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Lately one of the things I’ve been busy with is trying to
find a co-op. Co-op (which is short for Cooperative) is basically a paid internship
that is required for most of the majors here at RIT. It is also one of the
reasons I chose RIT as my college because going on a co-op is a great way to
experience what you’ll be doing with your major in the professional field. For
me, I need two co-ops before I graduate and currently I don’t have any. So
finding one right now is a major priority for me and therefore I’ve been doing
a lot of things to prepare myself for interviews and the real world.
First what I did was go to the Fall Career Fair. It’s a fair
in the Gordon Field House where a bunch of company representatives come to look
for potential hires for jobs and co-ops. The field house was full of all
different companies and you were able to find the ones that were looking for
students in your major with a simple sheet of paper. I talked to several
companies there and even got an interview the next day. It was definitely a
great experience to have my first real interview with a company.
Next, I’ve been googling myself. Why would this help with
interviews and such? Well, in classes professors have mentioned how some
potential employers may check the internet to see if they could find out more
about you. Whether it is from your Facebook or a blog that you write, they will
look for anything to see if you’re hiring material. I googled myself and the
first two links that came up for me were my Brick City Ambassador blog and the
webpage for my academic fraternity, Gamma Epsilon Tau. I felt comfortable with
this fact that now if potential hirers go to google my name those would be the
only things they would find that relate to me. So, be careful what you put out
there on the internet and be conscious of the fact whatever is out there will
be seen.
Third, I’ve been checking Jobzone daily. Jobzone is through
the Cooperative program here at RIT and it’s a place where you can go to check
and see if companies have posted any announcements about looking for students
to hire for a job or co-op. You can search by any major, where in the world you
would want to go, and by quarter. You can upload your resume and then send it
to that company if they request it in their post. It’s a great place to look
and see what companies are looking for potential co-opers and it’s a great way
to get connected.
That’s all I have for now. I just had another interview last
night for the Cunard co-ops aboard the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria, and
the Queen Elizabeth cruise ships. It went great and seems like it would be a
great experience and co-op, so wish me luck!
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