Habañero User Experience Group

Late last year we decided to try a little experiment and hire a co-op student for a 4 month term in the UE group. Turns out it was an awesome experience and we have had so much success with our first co-op student that we have extended his term to 8 months and hired a second!

In January we hired Kurtis Beard as a Junior Designer and at the beginning of this month we were pleased to welcome Ben Ng to the team as a Junior Information Architect for the summer term. Both students come to us from SFU’s School of Interactive Arts & Technology program. If any of you are considering hiring a co-op student I would highly recommend it.

The process is surprisingly simple:

• Find a school that offers a program that compliments the skills you need in your organization.
• Post a position with the co-op office (be sure to tailor it to students, you can’t expect them to have loads of client experience with specific technologies).
• Review the incoming resumes and determine your first cut for initial interviews - we prefer applicants with an online portfolio.
• Provide an assignment for the students to present at the second interview - this gives you a feel for the kind of work they can do and also gives them a good idea of the kind of work you want them to do.
• If you are lucky and you find the right fit, you simply notify the co-op office that you wish to make an offer. Assuming you made a good impression with the student they will be keen to accept!

SFU dedicates an entire page to the benefits of hiring a co-op student (new perspectives, ready & eager to work, cost effective, future hiring potential etc..) and I would have to say it’s pretty bang on. One thing to note is that you have to be prepared to move fast, the good students gets snapped up early!