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Author Topic: Co-op Interviews  (Read 10492 times)  Share 

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birdwing341

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Co-op Interviews
« on: November 07, 2016, 10:44:48 pm »
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Hello there :)

Wasn't sure where to put this one, but considering co-op interview notifications came out today, I was wondering whether (Jamon in particular!!) had any advice for the interviews themselves, how to conduct ourselves, what to talk about and what has worked in previous interviews.

Any advice would be very welcome :)

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2016, 12:57:00 am »
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Hello there :)

Wasn't sure where to put this one, but considering co-op interview notifications came out today, I was wondering whether (Jamon in particular!!) had any advice for the interviews themselves, how to conduct ourselves, what to talk about and what has worked in previous interviews.

Any advice would be very welcome :)

Hey birdwing! Congrats on scoring an interview! That's a massive achievement even of itself, so bravo! I've got my fingers crossed for you :)

I talk a bit about interview tips here, but in general, my best advice is seriously to just be genuine. They'll see right through lies/exaggeration, or a fake persona, or anything like that. Just be you (with minimal banter) ;)

Be confident; they'll care just as much about how you say something as they will about what's said. The big mistake I see people making is that they are afraid to look the interviewer in the eye, the nerves take over and they start looking around the room. You need to engage, verbally and non-verbally, to demand that they remember you.

Don't be too formal. I've never been in an interview where I felt that things needed to be absurdly formal, like speaking to the queen or something. They'll appreciate and relate more to a more genuine approach. Smile, crack a joke if you feel super game. Again, it comes down to just being who you are. Oh, and if it's hot, for goodness sake ditch your suit jacket on the chair as you walk in. They seriously won't care (everyone seems to think keeping the jacket on is like a golden rule or something?)...

"Hi guys! I'm Jamon, pleasure to meet you". Shake hands, they'll stand up to greet you. Don't forget names (I nearly did). "I'm just going to pop my jacket on the chair really quick, I hope that's okay. Hot today huh?"

Okay, perhaps a tad cheesy, but you get the idea. Don't walk in like a robot, the Coop program wants people with personality, because people with personalities make good employees.

Besides being relaxed and confident, be prepared to go on little rants. Every question is an open ended question. Even if the question is, "What was your rank in Subject X?" Do not answer with just "1st," answer with, "Oh I got 1st. I enjoyed that one, I probably put more work into it throughout my HSC than I should have." or something. But no one word answers. Prepare for the typical questions. Think about why you are there, why you want to be a Coop scholar, why you chose UNSW, why you chose your degree, all that sort of stuff. Everything on your application is fair game too, so it's good to read over what you wrote before you head in. It will have been 2 months by the time the interview rolls around after all.

Oh, and for Coop, you'll know who your sponsors are before your interview. Someone from a sponsor will interview you, likely from your program, so it helps to take a bit of time to research the sponsors for your program. Know what they do. Maybe even think about things you could ask them?

Umm, that's all I have for now, aha. But it's all moot; if you got to this point then you don't need my help. If you have an interview, you have the capability to smash it! From here it's all about attitude and self confidence ;D







birdwing341

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2016, 07:46:40 pm »
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Hey birdwing! Congrats on scoring an interview! That's a massive achievement even of itself, so bravo! I've got my fingers crossed for you :)

I talk a bit about interview tips here, but in general, my best advice is seriously to just be genuine. They'll see right through lies/exaggeration, or a fake persona, or anything like that. Just be you (with minimal banter) ;)

Be confident; they'll care just as much about how you say something as they will about what's said. The big mistake I see people making is that they are afraid to look the interviewer in the eye, the nerves take over and they start looking around the room. You need to engage, verbally and non-verbally, to demand that they remember you.

Don't be too formal. I've never been in an interview where I felt that things needed to be absurdly formal, like speaking to the queen or something. They'll appreciate and relate more to a more genuine approach. Smile, crack a joke if you feel super game. Again, it comes down to just being who you are. Oh, and if it's hot, for goodness sake ditch your suit jacket on the chair as you walk in. They seriously won't care (everyone seems to think keeping the jacket on is like a golden rule or something?)...

"Hi guys! I'm Jamon, pleasure to meet you". Shake hands, they'll stand up to greet you. Don't forget names (I nearly did). "I'm just going to pop my jacket on the chair really quick, I hope that's okay. Hot today huh?"

