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Essential Tips for Co-op Students Working from Home

work space

Working remotely takes some getting used to, especially if this is new to you. This is why we have created a list of essential tips to stay focused and positive while working from home.

  1. Set up a workspace

Having a designated workspace in your home is important in keeping the time you spend on work and assignments separate from your everyday life. If you have a consistent workspace, each time you go to this space it will be easier to get into the right state of mind to keep productive. If you don’t have a separate room try to find a space with minimum traffic and distraction so that you can concentrate. If possible, only go to your designated workspace during work hours so you can maintain a regular workday and productive schedule. If finding a quiet space is an issue consider working with noise-canceling headphones to stay focused.

  1. Set goals

Organizing your day and setting clear, SMART and realistic goals for yourself is important to keep you motivated and on track. At the end of the week make sure you re-evaluate the goals you set and look at what you can do better to improve them for next time.

S.M.A.R.T.

  • Specific – Know exactly what you need to accomplish and what you hope to gain from doing so, whether it’s simply finishing an assignment, writing a cover letter for a co-op job application or finishing some research for a larger project.
  • Measurable – Make sure you can easily evaluate whether or not your goal was met and how beneficial it ultimately was to you.
  • Achievable – Be realistic when setting goals. This can help you avoid missing deadlines and getting behind, as well as giving you a more accurate overview of how much time you have to invest in other tasks throughout the week.
  • Results-Focused – Have very clear, distinct outcomes for meeting your goals, and hold yourself to them.
  • Time-Bound – Set a deadline for each goal or, for more complex tasks with multiple steps, establish deadlines for each major stage of the process.
  1. Stay on track

Now that you’ve set the goals you want to achieve you’ll need to come up with a plan to keep up and track your tasks. Thankfully, there are hundreds of apps and tools that can help you stay on track. Free project management tools like Asana or the Momentum Chrome Extension can be a lifesaver when you have multiple projects, papers, and exams on the go. You can create projects, set tasks with deadlines and even communicate with fellow students.

  1. Use video to communicate

Communication is an important factor in staying on track. Whether you have an upcoming interview, group assignment, meeting or just want to stay in touch with your manager, colleagues, and classmates, video communications can be a great source.

Skype, Facetime and Google Hangouts are great and free tools to help facilitate potential co-op interviews and touch-base phone calls with classmates.

The Co-op Department will also be offering workshops, one-on-one mock interviews, and resume appointments online too. Be sure to book an appointment in advance through HireAC.

  1. Take breaks

It’s too easy to get stuck in the house all day when you live, sleep and study there. Taking regular breaks from the screen or your books is important, not only for your health but also for productivity. Be strict with yourself and make sure you actually take them.

Make sure you also take some breaks off-screen so your eyes get a chance to relax. Get up and walk around the house, play with your pet or catch some fresh air by walking around the block for 5 to 10 minutes. If you are truly stuck inside, even a few simple yoga stretches and postures can help.

And remember, don’t stress! Monitoring and taking care of your mental health is important. If you need extra time on an assignment or you need to take a day to yourself, make sure you let your co-op supervisor or faculty know. At any time should you have any questions about co-op you can connect with your Co-op Student Advisor. If you are experiencing feelings of distress the College has many resources that can help including:

  • College Libraries Ontario’s Learning Portal has a great website full of stress management tips and techniques. Learn more at https://tlp-lpa.ca/study-skills/stress-management
  • Students can speak to a counsellor by contacting the Welcome Centre by email at welcomecentre@algonquincollege.com
  • If it is an urgent need students can call the Distress Line – 613-722-6914 or 1-866-966-0991 or go online at https://crisisline.ca/
  • Or they can contact Good 2 Talk – A professional counselling and information and referral telephone service for post-secondary students, which is reachable by calling 1-866-925-5454.
  • There is also a Crisis Text Line available by texting GOOD2TALKON to 686868, or online at https://good2talk.ca/

 

Updated on September 20th, 2021.

