Question:
Hi, I am an Rx2021 really looking forward to my first co-op term in January! I also am planning my first vacation in years, right after Christmas and into the New Year I expect to be back in Canada by January 4th or 5th. My question is: when do coop employers typically expect you to begin work? Is there a specific start date, or do you negotiate this with your employer? My prediction is that a lot of pharmacies would probably want us to start ASAP in January since staffing is so difficult during the holiday season.
Response 1:
Hi there! I’m glad you’re so excited about your first work term! It’ll be a nice break after a long year of academics. If you check out the official dates for co-op (https://uwaterloo.ca/registrar/important-dates/2018-2019), the first day is January 7, 2019 and the last day is April 26, 2019. I’m 99.9% sure that taking time for your holidays before starting your co-op term is perfectly fine. Many students often negotiate this date with their employers based on their preferences and availability. For example, I started my first co-op term at an independent pharmacy right after finishing exams at the end of December as I wanted more time to travel in April. In my second co-op term, however, I worked at a hospital. Hospitals are usually a little more rigid with their schedules as they are a larger organization. They tend to stick to the official co-op start and stop dates. That being said, it definitely doesn’t hurt sending a quick email once you’re officially matched with an employer to confirm dates and gather any other pertinent information required for a successful and smooth co-op term. All the best to you and the rest of your class!
Response 2: Hey! First co-op is incredibly exciting and was one of my favourite parts of pharmacy school. I thoroughly agree with everything written in response 1. Usually after you are matched with a job (aka you are hired for next term), they ask you to send an email to your employer thanking them and asking for any details, including start and end date. That email is usually when you start negotiating if you require some vacation time before, during or after co-op, and changing the dates around. The dates provided by the school are only suggested days and employers have the power to override them (within reason) as long as you are filling all the other requirements for the co-op term. I would not be too worried about it but as my colleague has mentioned in response 1, independent pharmacies are usually flexible while larger corporations usually have set dates for their students. However, my advice to you is to definitely negotiate, but the date you have in mind seems very reasonable and I don’t see this being a problem. Good luck :)