top of page
Search

Behind the Scenes: Co-op Application Process

What’s going on everyone,


When it comes to Northeastern University, I know a major point of interest and inquiry alike has to do with the whole “co-op experience.” Is it hard to get a co-op? What does that process look like? How does Northeastern help you? What do you actually do? How does it even help?

I remember having a million questions about Northeastern’s cooperative education, its prized and esteemed experiential learning program. Now that I am a second year Pharmacy student, I have experienced the entire introductory phase and gone on to apply to various positions, interview, and, as of roughly two weeks ago, accept an offer. I thought this would be a great opportunity to discuss my personal experience up until this point to provide people with some basic information that they might be looking for. I plan to also return after I have completed my co-op internship to go over my final thoughts and takeaways from the whole experience.


Pharmacy’s co-op program is unique in the sense that we complete three experiences within our 6-year program with each one lasting 4 months, compared to the average 6 month cycle. This is done in order to fit three unique opportunities within the desired time frame, while still allowing for students to complete all the required courses needed for graduation. Although every student’s process is going to differ slightly, I can at least layout the general concept for those that are looking for more information related to the co-op application process as a whole.


To begin with, you would meet with your advisor to discuss your preliminary interests after having gotten to familiarize yourself with and explore the NU Works page, Northeastern’s career management portal for students. Their goal with this initial meeting is to break down the different positions you are interested in so that you can further understand what goes into the respective positions in order to find the best fit for you. You also get to meet with your advisor to discuss your résumé/CV, recieve constructive feedback, and polish it off before sending it to any potential employers. I came into this meeting with my personal list of interests, in no particular order, and by the end of it I felt like I truly understood the tasks and responsibilities that distinguished the positions from one another.

Here is a screenshot of the NU Works homepage so you can get an idea of the layout


The applications themselves remain relatively straight forward, requiring a résumé/CV along with varying supplemental documents. These additional documents are tailored to the specific position and major alike and can be something like a cover letter or list of professional references.

Once the applications go out, the waiting game begins. The little checks of the email and feeling of nerves and excitement every time you receive an Outlook notification. Employers can either reach out to you personally to offer an interview or they sometimes contact your advisors and have them relay the information to you. I personally had a really fun time with interviews because it was really interesting to learn about the various hospitals and work environments that these co-op opportunities have to offer. There is really not meant to the be the stressful and chaotic process that some people think it is (me included at first); your advisors and professors help you throughout the entire process and fully prepare you every step of the way.


Whether you’re in Pharmacy, Business, or Linguistics, Northeastern’s co-op network and alumni connections are incredibly vast and genuinely have so much to offer when it comes to hands-on experience.


Another nice thing to note is that, during the whole “interview season,” everyone was supporting one another like a family by helping each other out with practicing interview questions, formatting résumés, and simply creating a great sense of community.

Finally, for anyone wondering, I have accepted a co-op position at Massachusetts General Hospital in their Central Pharmacy with a focus on pediatrics and neurology. I am incredibly excited to start on May 3rd and I cannot wait to update you all about everything new I am going to learn and experience!



As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions regarding this post or any of my other ones as well :)


50 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All
Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page