622 Co-op Interviews Conducted in the Past 2 Weeks!

We are only partly through our hiring process for the Winter 2020 Term (January – April) though we are pleased to share that 622 co-op interviews were conducted in the past two weeks alone with over 113 of our employer partners. There are still plenty of students available to be hired for Winter 2020 but we would like to take this opportunity to thank our employers who have posted jobs with us thus far. Thank you to all our employers who have interviewed as part of our new Rank and Offer process, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we streamline our processes to support the growth of cooperative education at Algonquin College.

“Based on our research, and continued consultation with other high-performing co-op colleges and universities, we decided to test a new co-op job posting and interviewing model that can serve our stakeholders in a more efficient and timely way,” says David Hall, Manager, Cooperative Education. “This change has enabled us to conduct three times the amount of interviews in the past two weeks when compared to the same time frame last fall.”

Starting this semester, we’ve updated our job application, interview and job offer process to a co-op industry standard called Rank and Offer. This will allow the Co-op Department to manage the interview process more efficiently to better support our learners in their journey to find co-op employment while providing a more streamlined hiring process for employers.

“These self-serve and automation improvements mean our students get more choice in the jobs they accept, allow employers to know the results of their interviews sooner, and allows the co-op team closely manage the entire hiring process from start to finish,” adds Hall.

“With new co-op programs offered each year, we are constantly evolving to find new ways of becoming more responsive and scalable while continuing to provide an exceptional co-op experience for learners and employers.

With Rank and Offer we will have an initial first round of co-op hiring early in the semester and then we will employ a continuous process, where employers can post their jobs, interview, and send job offers at any time, for the remainder of the term.

It might seem early in the semester for students to have their job offers for a Work Term in Winter 2020 but there are several ways that our learners benefit from this new process.

  • More time to apply for jobs and interview with several employers
  • First round of offers are sent during a specified period potentially allowing multiple job offers for them to consider
  • More opportunity for interview feedback and reflection
  • Job offers will be fully automated, learners and employers will be notified as soon as a job offer is extended and accepted

If you are interested in hiring an Algonquin College Co-op student for a work term starting January 2020, now is the time to post your job as we still have plenty of students available!

Send us an email or visit our website to learn how Cooperative Education at Algonquin College can help support your business.

We look forward to hearing from you!hire

Algonquin College Co-op Team

Making Connections Through Networking

The Co-op Department is committed to helping students find relevant and valuable work experience that will help you to hit the ground running after graduation. You’ve made the right choice by enrolling into co-op and now its time to find a co-op job! With over 3,000 Algonquin College co-op employers there are many different industries and a variety of job opportunities to choose from.

One of the best ways to find a co-op job opportunity that’s right for you is by meeting and talking to professionals in various industries. Networking is an opportunity to ask questions about an organization’s work environment, potential roles and future learning and career paths available to you.

The Algonquin College Co-op Department is happy to host our employers on campus throughout the year. At these events, students will have the opportunity to speak to professionals in their industry and discuss potential co-op job opportunities available to them.

You’re invited!

We are hosting an information session for students to explore the world of analytics and cloud computing at Global Affairs Canada.

When: Thursday, September 19, 2019, from 1pm-3pm

Where: ACCE Building Room CA105 and Minto Hall

Register now!

Employer profile:

Global Affairs Canada manages Canada’s diplomatic relations, provides consular services to Canadians, promotes the country’s international trade and leads Canada’s international development and humanitarian assistance.

Sign-up for co-op workshops and events:

Visit our co-op calendar to find more networking events and workshops this term.

You’ve signed up for a networking event, now what?

Make sure you are prepared before you show up at the event. A little bit of planning will go a long way and can help to set you apart from other attendees.

  1. Make a game plan for what you want to get out of the event.
  2. Do your research on the company and make sure you come with a list of questions.
  3. Read our blog on Survival Skills: Three Ways to Survive a Networking Event.

Why College Students Are the Future of the Workforce

people throwing hats on air

Canadian College’s provide the missing link between people and their careers. Teacher, Katie Marti writes for Study Magazine that: “Colleges are far more goal-oriented (than University). They tend to be full of people who mean business, often times after having finished a generic university degree program and realizing that what they really want to do requires more specific training. Therefore, I would suggest to you that while people may go to university because they can, they go to college because they should.”

