How to stand out as a cyber co-op student - Part 2 & 3
Author: Crystal McDougall, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist/HR Generalist
Part 2: The Interview
I recruit co-op students to join DBG every 4 months. We have hired co-op students in many cybersecurity-related positions over the years and some of the co-op students impressed us so much that they were offered full-time jobs after graduation. Co-op opportunities are a great way to kick-start your career, so it’s important to stand out among the other applicants to ensure your success. I’ve come across a lot of different applications and have seen co-op students excel and others fail. In this 3-part article series, I share some of my knowledge and experience with you to help you stand out as a co-op student. Part 1 focused on the application itself. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you go and take a look!
Part 2 will focus on interviewing. I wrote this article with students in mind; however, the tips I recommend are also going to be quite helpful to anyone who is currently interviewing, regardless of the role.
Be prepared
Preparing for the interview is almost as important as the interview itself. A lot of recruiters ask behavioural-based interview questions which are questions tailored to see how you have behaved in certain situations in the past. These questions usually start with “Tell me about a time when…” or “Describe a situation when you…” etc. These types of questions are looking for an example. To prepare, take some time to brainstorm some example projects, challenges, accomplishments, etc. that you may want to refer to. If your memory is as bad as mine, write them down and have them in front of you during the interview – it’s okay to use notes.
You will of course want to research the company and prepare some questions for the interview. Have some questions ready to go but know that you likely won’t ask all the questions you’ve written down because the interviewer may answer some of them along the way. If you ask questions that have already been answered within the interview, they’re going to think your active listening skills are not great. But it is ok to say that you know the topic was touched on during the discussion already, but you’d like further clarity.
Don’t prepare questions that you can find the answer to yourself like “When was the company founded?” Take a look at the company’s “About Us” page, I’m sure you will be able to find that information easily.
Be humble, and listen
I touched a bit on active listening above, but it is critical that you’re 100% focused and practicing your active listening skills during an interview. Listen for those cues like “tell me about a time” and answer with examples, Make sure you’re fully listening to the questions before answering and if you’re unsure exactly what is being asked, ask for clarification. It is OK to ask for the question to be repeated, or to jot down keywords so that you are answering the question being asked. There are many tips/tricks like this that will help you succeed in the interview. On top of listening though, this is a time to be humble. You’re a student. The whole point of a co-op position is to learn and gain valuable experience. You would be surprised by the number of times we have interviewed a co-op student and they acted as if they were an expert in all things cybersecurity…to the actual technical experts with years of experience that we employ. That’s a quick way to earn a “no” from the hiring team. A portion of our interview includes asking technical questions and it is OK if candidates say, “I don’t know”. It’s OK to admit if you don’t know the answer, be honest about it and ask the interviewer if they can tell you the answer so you can learn and then… You got it… LISTEN to what they say. Something that always impresses me in an interview is when a candidate knows they got the answer wrong or if they don’t know the answer, they ask for you to share that information. This shows that they are honest, passionate, coachable, and humble. All of these characteristics are universally desired in any workplace.
Show some personality and passion
On paper, for the most part, most co-ops have similar qualifications. You and your peers are learning the same things and taking on the same projects. What will set you apart from your peers are the things that don’t always come through on paper: personality and passion.
There isn’t a quantitative way to measure passion, but you can certainly show it in how you talk and behave during an interview. The company wants you to have a co-op term that brings you fulfillment just as much as they want you to be able to contribute to their team and add value. Tell them that you’re excited about this opportunity. Tell them with your words, your expression, the tone of your voice. Ask questions, listen, be humble, and show your willingness to learn. Do not be afraid to let the interviewer get to know your personality a bit!
Of course, there are a lot more ways you can stand out as a co-op student overall. Next week, I will be posting “How to Stand Out as a Co-op Student - Part 3: The Working Term”, which will explain ways you can stand out during the actual co-op term itself and possibly help increase the likelihood of being asked to return for another term or being offered a full-time position after graduation.
If you have any tips that I haven’t shared on how to stand out as a Co-op Student in the interview phase, share them below! If you’ve found this article useful, feel free to share it with your peers (or not… you could always hang on to the competitive advantage 😉).
