OMG I get to have a job! ... Is what we wish [Co-op]

So I've been getting this question... ALOT from a few dozen first years, so I decided to write a blog about my first and final experiences with Co-op.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not recommending you to not take it, nor am I recommending you to take it. I am giving you my honest experience with the Co-op system and it is not a portrayal of my university alone, this is the combined experiences from several of my friends over the years. Now I can't get sued!

So what is co-op?

This was a major reason I went to my university... I thought Co-op = Instant Jobs.
Imagine if it were a pack of instant noodles, I thought I would get one as fast as one steams water.

Boy was I wrong.

Co-op is actually a method of job finding. It is combined with your academic education with the recreation of a career you may find interest in that is restricted to your field only.

Or in other words, You pay money to get a chance to find a job just like hiring an agent. 

Now this sounds bad... but these are the three main reasons why people do take co-op [or at least the only three I can think of at my office...]

1) The university is giving you jobs so easily!

2) The Jobs are more high class and you make more $$$

3) I will finally get a job related to my courses

Well... #1 is incorrect... its not easy and its not going to be given to you.

#2 ... Depends on situation. I'm going to say maybe 30% of jobs given are NOT any more than minimum wage. This will vary depending on your career choices

#3 ... Well that's true, but not at the same time. Yes you will get a job related to your career, but some times it is VAGUELY related. One of my friends was a secretary for her job in Co-op, and her major was Communication Studies. So that didn't make sense at all.

Process of Co-op

Before the experiences, let's tell you how you get into co-op

1) Get a B to A- Average in your first year to be accepted into Co-op

2) Pass COOP 1001
3) Get Interviews
4) Get a job and sign contract
5) Work
6) Write a work term paper
7) You're done. 

Sounds easy right?

Let's go step by step

1. Get B to A-.
   Take easy courses or study hard. If you don't get it in your first year, relax you can try for co-op next year, but you will have to take a 5th year [... though co-op forces you to take a 5th year still...]
2. Passing COOP1001.
   It is 3-4 tests I think, and 2 assignments.The Tests are fairly easy... and I found a way to go around the system, which defeats the purpose of the tests.
   Just have one friend answer the whole test, and copy all the answers after and your other friends can get perfect too. Kinda stupid flaw... but not like anybody cares. + Most of these questions do not help you at all in the work environment. Trust me... I don't even remember anything from that course, and I think I recall most of the information were contradictions.
   "Don't be personal, but make them know you better by being human" made no sense at all.
   But this is theory, just like most courses you will take in university, but its good to know I guess.
   
   ALSO, you can fail these tests, so I would recommend you to becareful because you will be kicked out of the program
   
   The assignments were a pain, one marker was different from the other, so I failed twice because she didn't like my writing style that I changed for the other person -_- [Its like the EQAO]
3. Once all this happens, THIS IS THE HARD PART. Finding a job. This is my personal experience, at least 70% of jobs I got interviews for were from my own search, NOT CO-OP. 
   Why? I think its because I was more motivated towards those jobs I found on my own than Co-op.
   ESPECIALLY in my major, most of the jobs... sucked.
   I don't want to be an editor, I don't want to be a secretary, I don't want to do statistics research, I HELL don't want to do marketing for cigarettes... I want to do media... which they didn't have.
   
   Now here's my hint for reading this much into my blog.
   www.indeed.ca 
   This website is how I got quite a few interviews. Including Scotia Bank, Royal Bank, Microsoft... and other companies. So if I were you check it out and maybe you can find a job you would love.
   
   Now Co-op does give a good list of jobs, but only... 20? Jobs are available in your first 2 months of search, then 30 the next month. It's pretty bad... Every year they say the same old excuse "The job market is just bad this year" I talked to my cousins, the job market HAS ALWAYS BEEN BAD, you just need some luck on your side.
   
   Unlike me some of my friends were lucky and got a job on their first few interviews. These are the people you will meet at your co-op nights when they introduce about their careers. I call these ppl the 'Lucky Butters'. I hated them [as a group not individually] for pretty much lying to my face that its easy to get a job. Because its not, unless you have relatives in the industry or you had the job without co-ops help in the first place. If my friend reads this, I'm sorry, you're a great friend but when you do your speech PLEASE be honest to those co-op students about how hard it is to get a job or i will call u a lucky butter too. 
   
   Now I made this seem super bad, but that's my experience, see maybe 50% of my friends did get a job in Co-op, and 20% of those people got their job within the first two months of co-op search.
   So don't be down, because you can beat the odds with my advice later in this blog.
   Some of my friends actually had co-op get them their dream job, and some got jobs they didn't want, but eh its a job!
   
