Originally from Guangzhou, China, Xiaotong Bi is in her fourth year of the Bachelor of Commerce Co-op program, majoring in Accounting. She chose Dalhousie largely because of its co-op program, drawn to the idea of exploring different types of work in a real professional environment before settling on a path. “I really wanted to connect what I learned in the classroom with real work experience,” she says.
Xiaotong’s first co-op role was Global Marketing Assistant with Dalhousie’s Government and Global Relations office, supporting digital marketing, social media, and outreach for Chinese students, including audience research and promotional materials for events like the Lantern Festival. It was there she noticed what she enjoyed most wasn’t just the creative side of marketing, but the analysis behind it. “I was especially interested in organizing feedback, looking at how different content performed, and trying to understand why one approach worked better than another.” That realization would end up shaping the direction she took next.
For her second co-op, Xiaotong moved into finance, joining Butterfield Group as a Finance Co-op Student. Much of the term was spent learning how the company worked, including its systems, processes, and how the team operated. She then went on to complete her third co-op at Butterfield Group, and the experience looked different the second time around. “The second term gave me the chance to build and understand the wider business context.” Her offer to return wasn’t automatic; near the end of her first Butterfield term, she raised the idea with her supervisor, then reapplied and interviewed like any other candidate once the position was posted. “It’s important to express your interest, but you also shouldn’t assume that returning is automatic.”
Xiaotong shares that her biggest challenge has been learning to move beyond simply completing assigned tasks. “When I first started working, I focused heavily on making sure I didn’t make mistakes and that I completed everything on time,” she says. “I gradually realized that if I only waited for someone to tell me what to do next, I would limit how much I could learn.” Outside of her co-ops, Xiaotong has participated as a Tax Volunteer with the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, helping prepare tax returns for community members. “Real clients don’t necessarily arrive with everything prepared in the way a textbook problem does,” she explains, and the experience taught her to check her work carefully and ask questions rather than guess.
When it came to the job search, Xiaotong initially focused on submitting as many applications as possible but soon realized that quality matters far more than quantity. She now tailors every resume and cover letter to the role and encourages other students to do the same. She encourages her fellow international students to not forget the transferrable and soft skills that comes with their lived experience, which are very relevant to many co-op roles. “We also bring strengths such as cross-cultural experience, language skills, and adaptability,” she says. “Those can all become professional strengths. The key is learning how to communicate them clearly.”
As she enters her final year, Xiaotong continues to build on the technical and analytical foundation she’s developed across her co-ops. “I think that no matter what type of accounting or finance role I eventually pursue, being able to combine technical knowledge with analytical thinking and communication will be very important.”
Born and raised in Toronto, Jessica Quinn is going into her third year of the Dalhousie Commerce program. She was keen on this program because of the co-op opportunities. Jessica wanted to be able to try different areas of commerce to determine what she enjoyed and to gain real-life experience.
