Kevin Kurz

Co-op Interview Tips from a uOttawa Student

Who doesn’t love the job interview period? That’s right, everyone loves it right? Right?…

Let’s be honest with each other, interviews in general are a stressful time for most people. You want to showcase who you are, your skills, prove to your next potential employers you are the one for this job, etc. The reality of things is that there are often many other applicants, and you may doubt yourself, but it’s important to never give up. Although some of these situations are more specific to the system at my university, others are more general. Here is a list of tips I consider when I’m looking to obtain a student placement and that you can apply at your college or university too!

1) Don't Inflate your Skills or Resume

As a student who may not have had the most experience, or someone who may not have had much work in your field, etc. you may feel the need to add a bit more to your resume than is true. Instead, try to find a way to showcase what you have done in the best way you can, without making it sound too extreme. Use some action verbs and even if you’ve just worked in retail, find your own way of saying that you were among the best at your job.

2) Be True to Yourself

One thing I cannot stress enough is don’t lie and don’t develop a completely different personality for yourself during your interviews. Behave how you would regularly in a work environment, nothing needs to be over the top. Answer questions truthfully, even if they ask you if you have experience in a specific area and you don’t, be honest about it. However, don’t let the answer end there, try to think of an example similar to what they are asking about and show the employers that even though you may not currently possess this skill, you’d still be a good match for the position.

3) Don’t Expect Every Job to be a Perfect Match for You

I’m sure I’m not the only one who can relate to this. After a few questions, you’ve quickly realized “I’m not going to be getting this position, it’s not the right fit for me”. You may be thinking that I’m just being negative, but each time I’ve had this feeling in an interview, the interview was the last time we spoke. This is coming from someone who worked in web management even though I had no real experience in the field and am a marketing student. There’s nothing wrong with making that realization, just continue to treat it like a normal interview and a learning experience for your future interviews.

4) Even if you don’t get a Job in the First Round, Don’t Stress

Let me preface a bit since this may not be self-explanatory for everyone. At my University, there is more than one round of job applications and interviews. Essentially, if you don’t earn a position during the first round, you move on to the next one. I’ve been in this situation before, and although I wasn’t smiles all around from not getting a job during the first round, I never would have ended up landing my position in the second round if I gave up. This was a great experience for me, and I wouldn’t have gone back and changed it. So if it does happen to you, stay positive and keep applying to jobs!

5) Expect Personal Questions to Learn About You

This hasn’t happened to me in every interview, but often I’ve gotten questions that were more specific than just looking for a general overview of myself. Some examples include but are not limited to:

What books have you read recently
Favorite/least favorite courses you’ve taken at the University and why?
Tell me some topics that have caught your attention and you have read about in the news recently.

Although these questions are not hard to answer, you may be at a loss for words if you haven’t read a book or haven’t been paying attention to the news. These aren’t do-or-die questions, but employers are often looking for people who are educated and can hold a conversation.

6) Try to Make a Connection with your Interviewer

Standing out among others when there are 40 other applicants is one of, if not the hardest thing to do during your interview. When this has happened to me its often happened just by pure luck because you can’t always find information about your interviewer(s) online. My tip is to give more in your answers than you have to because all it takes is a few words for a person to make that connection. Evidently, if you only have a 30-minute interview you can’t spend 10 minutes on 1 question, but just add a little more than is necessary every chance you can.

7) Ask your Questions, and make Clarifications

Just as they are interviewing you for the position you also want to be interviewing them to make sure that this position fits with who you are. Again, I should stress that it doesn’t have to be a perfect fit, but enough for you to see yourself in that position for your term. I like to prepare a few questions before the interview just in case I don’t generate any during the interview. If they don’t mention the salary and that’s important to you, don’t be afraid to ask about it. School isn’t cheap and you have to pay for it somehow. If ever you answered a question and your answer came off wrong, don’t be afraid to further clarify your answer to make sure you don’t leave the wrong impression.

Ending Thoughts

Take this as your sign to update your resume and be prepared for the next time you have an interview! Do feel free to send me an email to give me feedback on what was helpful or not to you!

Additional Resources

Kevin Kurz, June 6 2021