   Some I want to slap in their face because they said, "MAN it's easy to get a job! You just need to try harder" ... Chances are they probably won't get a job in their near future because you feel too secure about your job. [Remember, Luck has a huge % in getting a job, and I'll explain later about it]
4. Now why do I say it's luck?
   Well... Depending on your interview the person who interviews you has the biggest impact if you get the job.
   I'm going to be honest, in the interview, most people don't look at your resume, most don't look at your cover letter. Once I made a mistake with the wrong company name, and they realized it half way through the interview. What matters is the first minute the interview looks at you and talks.
   That decides if they will consider you or not.
   
   Once I had a phone interview... that I was not prepared for at all.
   
   Another reason luck comes into play: One of my friends was competing against me in an interview. At the interview, the interviewer had to leave due to family circumstances, so she missed my interview. To be honest, my friend would have gotten the job even if she interviewed me, but because life was lucky for them, that she liked my friend and her family in trouble, I never had a fair shot at that interview.
   
   These are sad stories, but eh, it's life right? You can't sulk if you don't pass your first interview, your second... or if you're like me, your 50th. But you gotta keep trying hard.
   
   Some of my friends went from Jan-July jobless until August and they finally got one.
   
   Now to the topic, the contract. Here's the issue, Co-op actually tries to make sure the job you get matches you major. So I got a job as Human Resources. However, Co-op decided it wasn't like communication studies, so I lost $400.00 for their service and told me I can't graduate without taking a semester off for co-op -_-
5. ... well 5-7 are self explanatory. Work hard and you'll be fine in the future.
   Though you may or may not have co-op to help you, its good to have the experience down your belt.
   Now time to think for your self, this is from a person who failed at the co-op process, I didn't get a job by co-op I found a job myself. I couldn't get into co-op because my job wasn't what they expected. and I lost a few thousand dollars on the way.
   
   This is normal for a communication studies student. I'ld say.. 30% of comm students get a job in their first 4 months of search. 50% total get a job MAX.
   
   For other majors, Engineers are 80%, Business students are 40% [Highly competitive], science students are 50%, and etc... These are made up stats, but judging by my friends you can't be 100%, but you can't be 0%, so be happy you have a chance!

Why co-op is bad.

1) It costs 500? For the course, and 400.00 per semester you do co-op you pay for their services, and then you have to write a report and if you fail... I don't know you get kicked out of co-op?

2) Well my cousin 10 years ago explained to me why companies HATE CO-OP STUDENTS.
The Co-op coordinators WILL harass the companies to get a co-op student to work there after you do your term, and the student who found that place will have to compete with more people from the same university.

Some companies do not want all that spam so they get out of the co-op program immediately.

3) I don't want to work for a cigarette company. [And it was good pay.]

Why co-op is good.
1) It helps you get a job in your field
2) It looks good on your resume
3) Some of my friends work for big companies like RIM, Scotia Bank, Rogers, Telus....
4) You will compete against less people than a regular job.
5) well... some people have amazing stories and they keep getting better jobs each year. So to some, co-op helps out in a longgg way. + You know if you international student, it helps you get a job. Just saying.

Now... The point of all this, How to get a job with or without co-op

1. Search, get help, make friends at network events... all these people will make it easier for you to get an interview. BFFs FOREVA!  
2. Nothing is guaranteed, work hard and fight for a job 
3. Smile, no one likes a sour puss, maybe make them laugh to make it fun
4. Your experience is great, but your personality is worth more, be social and your interviewer WILL Love you.
5. Eye contact is important
6. Relate to yourself to them [Even if you have to use a little bit of Linkedin stalking, it helps]
7. Never be full of yourself. If you say your the president of Blah... they'll be like, why do you want to do co-op then if you're so great. BULLSHYTER. 
8. Always be modest, stated before, co-op students are mainly the workers who do ... well the work no one else wants to do. It's true but eh, its work! So don't act dominant, accept all.
9.  Be quick, don't be long. No one likes you talking forever. 
10.  Take a job you love, if you don't like the environment or the employer, just say thank you and walk out. You don't have to take the job if you want to kill yourself at it. [Government work is repetitive... people quit sooo fastttt] 
11. Remember the rules I just said, They can be all thrown out.
    See everyone is different, and all you need is that little luck to match. Maybe they want a strong person or weak... maybe they like someone who makes them smile, or thinks they're lazy... maybe some want someone exactly like them while others are opposites... or some like short talk, some love longggggg talk.
    
    For me, I like being fun... and if my interviewers don't smile... I probably wouldn't want to work for them. [I can't stand a serious crowd... ]
    
    Nothing is written in stone. Its up to you to find out where you belong.

In my next blog, I will talk about my job experiences to give you an example of what a co-op student's life was like. 

Thanks for reading! I hope it helped... a bit...