The Other Side of the Table: UW engineering alumni entrepreneurs share insight from the employer side of the table

I graduated less than year ago so the memories of co-op are still fresh. Spending the last few minutes before midnight applying on Jobmine and then anxiously pressing F5 every two minutes to check if I got any interviews were fun times. But now, having a start-up, co-op and Jobmine are a little different (literally and figuratively).

Having been a co-op student,  and more recently the employer and manager of a co-op student for the first time, I learned a tonne. Some of this stuff may seem like common sense, but you truly don’t appreciate the gravity of it till you experience it. So here are some of my thoughts and learning’s on how you can be successful at your job, bring real value to the company and grow as a person:

• Don’t CSS the hell out of your resume (my newest pet peeve) – it gets applied to everyone else’s resume when reviewing them through Jobmine – it’s very annoying to read. Showcase your skills through a website or project portfolio instead. Trust me, seeing someone with real projects and out of the classroom learning is an easy interview pick.
• Ask how what you’re doing impacts the business. This helps you stay motivated and helps the employer know you are interested in the work. Generally, the more engaged you are the more valuable you are to the team and the more you feel valued.
• Talk to people – they don’t bite. I’ll admit, I was always the shy guy, and to some extent I still am. But one thing I’ve found is this: a great engineer with few connections will find it hard to grow. A mediocre engineer with many connections will find success easier. Be great and be connected (for hard to get people, take them out for breakfast/lunch/coffee – everyone’s gotta eat!)
• It is extremely important to find what motivates you and what you are passionate about because motivation then becomes a non-issue. Plus, when you live and breathe something, your enthusiasm goes through the roof and people like to be around genuinely enthusiastic people. This is going to take some experimentation but you are sooo lucky to have co-op and experience things in a low-risk, high-reward environment.
• You are not done with anything until you are proud to put your name on it. Do whatever it takes to get the job done right the first time. You will always have to revisit tasks which were less than 100% complete – it’s inefficient, frustrating and deteriorates trust and confidence in your work.
• Over-communicate your ideas / thought processes. Since co-op is such a short term commitment, employers generally appreciate over-communication. It helps you clarify your thinking and helps employers understand your brilliance.
• Push yourself out of your comfort zone – you will only grow and find new opportunities by forcing yourself to do new things and confront your fears. It really isn’t that bad.

Good luck with the job search this term! If you have any questions about what’s written here or my start-up experiences at BufferBox feel free to give me a shout at aditya@bufferbox.ca.