What I've been up to: Co-ops
These past couple weeks have been incredibly stressful with juggling classwork and clubs. Oh, and let's not forget about the elephant in the room: Co-ops.
Co-op, short for cooperative education, is an experiential learning program offered here at Northeastern University. Through the Co-op program, students are able to alternate semester of academic study with periods of full time work. As a second year PharmD student preparing for my first Co-op over the summer, these weeks have been spent revising my resume countless times and researching different institutions and hospitals in the Boston area.
What to look for when applying to Co-ops
Throughout the Co-op searching process, I focused on what the job opportunity has to offer, the commute, and the community. I think it was really important for me to write down my current interests in pharmacy and why I was applying for a certain Co-op. Why do I want to work here? What do I want to gain out of this experience? These are all important questions that I constantly reminded myself. For example, I've always been interested in clinical pharmacy and wanted the experience you would get at an inpatient pharmacy setting. This includes mixing IV bags or preparing medication in the hood. I also sought after Co-ops with an easy commute since many positions begin early in the morning. Most importantly, I wanted to be a part of a community that I can learn and grow from!
It's recommended for pharmacy students to apply to five to six Co-ops for the first round of interviews. Our applications were sent out on February 18th, and we were expected to get calls and emails as early as the next day.
So I applied to all my Co-ops. What's the next step?
Preparing for your interviews
As much as it's advised to go into your interview with a calm and open mind, it's still super important to be prepared. For my interviews, I wrote down basic interview questions and practiced what I would say. By repeating my answers, I noticed that I unintentionally began to polish and finalize my responses. I made sure to do my research on the institution I was interviewing for and prepared questions to ask at the end! The biggest advice I can give to anyone preparing for an interview is to go in there with confidence and with a purpose. If you're truly passionate about the job opportunity, your interviewer will see that.
Because the majority of the interviews are held virtually this year, I had to take possible technical difficulties into consideration. I made sure to join the Zoom call 5-10 minutes prior to make sure my video and sound was clear. Zoom also has a background feature, so I oftentimes changed my background to a clean, white backdrop.
As intense and hectic the past couple weeks have been, I wouldn't change this experience for anything else! I'm incredibly grateful that I've received and accepted a Co-op position at the Inpatient Pharmacy at Dana Farber Cancer Institute for the Summer term! Hopefully I'll get to share more of this new chapter in my life and talk about what I gained from this opportunity!