UofT PEY round 2

[ymhtrnt]

hello,
I have some questions about PEY at UofT.. hoping people here can help me out...
I've applied to over 10 jobs in the second round, already got rejected for a couple of them, and haven't heard from the rest...
My GPA is a little above 2.0, which I think is hurting my chance...
I'm wondering if anyone has suggestion on what I can do now? Can I contact the employers through the PEY office?
Or I just have to wait a little more? Most of my friends already accepted their offers though...I'm getting anxious..
I'm interested to hear about any PEY application experience.. thanks.

[JK400]

hello,
I have some questions about PEY at UofT.. hoping people here can help me out...
I've applied to over 10 jobs in the second round, already got rejected for a couple of them, and haven't heard from the rest...
My GPA is a little above 2.0, which I think is hurting my chance...
I'm wondering if anyone has suggestion on what I can do now? Can I contact the employers through the PEY office?
Or I just have to wait a little more? Most of my friends already accepted their offers though...I'm getting anxious..
I'm interested to hear about any PEY application experience.. thanks.


Hey, UofT eng grad here who went through this schtick about 6 years ago. Got hired in third year (ECE) in the second round of PEY.

The status of the jobs should be updated on the job database, I recall the interview scheduling being done through the job site and it should tell you what they're decision was on your application for better or for worse. If you haven't heard anything back it's probably because they haven't scheduled interviews yet. When did the jobs you applied for expire in terms of being allowed to apply?

Sorry to say but I believe if you haven't heard anything back and it's been a while, they probably aren't interested. PEY is pretty structured, they check out the candidates, interview ones they're interested in, make an offer and they're done. No point in contacting them further I would think. If it hasn't been very long, give it some more time. The icons should change on the job site to indicate if they've hired or not, and it should also say if you've been offered an interview too.

Just wondering are you in ECE? What year are you in?

[ymhtrnt]

Hey, UofT eng grad here who went through this schtick about 6 years ago. Got hired in third year (ECE) in the second round of PEY.

The status of the jobs should be updated on the job database, I recall the interview scheduling being done through the job site and it should tell you what they're decision was on your application for better or for worse. If you haven't heard anything back it's probably because they haven't scheduled interviews yet. When did the jobs you applied for expire in terms of being allowed to apply?

Sorry to say but I believe if you haven't heard anything back and it's been a while, they probably aren't interested. PEY is pretty structured, they check out the candidates, interview ones they're interested in, make an offer and they're done. No point in contacting them further I would think. If it hasn't been very long, give it some more time. The icons should change on the job site to indicate if they've hired or not, and it should also say if you've been offered an interview too.

Just wondering are you in ECE? What year are you in?

Thanks for your input. It's been at least a week since the deadline for most of the jobs I applied.. is this normal? Could it be that I applied too close to the deadline? My friend got a call the very next day..
I'm just worried...
btw I'm not in ECE, in third year though..

[JK400]

Thanks for your input. It's been at least a week since the deadline for most of the jobs I applied.. is this normal? Could it be that I applied too close to the deadline? My friend got a call the very next day..
I'm just worried...
btw I'm not in ECE, in third year though..

Really it depends on the company. Doesn't the database tell you whether you're scheduled for an interview or not and what the status is of your application? If it's only been a week I would give it more time. Remember it's a big deal to you but to companies hiring interns is the last on the priority list. Some will probably get back right away and some will take longer. Like I said, check the status on the job site to keep tabs.

Just some job hunting advice in general: don't waste time worrying. If PEY isn't cutting it and you're really hankering to get a job, start looking elsewhere as well as using PEY and whatever other resources you have. Just send in your application and move on to the next one, it's all you can do.

If you're not getting interviews I would get the guys at the PEY office to look at your application (cover letter, resume). Yes your GPA might be hurting you a bit, all I have is experience with ECEs and the thing with that program was, there were so many jobs even the 2.0 and sub 2.0 GPA guys were getting interviews. I don't know what program you're in, but if it's like mineral engineering then yeah it's slim pickings for the jobs and you might be being beat out by higher GPA individuals.

If you're getting interviews and no offers, maybe go get some help with mock interviews from the PEY office or some other career counsellor. Usually you just get better at these as you do more and more.

Hope that helped.

