Co-op employability skills

Committing to on-going professional and personal improvement.

• Nicole accelerated her summer job training by reading all training manuals outside of regular work hours and shadowed productive employees when she was able.
• Following each of her co-op interviews, Nicole reflects on her experience and identifies what she did well and what she can improve upon for the next interview.

CareerHub: Through the "Success At Work" module of CareerHub, you can learn how professional development and skills enhancement can support your success in the workplace.

Evaluating a situation and using information to help reach a thoughtful decision or solution.

• Ricardo determined the optimal high school yearbook design by collecting available options, factoring the design and printing costs and consulting with the yearbook committee.
• When asked to present some recommendations to his supervisor, Ricardo carefully considered the options and asked a co-worker how to best write and present his ideas.

CareerHub: Through the "Find Work" module of CareerHub, you can learn more about strategies for finding work, including strategies on how to allocate your time, speak with hiring managers and research available opportunities.

Asking for insights from other people and listening to their opinions, while also sharing your own.

• Tariq increased membership and support for his high school's sustainability club by organizing events where he would gather ideas from others, and used those ideas to plan sustainability initiatives that mattered the most.
• When Tariq gets stuck on a project, he speaks with a senior employee for advice. Tariq asks clarifying questions to ensure he understands the project, then thanks the employee for their help.

Interpersonal communication resources: The Student Success Office offers resources to help you develop your interpersonal communication skills. These three resources are most relevant: Interpersonal relationships, Learning by listening, and Working effectively in groups.

Expressing information through speech, while using vocabulary, volume, and tone appropriate to the audience.

• As a volunteer at the local museum, Ava led tour groups by telling engaging stories, showing enthusiasm, and asking thoughtful questions.
• When responding to questions in a co-op job interview, Ava ensures she answers all questions with enthusiasm. She includes information that is specific and concise, but with enough detail for the interviewer to understand.

CareerHub: In the "Find Work" module in CareerHub, you can learn strategies on how to speak with hiring managers. Also, the "Apply/Interview" module provides many tips for answering different types of interview questions. Lastly, in the "Success at Work" module, you can learn techniques to present yourself professionally with workplace colleagues.

Setting goals and organizing work required to complete a task.

• Sam independently created an ordered list of tasks to help organize work for their high school design project.
• Once Sam creates a list of co-op job postings for application, they plan and prioritize a résumé and cover letter writing strategy.

Planning resources: The Student Success Office offers resources to help you develop your planning skills. These are the most relevant planning resources from the "Time management" section: How to create a task list, Daily to-do list, Weekly to-do list, and Backwards planning.

Gathering information; may be for the purpose of understanding a specific topic or subject.

• Jason prepared his English essay by researching several reputable sources at his local library and online.
• Prior to attending a co-op interview, Jason gathers information from multiple sources to learn about an employer and their specific field of work.

CareerHub: Through the "Decision Making" online module in CareerHub, you can learn about strategies for researching occupational options and the labour market, knowledge to help you discover job opportunities.

Displaying flexibility and developing a solution in a unique or demanding circumstance.

• Sierra created new group activities in her volunteer position at an elderly care home to increase client engagement and physical activity.
• Upon careful consideration, Sierra decides that she needs adjust her job search strategy and books an appointment with the Centre for Career Development.

Resourcefulness resources: The Student Success Office offers resources to help you develop your resourcefulness and ability to adapt to different situations. These are the most relevant resources: Change and transition, Learning Style, and Flexibility.

Knowing your career-related skills, limits, experience, and values.

• Nicole completed a career self-assessment in her high school career studies course that helped identify careers that align with her interests.
• Nicole is thinking about developing a business idea and becoming entrepreneur. First, she takes an entrepreneurial potential self-assessment to evaluate her traits.

Career planning resources: The Centre for Career Development provides access to many online tools and resources to help reveal your strengths, your interests, and the jobs that best align with those traits.

Managing your own thoughts and behaviours as appropriate for a situation or environment.

• When informed that his high school robotics club could not travel to a competition because of budget restraints, Jin remained calm and responded positively by organizing a raffle to raise money.
• Jin is usually nervous before a co-op job interview, so he uses a breathing technique before each interview to stay calm and maintain his focus

Online seminars and workshops: Counselling Services provides workshops and seminars to help improve understanding of your thinking and emotions. Here are the most relevant resources: Challenging Thinking, Cultivating Resiliency, Calming the Panic, and Relaxation Exercises.

Understanding the work environment and the people within it by analyzing and appropriately responding to colleagues' words and actions.

• Ricardo's summer job at a summer camp required him to display a pleasant, cheerful attitude and respond positively to feedback given by the campers or their parents.
• During a meeting at his co-op workplace, Ricardo notices that his co-worker is passionately speaking about a topic. In response, Ricardo leans forward and listens more closely to show his interest.

Social awareness online resources: The Student Success Office offers online resources to help you develop your social awareness. The two most relevant resources are Interpersonal Relationships and Empathy.

The planning, scheduling and completion of tasks in an orderly and logical fashion.

• Tariq scheduled and balanced his high school, extra-curricular and personal commitments by recording everything in his phone's calendar.
• Multiple deadlines, including co-op job applications, are fast approaching. Tariq creates a schedule to help him organize his tasks for the upcoming week.

Time management online workshop: The Student Success Office offers a time management workshop for you to learn about time management strategies and ways to maintain them throughout your entire semester.

Expressing information through text, while accounting for details such as appropriate writing style and tone.

• As a youth workshop leader at the local museum, Ava kept parents updated and enaged by creating a weekly newsletter to showcase the program and promote upcoming events.
• Ava ensures her cover letter expresses her enthusiasm and is customized to the co-op position of interest. She discusses skills and experience relevant to position.

Writing and communication resources: The Writing and Communication Centre offers many online resources to help you enhance your written communication skills. All of the resources are free and available to view at any time.