Lessons Learned From My First Co-op Term
On January 10th 2022, I began my first co-op term at RBC as a Communications and Events Analyst. I had spent the weeks leading up to it researching employee reviews, Reddit stories and just about everything you can find online about RBC’s work culture. One half of me was excited about the prospect of finally beginning my professional career and doing so at such a great company. However, the other half was nervous about not being able to measure up and I found myself thinking that perhaps I should have started out at a much smaller company instead.
In all honesty, the first two weeks were a bit of a rough start and I found myself quite overwhelmed with all the work that had to be done. Courtesy of COVID, this was the first time I had consistently woken up at 8am every morning since high school ended. Having classes online with little to no structure also didn’t help my situation. However, with fantastic managers and co-workers, I was able to pick up the pace and can proudly say that I did not sleep in once throughout the whole term.
Other than fixing my sleep schedule, working at RBC taught me so many other things that I think other students should keep in mind when they find themselves in a workplace environment:
It’s okay to make mistakes
Although I would not consider myself to be a perfectionist, I hold myself to a very high standard when it comes to academic and professional excellence. There is almost nothing I dislike more than making a mistake that I know I should have caught. However, making mistakes seemed to be quite common when I started my work term. I found myself sending emails without complete information, presenting data inaccurately, using the wrong formulas on Excel, and much more. As frustrating as all this was, I valued my managers for allowing me to learn from my mistakes rather than berating me for them.
Employers don’t expect you to be perfect, especially not on your first week of the job. The best thing you can do in this situation is to make note of your mistakes and be proactive in ensuring that you don’t repeat them often. And I say often because making mistakes is inevitable. As long as you’re human, you’re bound to do so, but try your best to make sure that you’re growing from them.
Ask questions
Employers LOVE when students ask questions about their job or tasks assigned to them. From a student’s perspective, I’m sure it may feel like you’re bothering your manager. Trust me, I can’t count the number of times I've typed and deleted messages simply because I didn’t want to ‘annoy’ anyone. Asking questions is truly one of the best ways to learn. Not only does it give you clarity, but it shows your employer that you are invested in what you are doing and are willing to learn.
However, I would advise that you first take time to look for answers on your own. At the start of your work term, your employer may provide you with resources that contain information about your job or the company and many times, these resources can provide the answer to questions that you may have. If you try this and you still do not have an answer, you should go to your manager and let them know the ways in which you’ve tried to look for the answer before coming to them. They will definitely remember and appreciate your effort!
Take note of your accomplishments
This is one of the very first things my managers advised me to do at the start of my work term. Depending on the team you work with, your timeline may vary, but in my experience, I would send my manager a weekly list of projects I accomplished and tasks that I had ongoing and we would set up meetings to discuss them and ways in which I could improve. While this gives your manager a sense of your work ethic, I find that it is also helpful for your self-growth.
Believe me when I say that your work term goes by in a flash and without written reminders, it is easy to forget what exactly you were able to accomplish within the four-month term. Sometimes when I found myself feeling a bit down at work, I would look at past successes and remind myself that if I was able to do all those things, I could succeed at so much more.
Network with other employees
I have probably talked to more people in the past four months than I have in all of 2021 combined. Networking is in a league of its own and the importance of it cannot be overstated. It gives you access to individuals of all leadership levels in various industries and important information and advice that they have to share. During the last four months, I had coffee chats with new people every single week and they gave me valuable career advice, fresh perspectives, potential career opportunities, and much more.
At first, I found it quite daunting to have to speak to so many different people but the more I partook in coffee chats, the easier they got. And not all coffee chats have to be career-oriented. Some of mine have led to multiple meetings focused on Marvel movies, funny family stories and even tropical vacations. So it is likely that out of the many professional meetings you have, one or two of them may lead to a friendship.
Overall, I have had a wonderful experience during my first co-op at RBC, and I’ve enjoyed making mistakes, learning from them, completing fun projects and meeting new people. It’s rare to have the chance to work for four months and try something completely different just because you feel like it. So take advantage of this opportunity and stay positive. Be open to trying new things. Celebrate your successes. Network. And have fun. I wish you all the best in your co-op term and please feel free to reach out to the ARBUS Society for any advice regarding what to expect in your work term.
