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Today you are being interviewed for a co-op position.  The interview session will be for 30 minutes, 20 minutes for questions and 10 minutes for feedback.  I will make notes during the interview so please don’t worry if I am not always making eye contact.  My goal is to run through some typical interview questions and provide some suggestions on any areas where you might be able to improve.

BCMB 01: Student Clinical Trials Assistant, BC Cancer Agency – Genome Sciences Centre 

Job Description: 

Applications are invited for a highly motivated and compassionate university student, preferably with previous experience working in a laboratory setting, for the position of Student Clinical Trials Assistant at the British Columbia Cancer Agency’s Cancer Research Centre, Department of Experimental Therapeutics in Vancouver, Canada. The successful candidate will join a team of clinical trials PK managers to collect blood and other bodily fluids samples from patients enrolled in clinical trials, ranging from Phase I-III. This position will be supporting the clinical trials arm of Experimental Therapeutics and the candidate will be working with strictly confidential patient information and adhering to strict protocols.

Typical duties for this position will involve: 

(i) collecting and processing patient samples taken by the nurse for the clinical trials program, 

(ii) transporting patients’ samples from hospital to the laboratory, 

(iii) documenting collected data in forms and (iv) preparing samples for shipment.  The candidate will be exposed to highly confidential information from patients who are experiencing different stages of cancer, and will need to handle all information in a professional and considerate manner. 

Qualifications: 

This position requires the candidate to be able to work occasional non-conventional hours, for example, some late evenings and/or weekends.  The ideal candidate will have previous laboratory training and be familiar with sterile techniques.  The candidate needs to demonstrate attention to detail, ability to multi-task, and ability to meet deadlines. 

BCMB 02: R&D Cell Based Screening and Antibody Characterization, Amgen Canada

Job Description:  

The co-op will be part of a high-energy, fast paced team responsible for cell screening and antibody characterization in our antibody discovery process.  The team utilizes state of the art screening platforms such as high through put Flow Cytometry, Cellinsight CX7 and Cellomics Arrayscan.  In addition to becoming proficient in cell screening, the co-op will maintain a variety of cell lines and will be responsible for cell transfections and general lab management duties.  The co-op will have the opportunity to develop novel assays to assist in characterizing lead antibodies in therapeutic and non-therapeutic antibody generation programs. The co-op will be exposed to a highly collaborative environment and will be working on multiple tasks simultaneously.

Essential Functions:  

Performs a variety of Cell-based assays: 

• assays used to characterize the immune response in immunized animals 
• high-throughput cell screens to identify antigen specific antibodies 
• functional assays to characterize antibodies for epitope specificity, ligand blocking and species reactivity 
• Gain strong working knowledge of Flow Cytometry, Cellinsight CX7 and Arrayscan 
• Critically evaluate data and present results to the team 
• Tissue culture and transfections 
• Optimize/develop assays 
• Opportunity to learn other techniques/platforms such as ELISA, Bio-Layer Interferometry (Octet®) and automation 

Basic Qualifications: 

• 18 years or older 
• Currently enrolled in a full time Bachelor’s degree program from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 minimum GPA or equivalent 
• Completion of one year of study from an accredited college or university prior to the internship commencing 
• Enrolled in a full time Bachelor’s or Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s degree program following the potential internship or co-op assignment with an accredited college or university 
• Must not be employed at the time the internship starts 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• In the process of earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Biology/Microbiology, Life Sciences, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline 
• Previous lab experience. 
• General knowledge of immunology & molecular biology 
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail 
• Ability to function effectively as part of a team 

• Able to work for two consecutive four month terms with continued employment for the second term dependent on a positive performance review at the end of the first term. 

BCMB 03: Plant Biology Co-op Student, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada – Saskatoon Research and Development Centre 

Job Description: 

 The Canadian Prairies are the arable Heartland of our Country, but a tough place for crops to grow due to the short growing season and challenging weather conditions. We are interested in helping seedling crops get off to a better start in cold spring conditions. One project involves studying germination and establishment of canola seeds from a lipid perspective, and I am looking for an enthusiastic COOP student to help with this this work. We apply a range of techniques from lipid analysis by GC and GC-MS to molecular biology and genomics to better understand how canola crops under challenging temperature conditions. The COOP placement would be for a student willing to try a little of everything, from simple microscopy to molecular biology and lipid analysis. This would be a great introduction to a career in a plant research laboratory environment, or just a great way to enhance your laboratory skills. As an 8 month term is an option, there would also be an opportunity to put on boots and do some real field work. 

Training will be given to allow the successful candidate to develop a range of skills and to work independently. 

Qualifications: 

Good organizational and time management skills are essential. The candidate must be a Canadian citizen and must pass security screening to work in a Government of Canada facility. 

BCMB 04: Co-op Research Assistant, Lallemand

Company description:
Lallemand Inc. is one of the biggest Canadian companies that develop, produce and commercialize yeasts, bacteria, and its derived products with the objective to reproduce, manage, and improve fermentation processes in the food and agricultural industry. Our products are largely used in baking, alcohol and fermented food, and human and animal nutrition.

Job description:
The intern will work in the Lallemand Beer Lab of the Brewing Division. He/she will have the opportunity to familiarise with yeast physiology, its propagating conditions in a fermenter, and the direct application of brewing yeasts. The intern will perform a complete follow up of beer fermentations in the frame of different research and development projects and quality control analysis. He/she will apply several microbiological and biochemical techniques specific to this domain. The intern will follow the kinetics of alcoholic fermentations with different yeast strains and beer worts.  

Qualifications: 

• Student must have a broad range of microbiology and biochemistry lab skills and a passion for scientific discovery. 
• The position requires a certain amount of flexibility as well as a willingness to develop a greater degree of autonomous research while working within a small team. 

BCMB 05: Microbiology Laboratory Technician, Environment and Climate Change Canada – Pacific Environmental Science Centre 

Job Description: 

• Assist in the daily operation and maintenance of ECCC’s North Vancouver headquarters microbiology laboratory. 
• Carry out routine Quality Control/Quality Assurance testing for supporting lab procedures. 
• Assist in all aspects of pre-analysis preparation such as making up media, sterilizing sample bottles and preparing field supplies. 
• Assist in all aspects of post-analysis clean-up of field supplies and laboratory equipment including cleaning test tubes, sample bottles, pipettes and waterbaths. 

• Assist with administrative tasks in the daily operation of the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program such as photocopying, filing and computer work. 
• Possible participation in field work away from home including work on small boats. 

Preferred Experience: 

• Experience in preparing growth media and bacterial culture for microbiological analysis using aseptic technique.
  Experience in utilizing computer systems for data processing and office functions such as e-mail, word processing, and spreadsheets. 

Preferred Knowledge: 

• Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program – Manual of Operations 
• Work Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS) and Lab Safety. 
• Methods, techniques and modern instrumentation used in a water quality microbiology laboratory. 
• Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control practices applied in an accredited laboratory setting. 
• Use and maintenance of microbiology laboratory glassware and cleaning. 

• Calibration, operation, and basic maintenance of analytical instrumentation. 
• Risks of working with acids, alkalis, chemicals and pathogenic bacteria. 

Abilities: 

• Ability to follow acceptable quality control procedures within the scope of performing accredited analytical methods. 
• Ability to validate data and demonstrate acceptable test performance. 

• Ability to carry out multiple laboratory tests simultaneously. 
• Ability to work in a safe manner in a microbiology laboratory environment. 
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. 

Personal Suitability: 

• Effective interpersonal relationships 

• Initiative 
• Judgment 
• Dependability 
• Flexibility