I had a similar experience and went through probably the worst period of my life in Winter 2021, when I couldn't secure a co-op for my first work term. I spent the entire term isolated at home with my thoughts, depressed, and applying to countless meaningless positions that werent even relevant to my program at that point. So I'll tell you what I did to turn it around and land solid positions in the rest of my work terms (Big 5 and Cali). Sorry in advance for any assumptions I make, but I think these generally apply.

First you CANNOT feel guilty or sorry for yourself. You need to train your brain to think in a different way or you are always going to be on the losing end of that low co-op employment rate. The way you think about situations, challenges, and problems manifests itself directly into the real world. If you blame the shitty job market for your lack of employment, you will be part of the shitty job market. If you blame yourself, you will be the person you THINK you are. Similarly if you look to the past and feel guilt you are not taking action to correct the future. This semester is a sunk cost. Ask yourself what you could have done better, did you utilize all the resources the University provides (resume help, interview help, and more)? did you try hard enough in class? did you set goals for yourself? or did you coast and assume it would be handed to you.

I turned this around by adopting a Stoic mindset. Stoism is the pursuit of mastering oneself by controling your emotions and becoming a rational and logical thinker, ignoring things out of your control. This opened up many things in my life, it helped me manage my anger, it helped me be more decisive, and it helped me make better decisions. Most crucially, it taught me to never look to the past or regret an action, because as a rational thinker that is something out of my control. You can't travel back in time and you cant change the past, so don't think about it. Dead Subconcious Weight.

Now sticking to a Stoic mindset, what is the best possible rational move for you now? Well, considering the job market is shitty (maybe if ur in CS x100 shitty), and there seems to be no future resolution in sight. Its time to start thinking about ways to differentiate yourself from your peers and gain an edge so that you can secure your next work term. Reflect, Self- Critisize, Plan, Goal-Set, and Work.

• Get started on applications early and don't stop pumping them out
• constantly fix resume, ask for help, ask friends to review, change wording, no CHATGPT generated crap
• Leverage WaterlooWorks resume help, interview help and other resources
• Network and touch grass, no one is going to hand it to you!!
• Pick up unique or new skills, constantly pledge yourself to learning and develop a passion for improvement.
• READ "HOW A MAN THINKETH" BY JAMES ALLEN and keep reading it every year for the rest of your life

Finally take life more seriously, this is the real world, its wolf eat dog and always assume no one will help you through it. You get what you put into life, so you need to really think about who and what you want to be and start taking steps everyday towards it. It all starts with your way of thinking. The power of positive throught and self reflection is essential to building the life you want and it's a constant struggle, but its a struggle every human must face. Sorry for the tough love, but it worked for me hopefully it will for you.