Name: Ahren Kaul
Year: 5+
Company/Firm: PepsiCo
Co-op Position & Duration: Sales Co-op — 12 months

With regard to the recruitment/interview process, make sure to prepare meticulously, and don’t give up! Really take the time to create a strong resume, and showcase your relevant experiences and skills to make you stand out. My interpersonal skills, communication skills, and previous work experience in a related field truly helped me land a 12-month co-op placement. The people at PepsiCo are young, exciting, and innovative, so I really enjoyed my experience.

Name: Kevin Zentner
Year: 5+
Company/Firm: PCL Construction
Co-op Position & Duration: Business Analyst — 8 months

I had an eight-month co-op work term with PCL Construction. This position involved a lot of big-thinking and problem solving regardless of the resources you’re provided with. With this being said, it’s important to be analytical, adaptable, and professional. 

Make sure to really know PCL and prepare well for their recruitment process. Also, know your stories and tell them well — this is what helped me succeed and secure my placement. PCL is a great company to work for if you are outgoing, like to be busy, ambitious, and want to surround yourself with like-minded people. 

Name: Claire Adam
Year: 3
Company/Firm: PCL Construction
Co-op Position & Duration: Marketing Student - 8 months

I secured a position with PCL Construction through CareerConnect. My strong interpersonal skills were a major factor in helping me secure this position. It is important to remember to ask lots of questions about the work environment during the recruitment/interview process. The work culture at PCL is fast with high expectations. 

Name: Karsten Sturmay
Year: 3
Company/Firm: Leduc, Nisku & Wetaskiwin Regional Chamber of Commerce
Co-op Position & Duration: Regional Promotion Coordinator - 8 months

Soft skills matter! Oftentimes, we can get too focused on technical skills and experience - many hiring managers value skills like teamwork, accountability, and the ability to function independently (especially for entry level co-op positions). When getting together your cover letter and prepping for your interview, ensure you have a good grasp of what soft skills were outlined in the job description and what soft skills you think the hiring manager values (based on your research into the company). Previous experience in the non-profit sector and a personal network that already included professionals in Leduc & area helped me secure this position.

My co-workers at the Leduc, Nisku & Wetaskiwin Chamber were honestly some of the nicest people I have ever met. Extremely supportive, welcoming, and willing to go out of their way to ensure you feel like a part of the team. Combine that with a hands-off management structure, and it is a great environment that any self-motivated employee can thrive in.

Don't be afraid to make a position your own! Especially if the position is a "new" one for the company (do your research and ask during the interview process to determine if this is the case). Look for additional ways to add value beyond your explicit roles and responsibilities, and bring forward ideas you may have that will push the meter stick forward.

Name: Ryan Chan
Year: 5+
Company/Firm: PepsiCo
Co-op Position & Duration: Sales Intern — 8 months

Some advice I can give you is to practice your interview skills. InterviewStream is a great resource for getting asked typical as well as more challenging and unique interview questions. These skills go a long way in impressing your potential employer during the recruitment and hiring process. 

Skills that helped me land this placement and helped my career development during the job came down to my communication and my time management skills. Given the nature of the position in sales, it is important to be a great communicator and be an advocate for your company’s products and services. 

PepsiCo was a great place to work — a very supportive environment and culture with the goal to help their pipeline of talent succeed and be a great resource for the company. The other employees and managers were always willing to help and answer your questions. There are a number of great people at the company to set you up for success. For this co-op placement, you will need a car, so get on the road to a great career!

Name: Paige Lutz
Year: 4

Company/Firm: Public Services and Procurement Canada
Co-op Position & Duration: Procurement Officer — 8 months

When it comes to the recruitment process, make sure to definitely study up on the government department, what they do, and have real-life scenarios ready to use to answer interview questions. The interview questions will align very well with the skills laid out in the job ad. There was also a written component of the interview, so having professional writing skills is important.

Things that helped secure my co-op placement include reading the instructions carefully when applying to the job advertisement, having good interview skills (including having examples from my past work that I could apply to answer their questions), and being confident! A panel interviewed me, so it was important to make a good impression, be friendly, never be afraid to ask questions, and think about everything before I said it.

Also, the culture at PSPC is amazing. It is very group-oriented and everyone was willing to help and/or answer my questions. I worked with people of different ages, including fresh graduates who were friendly and included me in everything they did. It was very fun and an awesome learning environment — not a stiff, cold workplace like some people imagine government jobs to be! The procurement process is taught to you from scratch and training lasts the first four months of the placement, so definitely use that time to your advantage and don't be afraid to put yourself out there!

Company/Firm: Annie McGuire Interiors
Co-op Position & Duration: E-commerce and Merchandising Lead — 4 months

My interview with Annie McGuire Interiors was over the phone and very relaxed — it was more of a conversation! Being friendly and relaxed over the phone was important, as phone interviews can be uncomfortable at times since you can't see the other person. I was recruited through CDR so I was offered the job by the end of the call.

Since I was working from home due to COVID-19, my placement was very relaxed and casual. I learned Shopify skills basically as I went and asked questions to the owner when I needed to.

Name: Alex Forest
Year: 4
Company/Firm: Pegasus Imagery Ltd.
Co-op Position & Duration: Product Marketing - 8 months

Apply for positions even if you don't meet all the qualifications! Be as honest as possible in your interviews as well - you don't have to check every single one of their boxes, just be open and eager to learn new things. 

My co-op coordinator, Enzo, helped me a lot with my resume and with the prep for the interview. He helped instill confidence in me and be ready for any questions thrown my way. I think another part of what helped me secure the placement was trying to be as honest and as real as possible with my interviewer, and telling her about myself outside of just my work abilities. 

At Pegasus, you have to be a self-starter. There's always a bunch of little things to get done, on top of bigger tasks, and there's not always someone to oversee you and tell you what to do next. This doesn't mean that you can't ask for help though! It's always good to clarify what's needed of you or if there's a task you don't quite know how to go about - everyone wants to help you / the whole company succeed. The company is overall pretty relaxed, open-door policy with all of management, everyone is super nice and we do team barbecues once a month! It's really fun. 

There will be a lot of design work and branding in this position. I was really nervous when I applied because I was worried I would have to do a bunch of strategizing and campaign work that I was unfamiliar with, but I was definitely eased into it. Started with a lot of social media and branding, and have moved onto some bigger tasks while still keeping up with the smaller scale stuff. I'll reiterate what I said earlier - apply even if you don't hit all of the preferred qualifications!