Name: Abyad Rahman
Year: 4
Company/Firm: PwC
Co-op Position & Duration: Assurance Associate — 4 months

Be sure to prepare as much as you can. Attend all the co-op seminars and networking events, and get your resume reviewed by the co-op office as many times as you need. During your term, communication and patience is the key. It is important to communicate to your organization’s leaders about what type of work you want to do. As a co-op student, you probably won't get to work on any project you please. However, if you communicate what you like to your organization's leaders, you will eventually get the kind of work you enjoy after a certain level of experience. Patience is important because learning is only possible if you spend time to study and practice. If you study and practice long enough, you will eventually master different aspects of your career. Be patient and get to know everyone in your organization at all levels.

PwC is just like any other firms. They are heavily focused on productivity and high quality of work. Similarly, they all value top performers and have heavy expectations from employees. People work very hard but they also know how to have fun with their co-workers. There are lots of social events and extracurricular teams you can join to make the best of your experience! The most important takeaway is that you should learn as much as you can from your internships and acquire all the valuable skills that are within your reach! Acquiring a mindset of actively learning will make your life easier in the long run too!

A hint for all of you — practice doing video interviews early on! Lots of companies and shifting to a timed video interview format and a good video interview can set you apart from many talented and skilled candidates.

Name: Anson Groberman
Year: 5+
Company/Firm: Cass & Fraser Chartered Accountants
Co-op Position & Duration: Auditor — 8 months

For successful recruitment, I would recommend being yourself. Confidence, communication, independence, time management, technical accounting knowledge, and professionalism were some of the skills that helped me with securing this position. Cass & Fraser Chartered Accountants has an independent culture. You get your own audits and you do all of the work for those audits. The other staff are helpful when you get stuck and the partner is excellent, but you are expected to do most of your work independently. To succeed in this role, it’s important to have high attention to detail and good time management skills.

Name: Brendan Carlson
Year: 4
Company/Firm: Romanovsky & Associates LLP
Co-op Position(s) and Duration: Accounting Technician — 8 months

Attending the CPA Meet Your Employer Event and the Business Career Fair helped me secure an interview with the firm as the recruiters remembered meeting me. Networking and striking up conversations are great things you can do to advance your career goals. As well, having familiarity with accounting softwares, being coachable, and showing interest during the interview helped me secure this position. Always have an open mind and be willing to learn.

Being a smaller firm there is a more laid back work environment and open door policy. R&A focuses on developing you as a student so you are always encouraged to get help and ask lots of questions!

Remember: Try to focus on the “why” behind a task. Even if the project is simple, try to understand how it fits into what the organization does as a whole or how the task fits into the larger goal of the project.

Name: Douglas Williams
Year: 3
Company/Firm: Pennock Acheson Nielsen Devaney (PAND)
Co-op Position & Duration: Accounting Associate — 4 months

I was able to secure this position due to having former accounting work experience, partaking in financial roles in University clubs, and volunteering in unique positions e.g. Telus World of Science and University of Alberta Ecocar.

The culture at PAND was great for accepting students like me, a very fun and easy going environment, but still a quality firm with helpful senior employees and managers. Take in your training with your experiences and don’t be afraid to ask questions! Accept help from your co-workers when it is offered because the skills you learn hands on will arguably benefit you more than things learned in the classroom.

Name: Eric Thompson
Year: 4
Company/Firm: MNP
Co-op Position & Duration: Co-op Student — 8 months

I would recommend attending networking events and talking to a lot of different people. Don’t talk too much about school or work. Find a common ground and have a conversation about something you both find interesting. They are much more likely to remember a student who talked about skiing with them rather than the one who talks about the CPA like everyone else does. Communications skills primarily helped me in securing this position. I was good at talking to people and having interesting conversations. MNP as an organization is very supportive and invested in your development.

Name: Hanna Nakonechny
Year: 3
Company/Firm: Grant Thornton
Co-op Position & Duration: Co-op, Assurance — 8 months

Be yourself! They want to see your personality more than anything. The job is much better when everyone gets along and genuinely cares for one another. As well, make sure to participate in personal networking efforts. During the interview, ask many questions. Utilize this opportunity to find out if you actually want to work for the organization.

My ability to communicate and empathize helped me secure this placement. Additionally, I had previous work experience from working for multiple organizations that made me well rounded.

