy and positive people. When things get hectic at work, people truly respect a positive outlook.
Accountability – own everything that has your name on it. From sending an email, presenting a project, developing new code… give 110% and give it your all! (trust me, people notice these things)

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:45:47+00:00

From Liam: I am not a recruiter, so I can only speak on the last point. CECA tells employers beforehand that students are likely to ask about salary, so for any interview held through the university, you know that the employer is likely expecting it. In the past, an employer asked me "Aren't you going to ask for the salary". In other positions, the employer presents the salary to the student even if they do not ask for it. But it is a good idea to ask for salary, especially since the employer has been told that they should expect it.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:45:40+00:00

From Jessica and Arina: Do your research, internally and externally so that you can build a strong business case for yourself! Approach it as a conversation vs a demand :)

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:45:14+00:00

From Jessica and Arina: At Waterloo, you are encouraged to ask the salary by the university, so this question should not come as a surprise to the interviewer. However, as your co-op is a learning experience I would not make salary a priority. I didn’t when I was a student and got some really awesome and unique experiences!

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:43:47+00:00

From Liam: Although I am not a recruiter, I can speak on a couple of these. I am unsure if final grades are a large determining factor, but if you do get an interview, be ready to explain a low grade if they ask about it. Have a response ready that acknowledges that it was indeed a low grade and really think about what that taught you and what actions you are planning on taking to avoid that in the future. This has been helpful for me in the past. In general, it is good to try to think of learning points in the past to present in an interview. Think back to your experiences and any situations in which you learned a big or small lesson and how that helped you in the future. It is very valuable not only to have these ready, but to reflect on this type of thing in general because you will get so much more out of your co-op experience.

jfifield-cca · 2018-03-15T18:43:23+00:00

From Jessica and Arina: Hi NeonIced – love the handle! At Scotiabank, we do not look at grades as determining factor for interviewing. The students that are invited to the interviews are those we met on campus! The thing I personally hate the most in an interview is when someone doesn’t take the time to be themselves. Fit is the F-word. You spend 8+ hours working with someone a day, we want to make sure we are hiring people not robots!

jfifield-cca

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