Part 3: The Working Term
I recruit co-op students to join DBG every 4 months. We have hired co-op students in many cybersecurity-related positions over the years and some of the co-op students impressed us so much that they were offered full-time jobs after graduation. Co-op opportunities are a great way to kick-start your career, so it’s important to stand out among the other applicants to ensure your success. I’ve come across a lot of different applications and have seen co-op students excel and others fail. In this 3-part article series, I share some of my knowledge and experience with you to help you stand out as a co-op student. Part 1 focused on the application itself, and part 2 talked about the interview. If you haven’t read the other articles yet, I recommend you go and take a look!
Part 3 will focus on some tips to help you stand out during your co-op term. Doing these things could help you secure an offer to return for another co-op term or possibly an offer for a full-time position after graduation.
Lean into your working preferences
A lot of companies offer flexible working arrangements such as working from home or choosing the hours you work. If you’ve not had a ton of experience with this type of work, it can be hard to figure out what your own work preferences are and what arrangements enable you to do your best work. If you find you’re constantly distracted when working from home, ask about the opportunity to work in the office. If your company offers the opportunity to flex your start time and you’re not really a morning person, ask if you’re able to adjust your start/end times (if your company doesn’t offer this opportunity then obviously don’t ask about starting at a later time of day). If you try one arrangement and find it’s not working, ask if you can try something else. Working in your first professional office job (or going back to one after returning to school) can be a learning curve, but it’s great that you’re getting started at a time when there are so many options for flexibility. Of course, make sure that you learn about the company’s policies and follow their procedures for flexible work arrangements. Now is a great time to learn what the best arrangement is for you!
Try to do things on your own first
You’re in this co-op working term to learn and the best way to learn is by doing and trying new things. If you’re assigned an independent task, take a stab at it! Try your hardest to complete it independently and use the resources provided to you (internal documentation, your own notes, research, etc.). Your peers and manager have other tasks to complete as well so being able to be trusted to complete a task independently is a priceless ability that may earn you some very interesting opportunities once they see they can rely on you. But don’t just forge ahead if you’re not clear on what the objective is.
Communication!
Working independently doesn’t mean that you’re working in a vacuum. Communication with your team is key.
If you’re assigned a task and you don’t understand it, ask your manager or mentor for clarity.
If you think of an idea that would benefit others, speak up and share it in a team meeting or bring up the idea in a 1:1 meeting with your manager.
If you have an appointment or vacation or anything that requires you to be offline/away, communicate this with as much advance notice as possible using the proper channels.
If there is something you want to learn or get hands-on experience with, bring this up with your manager or mentor.
If you have feedback, share it with the proper channels.
I understand that at times it’s hard to know what is expected of you at this level, and not all organizations are the same. But here at DBG, we value people who communicate and bring forward new ideas. All ideas are welcome from people at all levels. The best way you can stand out as a co-op student is to bring your new perspective to the forefront and not be afraid to speak up. As mentioned in How to Stand Out as a Co-op Student - Part 2: The Interview, the goal of your co-op term is for you to learn and get fulfillment from what you’re doing. If you feel that you would be more fulfilled if you had to chance to work on a specific task, say that! If the company is able to provide that opportunity, I’m sure they will try.
General “office” etiquette
It should go without saying but there are general rules that apply when you’re in any job. Use your calendar, stay organized, be on time for meetings, etc.
I say it should go without saying, but I have worked with co-op students who didn’t know that they needed to attend meetings on time, or perhaps they weren’t sure which meetings were “legit” and required their attendance. If you’re unsure of your company’s general work etiquette, ask for clarification. If you’re not familiar with the system they are using to stay organized, ask for help and training. If you’re not familiar with how to report your hours, or the process to notify people that you have a doctor’s appointment and need to log off early, etc. ask! It is okay not to know the company processes, policies, and tools yet, but it is not okay to assume you’re doing it right. If you haven’t been given direction on how to do something, ask your manager for clarification. Make sure to give as much notice as possible for any interruptions to your work as the team may need to sort out coverage to ensure deadlines are met. You may have noticed that most of these tips center around communication, this is why that saying exists…” communication is key!” In a workplace, it really is!
If you have any tips that I haven’t shared on how to stand out as a Co-op Student, please share them below! If you’ve found this article useful, feel free to share it with your peers (or not… you could always hang on to the competitive advantage.)