Everyone is super friendly! The firm really prides itself on culture and it definitely shows.

Name: Jasmine Luong
Year: 4
Company/Firm: KPMG
Co-op Position & Duration: Staff accountant — 8 months

Never stop sending out applications until you secure a job offer or multiple job offers! Just because you have an interview with one company doesn't mean you should stop your job search, many companies have deadlines that are close with other companies so you should send as many as possible.

BE SURE to utilize the resources provided by the Business Career Services Office as they are there to help you with your job search from resume review, to workshops, to networking opportunity postings. Meet with your co-op coordinator prior to your job search as they are also there to support you and answer any questions you may have!

If you don't receive an offer from a company after an interview, don't be disappointed! These interviews will just be a great learning experience and practice for your future interviews. Ask them for feedback on your interview and continue on your job search until you secure a position!

Don't forget to be yourself! Whether it's in your application, networking session or interview, companies want to see if you are a good fit for their culture.

A few things to do:

• Attend networking sessions! Even if you may not be an extremely extroverted individual, these opportunities provide you with the chance to learn more about the corporate culture while leaving lasting impressions on the staff. If possible, collect the contact information for each individual you chatted with and send them a personalized thank you email to express your appreciation for their time.

• For interviews, remember to practice different questions and prepare different experiences you can draw from to cater to the interviewer's questions. Don't memorize your answers as that will sound unnatural, but rather have a general outline for different sample questions. Ask questions after your interviews, whether it's about the job position, company culture, the interviewers, etc. This shows that you are genuinely interested and want to learn more. Don't forget to send them a thank you email after your interview!

• Remember: Have fun :) Don't be afraid of this journey — you'll learn lots throughout your term and receive support from everyone. Don't stress too much because you'll do great! Make the most out of your experience and make new friends. At the end of the day, your job search may be stressful and time consuming but the ending results will be worth it when you finally secure a placement you are genuinely excited about! :)

Name: Kate Phan
Year: 4

Company/Firm: Cass & Fraser Chartered Accountants
Co-op Position & Duration: Auditor — 8 months

I would really recommend doing your research on the company website and not being afraid to show them your accounting knowledge. What helped me secure this position at Cass and Fraser were my strong basic accounting knowledge and my ability to relate my personal interest/experiences to the work that they do.

In terms of culture, Cass & Fraser has a small, family-oriented environment. They are great with 1-on-1 mentorship. Also, they provide flexible work hours with paid overtime.

Do expect to communicate both verbally and in writing on a daily basis with various stakeholders and not just your co-workers and clients. It's a very small firm, so the client market is very specialized. But, you will get to own the file (i.e. work on it from beginning to end) which is very rare if you work for a mid-sized or big 4 firm.

Company/Firm: PwC
Co-op Position & Duration: Assurance Associate — 4 months

To secure my position at PwC, I made sure to network and do my research. Make sure to look at their website and the news. Also, relax during the interview — being personable is really important. The more fun you have at the interview, the higher the chance that you will likely get the job. It all comes down to communication and how interactive you are with the interviewer. In addition to all of this, the recruiters liked that I had prior work experience.

The people at PwC are very collaborative and team-oriented, which was really encouraging for everyone’s professional development.

Finally, I would say talk to as many people as you can prior to and while you're on the job. You will definitely learn a lot, but do prepare for a steep learning curve, the fast-paced environment, and long hours if this is your very first professional job. Also, don't be afraid to ask others for help as soon as possible because during busy season, the expectation will be higher and it will be very easy to get lost.

Name: Michael Knoblauch
Year: 4
Company/Firm: Kingston Ross Pasnak LLP
Co-op Position & Duration: Co-op Student, Assurance and Advisory Services — 8 months

Be mindful of what you want to see or get out of your co-op position. These opportunities are there for you to explore what excites you about professional careers in business and accounting! Do not be afraid to ask questions. Also, being nervous is okay — use that energy in your daily work life to do your best work.

Landing this position came from my ability to present my communication skills to the hiring managers in both my cover letter and during the interview process. Teamwork was also a vital skill I found that assisted me in the recruitment and hiring process. I did not have any hard skills relating to the position from my past experience, so I tried focusing on the soft skills I was good at and showcased them in my communication to the firm.

The culture at the firm was of high quality and senior employees were always available to help, even when all operations shifted to remote working. This resonated with me especially as a co-op student.

