Before the co-op came the chaos — applying to the co-op. I wish someone had sat me down and said, “Hey. It’s going to be awkward, repetitive, slightly soul-crushing, and somehow still random.” Because that would’ve been the most honest prep I could’ve gotten.
First off, the biggest realization: these people are just people. I used to write cover letters like I was addressing royalty. Like if I didn’t sound professional enough, I’d be blacklisted from the workforce forever. Spoiler: no one talks like that. Yes, be respectful and polished, but also be yourself. Say things clearly. Write how you talk (assuming how you talk isn’t completely unhinged and brain rot) and remember that the person on the other side is just trying to get through their inbox before lunch. Don’t make it harder for them.
And when it came to actually applying… I tried everything. Handshake, LinkedIn, career fairs, company websites, and cold emails to alumni who definitely forgot they went here. It was messy and overwhelming. I had no clue what I was doing until halfway through. What saved me was building a system. I had a spreadsheet — I tracked where I applied, who I talked to, what version of my resume I used (yes, there were many), and whether I remembered to follow up. It didn’t make the process easy, but it made it feel doable. And more importantly, it helped me feel like I was making progress even when I wasn’t hearing back.
Oh, and the job descriptions? Half of them read like they were asking for a unicorn who codes in three languages, manages teams, knows how to fix HVAC systems, and has seven years of experience… for an internship. I learned to ignore that. If you meet like 60–70% of the requirements and think you could learn the rest, apply anyway. Worst case, you don’t hear back (and honestly, that’s happening even when you do match everything).
Then came the technical interviews. If you’ve never been in one, let me paint a picture: you’re in a Zoom meeting, trying not to panic, while solving a problem out loud that you didn’t know existed five minutes ago. I went into mine thinking I had to be perfect — get the right answer, say the right thing, impress them with a know it all attitude. But that’s not what they’re really looking for. What matters is how you think. I literally had someone tell me, “It’s okay if you don’t know, just walk me through your logic.” They want to see how you approach a problem, how you communicate uncertainty, and whether you’re someone they can see learning on the job — not whether you memorized every chemical component in an HVAC system.
Applying to jobs is uncomfortable. It takes more time than you think it should. You will be ghosted, overthink emails, and wonder if that one typo is why you didn’t get the interview (it’s probably not). But eventually, something will stick. And when it does, it’ll feel like all the chaos, doubt, and resume revisions were worth it.
If you’re in the thick of it right now: keep going. Be a little delusional. Apply to things you’re not sure you’re ready for. And don’t be afraid to just be a human in the process because that’s who they’re hiring.
