• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

Co-op interviews! (1 Viewer)

fitz33

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2003
Messages
127
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2003
are anyones parents going to the open day?
mine want to go but im not sure if i want them!
 

Exeter

Resident Megaphone
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
405
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
mummy's tagging along with me, i dont see what the problem is


1/4..wow that aint bad
 

mercury

.:: Hg ::.
Joined
Feb 8, 2003
Messages
307
Location
Sydney
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2003
nah... my parents would probably get bored. LOL
yeah, true. Well, here's tips from a person I know:


Asking questions is actually quite good if you've got more than a 15 minute slot. Having said that, know as much as possible about the gig you're going for. Don't give your interviewer any inkling that you're anything less than 100% committed. Asking "when are the holidays?" for Co-Op isn't recommended. Know everything that's on your resume (I think I get to that
below)

[Also co-op] "Describe a situation in your past work history where you made an improvement to the workplace. How was that improvement measured?"
Having some interesting or funny experience as a 'conversation piece' that your interviewer can relate to makes them remember you over Joe and Bob when the cull is on.

[Malcolm Chaikin] "If you could only be a florist or a coal miner, which one would you choose and why?" - be careful with scenario questions and think before you respond: in many cases you can actually ask to return to the question later. A florist is someone creative, perhaps artistic, sensitive to personality and cultural differences. A coal miner could be associated with hard work, willingness to be part of a team and looking out for co-workers etc.

These days almost every interview contains some sort of equity question, asking how you associate with people from diverse backgrounds. Particularly for the commerce co-ops or where you're dealing with people, sometimes they will throw in an ethics question too "what does integrity mean to you"... prepare a response for this.

Lying about your abilities - If your claim something that's out of the ordinary, you'll be quizzed on your experiences. Don't put down on your application form that you can play five instruments unless you CAN actually do it, well. This year a girl was booted out of UNSW's medicine interview round when someone passed her a guitar and she went to water.
 

bong

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2003
Messages
433
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Originally posted by mercury
This year a girl was booted out of UNSW's medicine interview round when someone passed her a guitar and she went to water.
hahahahaha, oh man dats gold,
 

Exeter

Resident Megaphone
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
405
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Originally posted by mercury
Lying about your abilities - If your claim something that's out of the ordinary, you'll be quizzed on your experiences. Don't put down on your application form that you can play five instruments unless you CAN actually do it, well. This year a girl was booted out of UNSW's medicine interview round when someone passed her a guitar and she went to water.

*quickly runs off to learn piano, learn how to sing and build cars*
 

deyveed

School Leaver
Joined
Oct 13, 2002
Messages
639
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Originally posted by mercury
Lying about your abilities - If your claim something that's out of the ordinary, you'll be quizzed on your experiences. Don't put down on your application form that you can play five instruments unless you CAN actually do it, well. This year a girl was booted out of UNSW's medicine interview round when someone passed her a guitar and she went to water.
Yeah. I can say how i can sing, write music, play guitar and do everything. Its just that i can't do it very well.
 

Daedalus

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
105
what other qs do they ask?

what is the survival rate of mechanical engineering? in terms of % of interviewees getting in
 

anti

aww.. baby raccoon ^^
Joined
Jul 28, 2002
Messages
2,900
Location
Hurstville
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2002
Hmm... I didn't write much about my skills - don't show off about them unless you've really got something to show off about, is what I'd say (ie, something like "I played fourteen international concerts in the space of a month whilst simultaneously doing three major works and sitting my half-yearly exams").

They didn't ask me about my musical ability. Or if I know how to build cars. Or computers, even though I do computer science.

Anything they can physically view is nice, I think, but there were heaps of people who brought portfolios and I don't know any of them now...
 

Exeter

Resident Megaphone
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
405
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
but there were heaps of people who brought portfolios and I don't know any of them now...
whoa..scary stuff
i was thinkin about bringing portfolio..
 

Daedalus

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
105
any more tips? how should i prepare? also what is the pass rate of mechanical eng?
 

loser

scene police
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
85
Location
central
How do they assess whether you get in or not?

Do they take everything into account like marks, interview and app. form?

I'm thinking interview would be weighted pretty heavily in the selection process, but would they base the whole selection on the interview?
 

Daedalus

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
105
any experienced co-opers give tips?

do they ask what u ahve been doing since finishign the HSC?

should i ask them general eng qs? such as:
" the average graduate eng wage is 40k/year, does this take into account only graduates who do eng jobs, or grads who do ANY jobs (eg mcdonalds)? "
AND
" the ave unemployment is 5%, but does this take into account ppl who are just working in non-eng jobs? "
 

anti

aww.. baby raccoon ^^
Joined
Jul 28, 2002
Messages
2,900
Location
Hurstville
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2002
i would ask something that i actually want to know the answer to, not graduate questions. hahah.
 

anti

aww.. baby raccoon ^^
Joined
Jul 28, 2002
Messages
2,900
Location
Hurstville
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2002
Originally posted by loser
How do they assess whether you get in or not?

Do they take everything into account like marks, interview and app. form?

I'm thinking interview would be weighted pretty heavily in the selection process, but would they base the whole selection on the interview?
They take it allllll into account. Written and verbal. And your school's estimate, of course.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top