Remember: Ask questions! It is very overwhelming at the start and can be easy to get stuck without bringing your issues to anyone's attention. Take the time to really understand what you are doing because you will very rarely get anything exactly to what your training provides. The information learned in training needs to be understood, not just known well enough to answer a direct question regarding it.

Name: Nathan Drueco
Year: 3
Company/Firm: KPMG
Co-op Position & Duration: Staff accountant — 8 months

I secured a position with KPMG through CareerConnect by having demonstrated academic success, engaging in extracurriculars, and lots of networking. I recommend researching the company beforehand and asking relevant questions during the interview. It also helps to network a lot with the company to connect with their people. KPMG was inclusive and supportive.

Name: Phillip Seu
Year: 5+

Company/Firm: Pagnotta Industries
Co-op Position & Duration: Staff accountant — 8 months

Prepare for interviews by doing some research and try to be personable. This, in addition to perseverance and having a strong work ethic are things that helped me secure this placement. To fit well within Pagnotta Industries’ culture, work diligently and make sure to learn and take notes as you progress.

Company/Firm: Pennock Acheson Nielsen Devaney (PAND)
Co-op Position & Duration: Staff accountant — 8 months

I was able to secure my 2nd co-op placement through my connections from Pagnotta Industries. This is why going to networking events and talking to everyone is important. I also made sure to showcase my strong work ethic and ability to interact with individuals.

At PAND, everyone knows each other, and it’s a “work hard, play hard” environment.

Name: Sungwook Cho
Year: 4
Company/Firm: MNP
Co-op Position & Duration: Co-op Student — 8 months

For successful recruitment, I would recommend going to a lot of networking events. Previous job experiences also give you an advantage. The organization also has a fun and encouraging culture. Another tip I can give you is to be flexible.

Name: Udayan Chawla
Year: 4
Company/Firm: KPMG
Co-op Position & Duration: Staff accountant — 8 months

I landed this position at KPMG through personal networking efforts. Also, being proactive and treating each and every interaction with an industry professional as an interview is the key to success in securing a position. I would recommend getting involved in active outreach and making it comfortable for the recruiters to carry conversations with you. Have self-awareness and convey it successfully. KPMG has a culture that is extremely supportive, helpful, and warm.

Name: Brianne Gatton
Year: 3
Company/Firm: Pennock Acheson Nielsen Devaney
Co-op Position & Duration: Staff Accountant - 8 months

I secured this position at Pennock Acheson Nielsen Devaney through CareerConnect. It is important to remember to be yourself through and through during the recruitment/interview process. My interview and the skills I obtained through previous work experiences helped me to secure this placement. The work culture of this firm is very friendly and culture-driven.

Name: Melissa Wiebe
Year: 5+
Company/Firm: PwC
Co-op Position & Duration: Assurance Associate - 6 months

Application tip: Read the job description! I found it very helpful to identify key skills/traits PwC was looking for and clearly show how I had used or developed those skills in my work and volunteer experience.

Interview tips: Be genuine and honest! PwC knows that students will not have a lot of technical experience as a new associate. One way you can differentiate yourself is through your personality and story. Before the interview, make sure you research the firm and reflect on how its values and services align with your own goals. Be prepared to explain why you want to work for them and show genuine interest in the position.

I had worked in a few past jobs that allowed me to develop teamwork and communication skills. These were two of the main qualities they were looking for. As well, an audit associate position at PwC usually involves many responsibilities. By having various extracurricular activities on my resume, I demonstrated to them that I could handle multiple activities at once and had solid time and project management skills.

The work culture at PwC is very young. The majority of people I worked with were in their 20s to 30s. In busy season, the hours are very long. That being said, there is also a lot of emphasis on the well-being of employees. In my experience, managers are very flexible, especially in terms of the health needs of employees. While there is an expectation to put in the hours to finish the work, breaks are encouraged and there are a lot of resources available to help you manage the stress. Additionally, I found most of the employees to be very friendly and willing to help each other out.

Don't spin your wheels too much! The learning curve in audit is very steep at the beginning and you WILL get stuck. Give yourself a specific amount of time to work on a task, and if you are not getting anywhere, ask for help! Also, accumulate your questions! Your managers and seniors are probably very busy, and it's courteous and efficient to gather a number of questions instead of asking them constantly as they arise.