It’s that time of the term again – we’re halfway through the continuous round on JobMine and for some people, time is running out to get a job. As someone who has been jobless at this point multiple times in my co-op career, I leave some tips below on how to move forward.
How’s Your Resume Holding Up?
If you’re the type of person who just isn’t getting interviews, it’s likely your resume needs to be looked at by someone other than yourself. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize the obvious mistakes ourselves and a fresh pair of eyes over your resume can find glaring errors. The Engineering Society has run resume critiques at the beginning of the term and right before continuous round started. Since these sessions are complete, consider going to fellow classmates or even better, upper years for help, especially if they’re the people who were getting all the interviews early on in the co-op process. Yes, it might be embarrassing to have to ask someone for help, but being embarrassed for ten minutes may be better than not having a job.
Apart from the Engineering Society, counselling services and CECS also have resume critiques. You’re already paying for their help through your student fees, so you might as well take advantage and have them look at your resume. They have seen hundreds (if not thousands) or resumes, and know the very common mistakes than everyone makes. Their critique sessions are also confidential, so if discreteness is your thing – no one else has to know.
Cover letters – why aren’t you using them yet? I’m a huge advocate for cover letters, as they separate you from everyone else not writing cover letters and they allow you to sell your skills to an employer. An employer can receive dozens of resumes for a job and it’s quite easy to sort those who have taken the time to write cover letters and those who have not. Writing cover letters shows you’re not lazy and are more enthusiastic towards the job than others. The hardest part about writing a cover letter is writing the first one. Once it’s written, you can modify it to fit the job you’re applying too, but DO NOT use a generic cover letter for each job. Tailor each one to each job you apply to and focus on showing that your skills match up with the job’s description. If the above is not enough motivation to begin writing cover letters – I received 10 more interviews in a term where I wrote cover letters for each job compared to a term where I wrote none. It’s worth it.
If you have a pretty kickass resume, you’re writing cover letters, and you’re getting the interviews, but still not getting jobs, you may want to consider interview workshops. CECS holds interview skills workshops to help students sell their skills to employers. CECS has tons of tips to keep in mind when going to interviews and even has listed these online in their career development e-manual. Why not also consider having a friend give you a mock interview?
Don’t give up
As you get into the phase of the term where all the projects and big assignments are due, and you are realizing that you don’t know anything in your courses, it is easy to give up on looking for jobs for the term, and focus on school. While school (and passing) is very important, it should not stop you from potentially getting a job. Make it part of your study/break routine to check JobMine and apply. Many students will give up at this point and focus on school, which means there will be less competition to the jobs you do apply to.
Consider volunteering
I’ll admit it. Not having an income sucks, especially when all your friends are getting paid. Although it’s nice to get paid, it’s the sad fact of co-op that you may need to volunteer for a professor in order to get credit for the winter term.
If you currently don’t have a job, you should probably start looking for professors. The reason I suggest starting earlier is so that you can find the right professor to volunteer with. This includes what kind of research the professor is working on, and what projects they have running. Finding a project that aligns with your interests can be a more rewarding experience than trying to find a random project last minute just to get that sweet co-op credit.
Most professors also realize that no student wants to volunteer, and tend to agree to let you volunteer under them while you continue the job search. I have even heard of some professors that encourage students to continue to look for a job while working for them. Do not see volunteering as a way of “giving up” on JobMine, however, see it as a contingency in case you don’t get a job a month into the term. Remember – if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Another benefit to trying to find a professor early is that it gives the professor time to look for possible funding. I have had many peers who have talked to a professor about volunteering, and then two weeks later receive an email from their professor stating enough funding had been approved to pay minimum wage (better than nothing). While this doesn’t always happen, if you look for a job at the last moment, you almost certainly won’t be getting compensation.
Another great thing about working for professors is getting research experience. Although the work term may not have been exactly what you wanted, the experience is great for your resume – especially if planning on grad school after completing your undergraduate degree.
In all, many people have been in your situation before and it will all work out in the end if you keep a positive attitude. Keep persevering, and never ever let yourself think you can’t secure a job. Although, it will work out in the end, you can’t sit on your laurels and just expect to get a job – you need to work for it. Good luck!
Laura
Beautifully written!