Preface: In no way I am saying that this will guarantee that you get an Engineering Internship/ Co-op, however these are tips that I believe will help you towards that goal. Getting your first internship is always tough but these are just some things I have observed from going through the coop process 4 times.

I have another article talking about tips for interviews here:

For Waterloo Students I have posted some tips on applying on WaterlooWorks at this link:

Otherwise these should apply for any engineering student looking for an internship.

Being an upper year student, by far the most common question I get from first years is giving them tips on landing their first coop position. Although it may seem that this information should be available online a quick google search reveals that a lot of it is just on forums such as Reddit and not on platforms that are dedicated to careers such as LinkedIn.

Waterloo Reddit: the holy grail for all Waterloo Students

Given this I felt like it would be beneficial to put some of the tips I give first years in article form so it is all concise and in one location.

Do not worry about how your resume looks aesthetically, focus more on content and how easy it is to find on the page

As long as your resume isn’t an eye sore for recruiters, the template isn’t what will get you through the door. What will is how easy it is for recruiters to parse through your resume and find the information they are looking for. One website that I have found that can help you make a very good looking resume really quick is:https://latexresu.me .

You should have a pretty solid looking resume after going through this website with the only downside being if you want to make changes that you cannot do on the website you will have to download the LATEX code and do it manually. By no means do you have to your resume in LATEX, as any word template that arranges information similarly will do fine.

2. YOUR RESUME SHOULD ONLY BE ONE PAGE LONG

This is a golden rule and should not be broken in any circumstance unless you really have that much relevant content. Trust me especially if you are in first year there is something you can take out of your resume to make it one page. You being a lifeguard at your local YMCA might be a good achievement but does not warrant having an extra page on your resume. Only one page people.

3. Put your Skills on the Top of your Resume

This especially goes for getting a developer position. You want all your skills and languages on the top of your resume so that recruiters can go down the checklist that they have. If they want Javascript, React and Node.js rather than having to go through your resume to find out if you have this relevant experience they can see it right on the top of your resume. Side Note: You can rearrange the order on Resumake by clicking the 4 dots beside each category and dragging it to be the order you want

Something like this on the top of your resume makes it easy for recruiters to see what you have to offer without having to go through your resume. Now you may not have a lot of skills that you can put on your resume given that you may are probably in first year but try to gain as much experience in various different frameworks and languages pertinent to what you want. For example, if you are trying to get a front end position start working with Javascript, React, HTML and CSS so you can get build a foundation in those areas. Learn how Git works as it is a pretty easy concept to learn.

4. Show what YOU did, not what the company/organization did

Regardless of whether this is for some work experience or some club that you were part of, you want to make sure that you are showing what you did rather than what the company/organization did. Pretend you were part of FIRST robotics at your school. An example of what you should not write is something like “The club participates in the First Robotics Regional Competition which is attended by 15 teams across Toronto.” Although it may seem substantial, the recruiter cannot do anything with this information as all they really care about is what you did. Talk about what YOU did to help the club at this competition rather than what the club was part of. An example of something that would be much better to write is something like “Exemplified adaptability and resourcefulness showcased by making quick adjustments for the robot to continue to adapt to the changing tasks between each round of the First Robotics Regional Competition.” By writing this you are showing two marketable skills that recruiters look for in being adaptable and resourceful. A common practice is to start off every point with an action verb. Developed. Designed. Created. Exhibited. These are all examples of action verbs that you can and should start your points with. In doing so you automatically show that this relates to YOU and is something that YOU did. Also add statistics where ever you can. Recruiters love when you add numbers to your points. How many users did it affect? How much faster did you make something? Add solid metrics where ever you can!

5. Establish an online presence

Go make a LinkedIn. Connections can be key especially in trying to get a first job. By making a LinkedIn you can now have to access industry connections previously unavailable through any other medium. Also rather than you having to do all the looking, recruiters all over LinkedIn are trying to find candidates for their company’s position’s which may be you. Use the internet to your advantage. If you want a software coop make a GitHub and start posting some side projects on there. Show you know what you are doing and understand how modern day software development works.

6. Ask for help from upper years

Do not shy away from asking us for help on your resume. We were all in your shoes in the past and understand exactly what you are going through. My resume out of high school was definitely not pretty and required a lot of refinement to get to a point where I finally landed my first job. I guarantee that most of you are in a similar boat so please do not hesitate to contact me or other students who have gone through the same struggle.

7. APPLY EVERYWHERE

You are going to get rejected as that is just normal for first years trying to get their first jobs. That is alright, do not fear this rejection as it is all part of the process. One of the biggest tips I can give you is to apply everywhere. Even if you do not meet all the qualifications just throw your application on to the pile. You never know what recruiters might see on your resume that makes them call you in for an interview. Apply everywhere you can and hope for the best. Everyone goes through the first job struggle and you never know who might take a chance on you.

I hope some of these tips come in handy and help you land that first coop job. You do all of these things and hopefully you will get that first interview which is another article on its own. If you do not land a hope do not lose hope. Grind side projects and gain more relevant experience and I promise you will be well on your way to getting that first job. If you want me to take a look at your resume I am more than welcome to help you. Just message me on LinkedIn.

Did I miss any tips? Did this help you? Please let me know.

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Thanks for reading and hope this helps,

Daivik Goel