Assalamo alaykum,
A friend of mine is looking for a coop placement. He is attending UWaterloo and is enrolled in CS (software engineering). He will be completing his 2nd semester by the end of April, insha’Allah.
He has applied many places, but no success yet.
I was wondering if anyone here is aware of any vacancies (for internship) in and around GTA, so that I can pass it on him, insha’Allah.
Has he considered working without pay for a coop. I know that may not be what he wants right now but it could give him a leg into a company.
Saadiya,
had you posted this some time ago, I would've asked you to apply to the company that I'm working for. They're going to hire a co-op to do Java next term. Unfortunately the resumes have been picked now.
I would advise him to do a couple of things:
1) Get his resume checked out by senior students. Often there are blatant mistakes in it which can be easily corrected by a second person. The MSA is a great resource for that. There are many CS students in the MSA who know the ropes and all. He should get his resume looked over by them.
2) I'm assuming he does not have too much experience. If that is the case ask him to take IST courses (ist.uwaterloo.ca). They're free and are normally one or two sessions. Sometimes they offer useful courses like Intro to Unix etc which can be very useful to first-years. They'll make his resume look much better.
3) The stage at which the co-op process is now, I would advise him to take anything that comes his way, i.e., take even tech support jobs. I've seen many junior students get hung up on wanting software development jobs in their very first term. For the majority it does not work out that way. So, unless he is mega rich ask him to take whatever opportunity comes his way for money even if it is not his dream job. Otherwise, he will be going home without a job and looking for work through the work term. Software testing is a also a very good way to break into the field 'cause you stay close to development and will prolly get a shot at the real thing in a term or two.
Unfortunately I don't know of any openings. The one I did know about and could've helped him with has candidates selected already. If your friend needs more info, please post it here or PM me and I'll be happy to help in any way.
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*Originally posted by hmcq: *
Has he considered working without pay for a coop. I know that may not be what he wants right now but it could give him a leg into a company.
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This is a very good idea too. I know many people who did that (including myself) and are much better off for it now. If he can afford to go without the money, this could be very beneficial for him especially if he manages to get a good position.
Jazakumullahu khair for the pointers.
I passed it on to him. He's still applying around and trying his best to find a coop placement. However, he said if he's unable to get one then he will work (paid) at his uncle's consultancy firm and Allahu aalim.