Would love to see evidence of “much easier time”.
I’ve hired thousands of new college grads over my career (for large, multinational companies). Some of our hires had coops. Some had internships. Some had research experience. Some had collaborated with a faculty member on a publication- sometimes editing, fact-checking, verifying claims independently. Some ran large initiatives for non-profits - developing a new lab-based science curriculum for schools in a disadvantaged city, and providing training for staff on how to teach the new curriculum effectively. Some volunteered for NGO’s during the summer. And some wrote a knock-out senior thesis, and spent their summers at their old HS job.
It’s all valuable. Employers don’t use the CC “point system”. We want to see initiative, the ability to do a deep dive on a topic, the ability to learn and teach new skills, working well with others. Depth and breadth. An evidence-based, fact oriented approach to problem-solving.
There are MANY ways to demonstrate this. There’s no silver bullet. There are lots of low value coops out there.