For many of you, it has been a long journey making it to this point. 12 years of school, pushing for the top marks, applying to universities and waiting to see if you’ll make it in… Now you have made it! However, this is only the beginning of a new journey. One that will alternate between four to eight months here with your school friends and four to eight months working, and adventuring outside of these wonderful poured concrete walls.
For those of you who are 4-stream you will be beginning co-op this January. This means that you are already enmeshed in critiquing your resumes and applying to jobs. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you well on your way to a successful round of job applications!
First of all, Jobmine. This is the online job board that you use to look at and apply to jobs. Most of you will have had your first encounter with it this past weekend. You will have uploaded your resumes in PDF form to apply to your jobs. While this can be frustrating, keep in mind that only a few years ago we had to use HTML resumes. (I could never get the bullet points to show up correctly, this resulted in just hours of fun).
What if you don’t want the stress of job applications bungling up your weekend? Prior to the job application period, jobs are posted on jobmine with the status ‘approved’. By searching under ‘approved’ instead of ‘posted’ you can look at upcoming jobs, shortlist them and start crafting your job application before the actual application period begins.
Writing a cover letter can give you an extra edge for jobs you are especially interested in. Write it poorly however, and it can get your application rejected. Try to write a new cover letter each time. Generally cover letters follow business letter format (your address, date, their contact information) and consist of 3 to 4 paragraphs. The first paragraph would include a brief paragraph about who you are, what job you are applying to. The second paragraph should tie what you feel you have to offer with what their job is. Sometimes it is better to have one paragraph restating in your own words what the employer is looking for and what they value and then address those in a second paragraph. In the final paragraph you want to thank the employer for taking the time to read your cover letter and reiterate why you are the person for the job.
There are a lot of great resources for perfecting your resumes and cover letters. CECA (Co-operative Education and Career Action) has many resources and EngSoc holds resume critique sessions where upper years look over resumes. Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family to read over your resume to catch things you missed! Grammar and spelling are important as mistakes give a bad first impression.
As time goes by, employers will look at the applications submitted to them and eventually you will get selected for an interview! This interview will show up on Jobmine, but you should also receive an email. Many of you are probably wondering what sets your resume apart. The reality is that for a first year, your greatest strength is your personality. An employer is looking for someone who they will get along with. Be professional, but don’t be surprised if part of your interview is an informal conversation about your hobbies!
At the end of first round, rankings occur. Waiting for rankings can seem like ages but don’t despair. There is a glitch in Jobmine which allows you to see if you might have an offer for a given job. If an application remains in the ‘active applications’ part after it has shown as ‘rankings complete’ then you likely have either been ranked or have an offer. If the number of applications in active applications plus your remaining applications add up to more than your original number of applications, then you likely have an offer.
Well that’s all for now, best of luck first years (and everyone else reading this), hope you have an amazing term!
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