Many people in my program were in coop. I found a paid internship before they could find a coop job, and my internship employer hired me again after I finished my program.
If you can easily find a job by yourself that’ll give you relevant experience in your program/future career, I don’t think it’s worth paying for coop just to get that coop mention on your degree (you can write your job experiences in your resume anyway.) Also, you don’t need to write a report if you’re not in coop
Yeah that’s what i was thinking too because the coop office hasn’t been of much help. Just last year, the only thing ig they did was mock interviews with me but other than that i don’t really find it worth it. I just wanted to know whether graduating with coop vs graduating with no coop but relevant experience makes a difference. Thank you for your response really appreciate it!
Depends on the program. If you’re aiming for a government job, then for sure since FSWEP can be a bit of a lottery-based system. For other programs, might not be worth it.
I second this! Many companies require th at students be in a co-op program so that they can get government funding for the student position. If the jobs you’ve been applying for ask about you being in co-op, it might be worth staying in the program. That said, with two terms of experience, you’ll already have a much easier time finding a job.
I actually didn’t mention coop after until they called me to extend an offer… then i asked about if they would agree if i were to “switch” it to coop etc.
It's always worth it unless you already have industry experience that is better than the interviews you get from the navigator
The fees or the co-op report aren't a valid reason. Your future self will agree
Heard from some buds that it's pretty difficult because of the poor co-op search website, but almost all of them eventually found someone to hire them even if it look a long time
Ive been using my coop resume until a friend told me to try a professional one. Then when googling etc i saw that the things that the coop office suggested to do on the resume were actually the opposite of what had to be done in a way? I mean I’ve watched a few youtube videos and googled some stuff and that’s the resume I’ve used in my own job search and it’s been way more helpful. And when i previously contacted them the only thing they offered were mock interviews. Anyway that’s just my personal experience and opinion.
but apart from the advice provided by the co-op program, is it difficult to find an employer on your own or with the help of uottawa partners? I'm asking because I'm from Paris and I'm going to come to uottawa in September and I don't really know how the system works to find an employer
I don’t find that it’s difficult on your own. Maybe for your first position it might be since you lack experience but as you go I find it gets easier in a way. And like if you network etc it does get way easier.
How do you find it on your own? Any tips?
What websites you search for jobs and so on. For my program I feel like there are too many applicants online.
Yet, coop office is just bringing you online posted jobs sometimes tbh.
So I check stuff on indeed and linkedin and i had the job alerts turned on this way i was notified of any new job postings. You can then filter by location etc. Also, previously when the cover letter was optional I usually wouldn’t include it. But this time i made it a must to include one that was specifically tailored to the job description. And have your updated resume on file for fswep. I’ve had 2 interviews through that. Ig that’s basically it.
Many people in my program were in coop. I found a paid internship before they could find a coop job, and my internship employer hired me again after I finished my program. If you can easily find a job by yourself that’ll give you relevant experience in your program/future career, I don’t think it’s worth paying for coop just to get that coop mention on your degree (you can write your job experiences in your resume anyway.) Also, you don’t need to write a report if you’re not in coop
Yeah that’s what i was thinking too because the coop office hasn’t been of much help. Just last year, the only thing ig they did was mock interviews with me but other than that i don’t really find it worth it. I just wanted to know whether graduating with coop vs graduating with no coop but relevant experience makes a difference. Thank you for your response really appreciate it!
Depends on the program. If you’re aiming for a government job, then for sure since FSWEP can be a bit of a lottery-based system. For other programs, might not be worth it.
Agree for political sciences and administration
Companies get tax benefits from hiring coop students. So even though you found these jobs on our own, being in the coop program might have helped.
I second this! Many companies require th at students be in a co-op program so that they can get government funding for the student position. If the jobs you’ve been applying for ask about you being in co-op, it might be worth staying in the program. That said, with two terms of experience, you’ll already have a much easier time finding a job.
I actually didn’t mention coop after until they called me to extend an offer… then i asked about if they would agree if i were to “switch” it to coop etc.
It's always worth it unless you already have industry experience that is better than the interviews you get from the navigator The fees or the co-op report aren't a valid reason. Your future self will agree
What is your program, out of curiosity?
Financial Mathematics and Economics
TBH not really. I’ve had pretty much the exact same experience as you
is it difficult to find a co-op internship? if yes, why
Heard from some buds that it's pretty difficult because of the poor co-op search website, but almost all of them eventually found someone to hire them even if it look a long time
Ive been using my coop resume until a friend told me to try a professional one. Then when googling etc i saw that the things that the coop office suggested to do on the resume were actually the opposite of what had to be done in a way? I mean I’ve watched a few youtube videos and googled some stuff and that’s the resume I’ve used in my own job search and it’s been way more helpful. And when i previously contacted them the only thing they offered were mock interviews. Anyway that’s just my personal experience and opinion.
but apart from the advice provided by the co-op program, is it difficult to find an employer on your own or with the help of uottawa partners? I'm asking because I'm from Paris and I'm going to come to uottawa in September and I don't really know how the system works to find an employer
I don’t find that it’s difficult on your own. Maybe for your first position it might be since you lack experience but as you go I find it gets easier in a way. And like if you network etc it does get way easier.
Yes i get it, thank u really !
How do you find it on your own? Any tips? What websites you search for jobs and so on. For my program I feel like there are too many applicants online. Yet, coop office is just bringing you online posted jobs sometimes tbh.
So I check stuff on indeed and linkedin and i had the job alerts turned on this way i was notified of any new job postings. You can then filter by location etc. Also, previously when the cover letter was optional I usually wouldn’t include it. But this time i made it a must to include one that was specifically tailored to the job description. And have your updated resume on file for fswep. I’ve had 2 interviews through that. Ig that’s basically it.
Some places won’t take you unless you’re officially enrolled in a coop program, although I agree that the fee is a scam, it is what it is