[RobertM2]

The PEY office tries to ensure that everyone gets placed, so if you don't get something right away, you should get something later--but it might not be exactly what you want.
And the offer will probably come at the worst possible time, like when your workload is at its worst, and you don't have a second to spare, but the employer wants you to come to, say, Waterloo, for a meeting. (Yeah, like that's going to happen.)

[ymhtrnt]

Some of the companies don't really use placepro so I have no idea how far they are in the hiring process, which adds to my anxiousness... Like you said, I think I should wait a bit more and start looking elsewhere. Any suggestion from a grad?
I got my resume and cover letter checked by the PEY office and even did a mock interview. I'm ready for the interviews, they just haven't happen yet! It's a waiting game right now, but thanks for your help once again.


Really it depends on the company. Doesn't the database tell you whether you're scheduled for an interview or not and what the status is of your application? If it's only been a week I would give it more time. Remember it's a big deal to you but to companies hiring interns is the last on the priority list. Some will probably get back right away and some will take longer. Like I said, check the status on the job site to keep tabs.

Just some job hunting advice in general: don't waste time worrying. If PEY isn't cutting it and you're really hankering to get a job, start looking elsewhere as well as using PEY and whatever other resources you have. Just send in your application and move on to the next one, it's all you can do.

If you're not getting interviews I would get the guys at the PEY office to look at your application (cover letter, resume). Yes your GPA might be hurting you a bit, all I have is experience with ECEs and the thing with that program was, there were so many jobs even the 2.0 and sub 2.0 GPA guys were getting interviews. I don't know what program you're in, but if it's like mineral engineering then yeah it's slim pickings for the jobs and you might be being beat out by higher GPA individuals.

If you're getting interviews and no offers, maybe go get some help with mock interviews from the PEY office or some other career counsellor. Usually you just get better at these as you do more and more.

Hope that helped.

[ymhtrnt]

The PEY office tries to ensure that everyone gets placed, so if you don't get something right away, you should get something later--but it might not be exactly what you want.
And the offer will probably come at the worst possible time, like when your workload is at its worst, and you don't have a second to spare, but the employer wants you to come to, say, Waterloo, for a meeting. (Yeah, like that's going to happen.)

Thanks. Ya, right now I'm up for any job...
Did you do PEY? Do you know when do interviews happen until, normally? like March or right up til the end of April?

[JK400]

Some of the companies don't really use placepro so I have no idea how far they are in the hiring process, which adds to my anxiousness... Like you said, I think I should wait a bit more and start looking elsewhere. Any suggestion from a grad?
I got my resume and cover letter checked by the PEY office and even did a mock interview. I'm ready for the interviews, they just haven't happen yet! It's a waiting game right now, but thanks for your help once again.

Well souns like you should just keep applying to other companies then, no point in waiting around trying to figure out what the company is doing. If you had your eye on one specific company I guess you could email the PEY coordinator and ask the status if the employer isn't using placepro (weird, I remember just about every job I applied for went through that). Wouldn't bug them for every single job though.

As for suggestions, you have access to all the public job boards like everyone else (indeed.ca, workopolis etc) as well as company websites. Ever go to one of the job fairs for engineers? Good opportunity to jot down some company names for future reference. If you have any friends working you can also ask them to put in a good word or whatever.

As for my experience, I just did PEY, did a masters right after undergrad and got hired in a directly related field and sort of went from there, probably not too similar to your situation.

Anyway good luck.

[RobertM2]

Thanks. Ya, right now I'm up for any job...
Did you do PEY? Do you know when do interviews happen until, normally? like March or right up til the end of April?

I applied for PEY, but did not go through with it.

None of the companies I wanted to work for got back to me. Later, I was contacted by a tire company in (I think) Waterloo who wanted to hire me. I don't remember the exact town, but it was out of Toronto, and it was a tire company.

First, I planned to do the Aerospace option, so I didn't think a tire company would be relevant to my desired career plan.
Second, I am not from Toronto and didn't have a car. I would have had to take a bus to and from the place, which would have taken up a whole day--and time was extremely tight at the time.
Third, in the Eng Sci program, in the spring, we were deep into the Engineering Design project, pulling all-nighters in the lab to get our robots working. If I had any time to spare--which I did not--I was not going to use it to sit on a bus going to and from for a meeting with a company irrelevant to my career plans.

So. . . I didn't do it.

I don't remember the exact timeline--that period was a blur of coursework and sleep deprivation--but I doubt interviews would have gone into April. That would have made them interfere too much with end of term work and final exam study.