Okay, perhaps a tad cheesy, but you get the idea. Don't walk in like a robot, the Coop program wants people with personality, because people with personalities make good employees.

Besides being relaxed and confident, be prepared to go on little rants. Every question is an open ended question. Even if the question is, "What was your rank in Subject X?" Do not answer with just "1st," answer with, "Oh I got 1st. I enjoyed that one, I probably put more work into it throughout my HSC than I should have." or something. But no one word answers. Prepare for the typical questions. Think about why you are there, why you want to be a Coop scholar, why you chose UNSW, why you chose your degree, all that sort of stuff. Everything on your application is fair game too, so it's good to read over what you wrote before you head in. It will have been 2 months by the time the interview rolls around after all.

Oh, and for Coop, you'll know who your sponsors are before your interview. Someone from a sponsor will interview you, likely from your program, so it helps to take a bit of time to research the sponsors for your program. Know what they do. Maybe even think about things you could ask them?

Umm, that's all I have for now, aha. But it's all moot; if you got to this point then you don't need my help. If you have an interview, you have the capability to smash it! From here it's all about attitude and self confidence ;D

Woah, thanks for all the advice :) Will definitely take it on board!!

brenden

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2016, 07:56:03 pm »
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✌️just do what makes you happy ✌️

birdwing341

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2016, 09:56:43 pm »
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This is a must watch https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en

Sorry! Just got around to watching it :P Very interesting watch, kind of looked a little further and seems to be a little discredited but hey! it could work. Will definitely make sure that I'm treading the middle ground (in terms of body language) during the interview.

Thanks again for the recommendation!!

birdwing341

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2016, 05:36:30 am »
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Thanks so much for the help!!! Managed to get a conditional offer :)

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2016, 09:56:53 am »
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Thanks so much for the help!!! Managed to get a conditional offer :)

Go birdwing!! Congratulations, we'll keep our fingers crossed for you while you wait for your results ;D

winstondarmawan

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2017, 07:00:07 pm »
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Hello!
This is not related to the interview but the application itself (UNSW). I find this question rather confusing:

"What sort of graduate position do you imagine yourself in after university?"

Would appreciate some clarification or pointers to answer this question. Thanks in advance!

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2017, 07:02:05 pm »
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Hello!
This is not related to the interview but the application itself (UNSW). I find this question rather confusing:

"What sort of graduate position do you imagine yourself in after university?"

Would appreciate some clarification or pointers to answer this question. Thanks in advance!

They are basically asking, "Where do you see yourself going after you graduate?"

- Running your own startup?
- Working for a big company?
- Working by yourself, or in a team, maybe managing a team?

Project your career beyond your degree and try and picture the sort of role you'd aspire to - That's what they are asking :)

saloni.desai

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2018, 06:55:38 pm »
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Hey Jamon,
do you have any tips for the application itself? How should we answer the questions?

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2018, 11:06:56 pm »
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Hey Jamon,
do you have any tips for the application itself? How should we answer the questions?

Hi! Genuinely and without overthinking it - They aren't hyper analysing your sentence structure and grammar. Just tell them what you want to say. Be specific - Don't vaguely say, "Ahh, I was involved with blah blah blah," say, "I volunteered for _______ for this long and this is exactly what I did and this is why that shows I am ______."

Ultimately, like, the quality of your application is mostly in its content - If you've done loads of co-curricular activities and loads of things that demonstrate your employable qualities, then it will be hard to write a "bad" application ;D

Oh, and don't write "For the money" in the "Why do you want this scholarship?" question. No brainer, I know, but you'd be surprised what people do ;)

Priyanshu90

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #11 on: October 21, 2018, 03:13:13 am »
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Hello Jam

Just wondering it the interview is possible to be done via skype as I reside in a small rural town in Western Australia and it would be next to impossible for me to get to Sydney in such a short timespan.


jamonwindeyer

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Re: Co-op Interviews
« Reply #12 on: October 21, 2018, 01:31:11 pm »
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Hello Jam

Just wondering it the interview is possible to be done via skype as I reside in a small rural town in Western Australia and it would be next to impossible for me to get to Sydney in such a short timespan.

Hi! Your best bet would be to chat to the Coop Office, but I don't see why it would be an issue! Fingers crossed it is possible ;D