Jonah Lazar, a Kinesiology alum explains how arranging your own job is an essential part of looking for a co-op job!
Jonah spent his first co-op term working at a Neurological Physio Clinic as a Physio Assistant. After that, he spent his second co-op term working at a Chiropractor Clinic where he had arranged his own job. Then, Jonah went to Bioped (a Pedorthic clinic), where he learned how to plaster a cast!
Jonah then decided to go back to the Chiropractor Clinic for his fourth and fifth co-op term where he spent 8 months. During his 8-month period, Jonah learned about social media platforms, filming techniques, website design, YouTube tutorials and how to maintain an Instagram page.
Jonah says, “Without the co-op experience, you only learn one side of things and you don’t really see an impact it can make on someone’s life until you experience it in your co-op placements. What’s cool is you can actually see when the patient comes in and then how they have improved throughout. I’ve always enjoyed working with people and seeing them succeed is pretty rewarding!”
I think without co-op, I don’t know if I would have applied for chiropractic college.
How did you come across the Arrange Your Own Job opportunities?
Jonah said “I kind of wanted something close to home. I don’t have a car, so I would have to rely on transportation. So, I looked up jobs in Oakville online. I looked for physio and chiro clinics in Oakville. I reached out by email to the owner, and I didn’t get a response, but I stayed persistent and sent a follow-up email and all of a sudden, I got a response!"
"You never know what could’ve happened, they could’ve missed it or were busy, but I made sure to remind them. They didn’t have a co-op student before so it was their first time. There was not as much competition because there was no one else reaching out so it was a little bit easier.”
What tips would you give someone going into co-op?
Jonah says, “WaterlooWorks is a great resource to have and see what opportunities you have. You shouldn’t cut yourself off by just using WaterlooWorks because there are so many other opportunities that can present themselves by just branching out and doing your own research.”