Embracing uncertainty: job application tips to discover your passion
Ellie Wise (she/her) is a third-year Biotechnology and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) student. She gives advice on writing cover letters and résumés, approaching interviews and how to search for a job you’re passionate about.
Ellie's co-op journey
Work term one: Ellie’s first co-op was at Schwartz Levitsky Feldman as a tax and accounting staff. She started by doing reviews and compilations, then progressed into doing audits where she worked on a major audit project for most of her work term. Additionally, she worked on some personal tax and forensic accounting.
Work term two: Ellie was then a forensics accountant at Grant Thornton. Her role involved assessing records to find proof of fraud. She also spent time working with anti-money laundering compliance by ensuring large companies have appropriate policies to prevent money laundering.
Q & A with Ellie
How do you generally write your résumé and cover letters?
“I’ve done a few things to stand out during the application process. I made sure to add skills and key words to my résumé as many companies use AI for an initial filter. I'd also recommend having a solid résumé template. Try to tailor your résumé and your cover letter to each job you apply for.”
“Your résumé really shouldn't be more than a page and you need to focus on your experience. Recruiters know you’re a student and that you go to the University of Waterloo. What they really care about is your experience."
"If you’ve never had a job before, focus on extracurriculars like clubs. If not, you can even include some personal experiences where you can highlight skills that could apply to the job role.”
“I hear people recommend that you shouldn't put colour on your résumé, however I have colour on mine. If you want colour, I’d suggest sticking to dark blues.”
“I would put a summary of everything on the top of your résumé, just two or three points that are a combination of qualifications and skills. Then I tend to do a chunk of education, extracurriculars and any other relevant experience I have. If I still have space at the bottom, I put a list of keywords and skills that I know will be relevant to the job description.”
“The cover letter should be brief; it should start by saying the job you're applying for. Introduce yourself with a sentence about who you are, where you go to school, what program you're in, what year you are in. Then highlight some skills and the associated job experiences. Finally, you can end it off with a thank you and I'm looking forward to hearing from you.”
Do you have advice for students who are concerned about interviews?
“If you're not comfortable talking to people, make sure you prepare a list of questions to ask at the end of the interview. Don’t be afraid to ask about the salary; it shouldn’t be your first question, but it’s perfectly fine to ask about. Another good question is “What would you recommend a candidate do to stand out?” Asking about the next steps in the application process is also always a good question.”
“Another excellent question to ask is “Is there anything I've said in the interview process that you would like me to clarify to better fit the role?” If you feel that the interview has gone well, it's a great way to address anything the recruiters were unsure about.”
“I tend to end off my interviews by asking for some feedback on my performance during the interview. I think the best place to learn is on the job and it shows that I’m open to constructive criticism.”
“Don't be afraid to send an email after the interview with follow-up questions or to thank them for their time. Also, keep in touch with recruiters and talent acquisition through LinkedIn, even if you don’t land the role. LinkedIn can be a great tool, to get future roles. Having a professional profile picture and a good paragraph with your experiences and your skills is very important.”
“I applied for a position both in my first and second year, and I didn't get it, but I stayed in touch with the recruiter on LinkedIn. I'd make sure to update him about the application process and when my next work term was. I ended up landing the job this fall.”
Would you have approached your job search differently if you knew what you know now?
“The biggest regret is not going to cycle two. During first year, they did a lecture where they showed an infographic showing that only about 50 percent of students secured jobs in cycle one. That infographic scared me because I thought I needed to get a job in cycle one or I would be left behind.”
“The infographic showed as each cycle progressing, and by cycle six, there were a couple people still jobless. I thought if that's me, I'm going to be devastated but I’ve learned that I shouldn’t accept a job I’m not interested in just because I’m worried. There are tons of opportunities on WaterlooWorks.”
“For my first job, sure I might have had a good experience, but in terms of the job role and responsibilities, I wasn't in love, and I probably would have been happier waiting for cycle two. So, my biggest piece of advice would probably be do not be afraid to reject jobs you don't love. Even if you don't have any work experience and you've only received a few offers there's still five cycles left.”
Have any of your co-ops been something you might want to pursue as a career?
“I've worked in a lot of different areas of accounting and I still have no idea what I want to do. I think a lot of my experiences were very interesting, but I still haven't found something that clicks. Which is disappointing and a little bit scary, but I know that I'm young and any experience is good experience.”
“You don't have to find your soulmate of a job right away. It may not be in the first three years of your career; it may not even be in the first five. It’s common to not find it in your four or five co-op terms.”
“I've enjoyed a lot about each job. They tended to be cool for about a month when everything was new, exciting and I was learning a ton. Then I got into a routine and things got boring. I hope I find something in my next co-op, in my last co-op or even 10 years from now that feels like it’s the right thing. I know there's the 80/20 rule. You only love your job 80 per cent of the time but I've found maybe 50/50 at best.”
“The best advice I've heard is it's okay not to be okay and to have no idea what to do.”
“People live so long so you have so much time. Changing your mind is totally okay too. My grandfather started engineering and then he switched to dentistry. He hated dentistry, went back to engineering so there's so many options. It's okay to take a while to figure out what works for you.”
“Don't feel like taking time to decide is a waste of time. It’s okay if you make a wrong decision. You’re more likely to regret doing nothing, than regret trying something.”
What’s next for you?
“I just recently became the student representative for Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy.”
“I'm also on a co-op term at RSM right now but I don’t know what I’ll do after this. I’ll have to find my next co-op but I don’t really have a five-year plan, so maybe I'll plan to make a five-year plan.”
“I want to establish what I want in life. I think I've reached a point in school where graduation is coming up and I need to start thinking outside of school. As a student you get sucked into student life and campus environment. It's almost as if the world doesn't exist outside of us.”
“So, it'll be a bit of a process to figure out what I want but I think it will be nice to have something concrete to aim for.”
