Co-op Interview and don't want to work for the company, what should I do?

Chickentown

Hi,

As the title suggests I have a upcoming co-op interview for a company I really do not want to work for?

I have a few other interviews for companies that I am interested in but I am terrified that this one will accept me first therefore thanks to the co-op office rules I will have to go there.

What should I do?

wnolan1992

Disclaimer: The following may not be the best ideas in the world, and if the Co-op office were to find out you did them, you'd probably be in the sh*t, but I know people have done these in the past:

You could simply tell the interviewer that you don't want the job as soon as you sit down. But if the employer in question is in deep with the co-op office then this could come back to bite you.

You could also just deliberately do a bad interview. Act totally uninterested and/or talk down your skillset.

You could also just roll the dice and, assuming you got it, go to the Co-Op office and give them some genuine reasons why you can't work there (financial most likely).

Not that I'd recommend any of those approaches personally, given that by the time I got Co-Op I was so desperate I'd have bitten Gadaffi's hand off if he offered me a job programming missiles to kill pandas...

Beargrylls01

This happened to me, I sat down with them with a bit of confidence and explained how I had no idea how I would fit in in their area, and that I wasn't currently interested.

She spent 25 minutes telling me what they do and what I would be doing and asked me again at the end was I still not interested (I was).

If you are doing a good degree and have good grades you will be fine, if you are doing philosophy and are dragging a 2.5, the co op office will not appreciate these sort of actions.

Cherry Blossom Girl

Beargrylls01 wrote: »

If you are doing a good degreeand have good grades you will be fine, if you are doing philosophy and are dragging a 2.5, the co op office will not appreciate these sort of actions.

Eh, what exactly is a "good" degree? Philosophy isn't better or worse than any other degree subject. (FYI, UL don't offer philosophy so way to pick a relevant example)

OP, I'd advise telling the interviewer that you aren't interested in working for them. It's not like you arranged the interview yourself and are now expressing disinterest - it was out of your control. If they're a decent human being I'm sure they'll understand.

wnolan1992

Cherry Blossom Girl wrote: »

Eh, what exactly is a "good" degree? Philosophy isn't better or worse than any other degree subject. (FYI, UL don't offer philosophy so way to pick a relevant example)

OP, I'd advise telling the interviewer that you aren't interested in working for them. It's not like you arranged the interview yourself and are now expressing disinterest - it was out of your control. If they're a decent human being I'm sure they'll understand.

I think what he/she probably meant was "a degree that's in a high demand employment sector such as IT, where the Co-op office are likely to have a large number of potential placements lined up, as opposed to a more niche area where there may be a very limited number of companies interested in taking people on in the first place".

#diplomatic

highlydebased

You can turn down placements, contrary to what is widely believed. For obvious reasons if the placement is unpaid you can turn it down on the grounds of cost of relocating to a certain location for the placement. If the placement is paid, you can turn it down. In that case the co-op office will not arrange any more interviews for you and you're out on your own to find your own job.

Gumbi

highlydebased wrote: »

You can turn down placements, contrary to what is widely believed. For obvious reasons if the placement is unpaid you can turn it down on the grounds of cost of relocating to a certain location for the placement. If the placement is paid, you can turn it down. In that case the co-op office will not arrange any more interviews for you and you're out on your own to find your own job.

There are other exceptions I believe. Generally for mature students and cases like that.