Interviewing - are you ready to ask questions? Answer them?
Interviews occur when an employer sees potential in a candidate’s resume.
For many students, they may have little or no experience with interviewing, so we have
compiled some general tips as well as advice for preparation and tips for during the interview. Waterloo's Centre for Career Action can also help you with interview skills. If you are not getting any job offers after attending interviews, you might want to talk to someone about your interviewing skills!
General tips/info
Ensure your social media is CLEAN. Nothing juvenile, nothing improper or inappropriate that would indicate that you do not have reasonable and sound judgement. Nothing that would make an employer hestitate about hiring you. Many employers will sniff around social media to see if they can find you, learn more about you.
The reason a company hires you isn’t for you, but rather they are paying you to add value to their company.
Only apply for jobs you’d actually take if you were offered (don’t waste people’s time by applying for a job you wouldn’t actually take).
Your best odds on landing an interview as a junior student
comes when you consider applying to jobs that others do not want, in places others do not want to go.
This ensures that you enter a small pool of resumes which may increase your odds.
Preparation
Research the company, products, customers, competition, understand anything in the “news” that you can talk about during the interview.
Have good questions ready and
do not hesitate when employers try to throw you off-guard with questions.
Company culture/way of work
Expectations/what they hope to get out of your effort
Criteria for success as a good co-op student
Think about possible questions - about you, why you want the job, what you want to learn, how you can contribute to the company or add value.
Know your resume very well - employers may ask questions about aspects on it (have specific examples to back your points)
Know the job posting well, try to really understand the job ad
Wear something clean and professional
During the interview
Show that you want the job more than senior students, that you prepared better & are more interested.
Tips on body language:
Know how to do a good handshake
Maintain good eye contact; look confident, even while you are saying “I don’t know”
Appear interested and enthusiastic
Do not over exaggerate or BS your skills, be humble.
With co-op job searching, the norm is to ask about salaries, but outside of this context, discussion of wages is generally not until there’s a job offer on the table.
