First Year Student Struggling to Find Co-op/Internship

I am currently a first year student at the University of Waterloo and I feel I have an above average resume compared to my peers or others in my program. In terms of academics, I am at around a 3.7 GPA which is considered the top 10% in my faculty as the faculty average is sitting at high 60s to low 70s for first year students. My major is math/finance. I also have numerous leadership roles like reaching out to companies and acquiring $70k to build a solar race car, organize excel workshops and semi-formals, track and field captain in high school, and marketing director for the largest society on campus. So that is essentially whats on my resume and I cannot get a single interview for entry level positions at insurance companies, pension boards, and big 5 Canadian banks.

I know that whats on my resume is mainly extracurriculars and no work experience, but I do have much work experience from high school such as McDonalds, grocery stores, amusement parks, and restaurants all four years. I didn't put these on my resume because they are pretty garbage. But I was wondering if I should list them briefly because they are actual jobs compared to my EC's at my university. But my main concern is does anyone have tips for me to get an internship this summer given my skills and credentials (its required for my co-op degree), I am really struggling and getting a bit worried at this point. What do entry analyst roles at big 5 Canadian banks (BMO, RBC, TD, ...) even look for in a first year?

0 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”