Context
Spring 2021 term: WARG attempted to hire co-ops for the term. However, in the absence of such a guide, the process took much longer than expected. While successful, many questions could’ve been answered had this document existed…
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Write a startup guide (Startup Guide ). These guides are very helpful to both the intern and the manager to develop the cadence of the intern. Megan Spee wrote a really good one Andrew Wright [W23 Mech Co-op] - Startup Guide
Writing one beforehand forces you to think about timelines, what they would do, what requirements you are looking for in a co-op, and ensure that you’ve thought of the big picture.
Write out job requirements for the role. WARG’s current guidelines extend the SDC’s requirements for a job posting and thus can be used
Step 2: Find a co-op supervisor, & safety captain
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Post the positions to Waterlooworks off of the Faculty Advisors' account. You can do the hiring in there, and in general act as an employer.
Note: timelines are weird for waterlooworks. Be prudent about when you post. Interviews should be conducted IAW Co-op Hiring Interview Guidelines
Once you’ve matched with someone, you should revisit the startup guide if they’ve mentioned an interest in working on something that wasn’t originally in scope and see if there’s an opportunity to give them that experience.
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If an individual helping assist in the co-op search feels as though they have a conflict of interest, they should inform the individuals assisting the co-op search and team lead.
Ex: Involved together in another organization, friends outside of school, etc.
Good rule of thumb is: “Do I have their contact on something outside of LinkedIn”?
Involved parties should not be scheduled the same interview to maintain objectiveness.
Involved member may provide a balanced evaluation, but should not contribute in ranking the individual
Undisclosed conflict of interest
Involved member will be removed from the co-op search effort
Candidate will be dealt with on a case by case basis
Step 5: Onboarding Phase
DO NOT IGNORE THIS PHASE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES IF YOU HAVE HIRED A CO-OP
Send the startup guide a few days before starting to prime them for their expected tasks and get a line of communication going.
You need to submit the co-op information form within 2 weeks of hiring the co-op.
Note that the form has various requirements that need to be completed, including safety training.
Note that the form requires Safety Coordinator & Team Lead to complete Supervisor Safety Awareness Training (SO1100). The training is now renamed Supervisor Orientation Online (SO1100)
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