10 Tips for Recruiting Co-op Students to your Organization

1. Include co-op recruitment in your workforce development planning and future forecasting. Knowing when the work-terms are offered and how college co-op processes work are a helpful starting point. Some programs offer co-op work-terms throughout the year, while others are in the winter, summer or occur at the end of a program.
2. Begin the planning and recruitment process early. Reach out to your departments and managers to identify head counts and hiring needs at least a few months before the start of the work term.
3. Connect with a RRC Polytech Co-op/Work-Integrated Learning Coordinator to inquire about posting co-op job descriptions, attending information sessions/networking events with students, and to determine the timeline and program procedures and best practices around student recruitment.
4. Develop and post the job description with RRC Polytech as soon as possible. While we recognize staffing and operational needs can change quickly and it may not always be possible to do so early, by advertising a few months before the start of the work-term you are more likely to reach a larger and more suitable applicant pool. This also gives you time to interview, make a selection decision, and prepare for onboarding the student before the start of the work-term.
5. Commit to scheduling interviews as soon as possible. Co-op students are also completing a very busy academic term while applying for jobs. Knowing whether they have been selected for an interview within a week of applying can help students stay positive, motivated, and prepare for the next steps in the recruitment process.
6. Complete interviews and make selection decisions within 2-3 weeks following the application deadline. Long co-op interview processes are discouraging to students who are required to find and complete a co-op as part of their program. If your processes are long, it is likely that best candidates will no longer be available when you are ready to make an offer.
7. Consider revising or requesting co-op specific interview questions from your RRC Polytech contact. Co-op students may not have the same familiarity with behavioural and situational questions, or as much previous professional experience to draw from, as some of the professional candidates you interview. If you do plan to use behavioural and situational questions to assess suitability, consider adjusting how you frame the question to discuss and assess course-based work and projects.
8. Implement a point of contact process and person. Application tracking software and systems are necessary to screen and identify appropriate candidates. However, these programs can unintentionally filter out many motivated, well-educated, and eager co-op students. If your organizing requires students to apply through electronic application processes, consider identifying a point-of-contact person with whom the Co-op Coordinator can connect with to advise of applicants.
9. Provide offer to your first selection decision before communicating with unsuccessful candidates. Recruiting co-op students follows a two-way selection process and some co-op students will be applying for more than one opportunity. It is recommended that you first extend an offer to your first-choice candidate so that if they decline or are no longer available you can move on to the next highest ranked candidate.
10. Inform the Co-op/Work-Integrated Learning Coordinator of your selection decision. They will have resources to share to help you prepare for orientation, onboarding, mentorship, and making the most of co-op.