It is true that many people who attend college have a vast background of education. They come to college to learn the hands-on skills and experience that apply to a work-force, and not just a highly academic existence. College students are dedicated to perusing a life-long passion and career. They are loyal to their craft and College shapes them from theory-based learners to employable and skilled workers.

College instills:

• An ability to engage in critical thinking, problem-solving and work in interdisciplinary, cross-functional teams.

• People skills, including interpersonal communication, flexibility, respectability and emotional intelligence.

selective focus photography of mechanics tool lot

The Pacific Standard states that “today’s work more often involves creativity, critical thinking, and personal interaction. Employees with interdisciplinary training have a leg up.”

“Universities are clearly and demonstrably elitist in many aspects of their work” –Ken Coates, National Post Opinion Editorial

Which is fine! It’s their job to be elitist and selective in who they offer enrollment and award degrees to. But, University’s are not, and have NEVER been designed to optimize students employ-ability or kick-start their career.

University does serve a meaningful purpose, to shape individuals into philosophical and higher level thinkers. University profs seek to inspire their students to become better citizens and polished academics. They do not intend to prepare pupils for job interviews, financial realities or hands-on experiences.

Often times, University classes are being taught by TA’s, who also do most of the grading. The relationships that students have with University professors is not intimate, especially in the first year of study. Instructors expect students to be fully prepared to succeed independently, prior to enrollment.

“Colleges, on the other hand, tend to have much smaller class sizes and a wide variety of instructors who have proven to be experts in their particular field. The work is specific and applicable. It’s quality over quantity in most cases.”- Study Magazine

people sitting near table with laptop computer

“In 2013, 68% of students picked “getting a good job” or “preparing for a career” as the most important reason to attend university; only 16% picked “increasing knowledge in a specific field” or “getting a good general education”. – Source

It’s clear that college is now offering students the type of education they WANT to invest in. College’s continue to evolve to both students and employer needs, which is what makes these institutions the driver of efficient change in our modern world.

The 10 Second Rule, Now Applies to your Resume

In a sea of names, your resume has less than ten seconds to make an impression on a potential employer.

It’s not your fault that you didn’t make the cut, 10 seconds is a pretty merciless time-frame to make a statement that embodies your entire work ethic and experience!

pile of papers

But, this is the reality of the modern workforce.

These 3 steps ↓ will ensure that YOU pull ahead of the pack and save your application from meeting its doom in the shredder!

  1. Make your resume a template that evolves to every job description.

Unfortunately, this is a lot of work, and not easy if the only time you have to apply for jobs is on your lunch break!

But, it’s worth it. People who are trained to scan through resumes are only going to be captivated by your page, if it begs and screams for the attention it deserves.

This requires passion and effort. It’s important to filter out the careers that you aspire to have from the jobs you would throw your hat in the ring for, just as a second thought.

It is more effective to personalize one resume than it is to simply submit a hundred, without addressing each position individually.

So, scan that job posting a bajillion times and make sure you input all the key words you find into your documents: to pass that ten second test. Tailor your resume to fit each position like a glove!

  1. Use Punchy wording and short sentences.

Don’t:

  • Sacrifice proper grammar
  • Start splicing through the page with fragments.

Do:

  • Make use of bullet points
  • Join ideas together
  • Use sub headings, titles, dates, positions and other labels to improve the ease of navigation for the reader.
  • Trim and tighten lengthy sentences
  • Use synonyms and strong vocabulary
  • Omit repetition
hand holding red pen over proofreading text
  1. Make it hard to look away from

Your resume has to be attractive. Use of white space, consistent fonts, and styles all effect the structural integrity of your resume. This site contains resume builder templates as well as tips and tricks to help “beautify” your CV, even if you’re not a graphic designer.

Graphic designer at work. Color samples.

But, be warned – not all hiring committees are awestruck by a fancy stencil – it is important to assess the formality of the position you’re applying for and use good judgement in formatting your information accordingly.

Remember, Algonquin College co-op students have access to resume workshops through the Co-op Department. Plus, you can follow what’s upcoming on HireAC.

Happy Job Hunting!