Intern/co-op Program: Key To Success

Programs to recruit an engineer takes forethought            

by John Autero – Manager, Technical Training Services – Yaskawa Electric America, Inc.

When a manufacturing company is producing a piece of equipment that is made up of multiple parts, many questions arise. Should we manufacture part X or should we purchase part X? Which is less expensive? Which method provides the better part? Which method is easiest to integrate and manage?

Similar questions are being asked by companies when recruiting engineers. Should we recruit an engineer that has just graduated from college and train him to meets our needs? Should we purchase an experienced engineer with the skills and knowledge that we need? Which method is less expensive? Which method is easier? Which method will provide the better engineer for the company?

Every company needs a balance of talent, so there is not a right answer. There needs to be both experienced engineers and rookies. The goal is to create an environment where rookies can turn into experienced engineers and be replaced with new rookies.

One method of recruiting engineers into a company is to develop an Engineering Intern/Co-op Program. An intern/co-op is an engineering college student that is hired to a temporary position within a company.

An intern typically works at a company during their summer break (June through mid-August). The intern is assigned to work in one department during his term. A co-op is assigned to work at a company for two terms with each term being one school semester in length.

The co-op is assigned to work in one department during each term. The co-op will return to work at the company for a second term after a semester at school in a different department than the first term.

By completing two terms, the co-op ends up working about eight months at a company. Co-ops can work even longer if they work during their summer break as well.

• An intern/co-op can bring in a new vision to a department. They are very energetic and eager to try their engineering skills. They can provide new ways of using engineering tools as well as innovative development methods. A fresh perspective on a project can invigorate the entire engineering team.
• The company builds a relationship with the university that may prove beneficial when recruiting for future permanent positions.
• Future engineers become familiar with your company name and its products. This could lead to future sales and helps build corporate name recognition.
• Bringing an intern/co-op into a department provides you with a three to eight month “interview session”. It gives you a chance to work with the student and clearly see their strengths and weaknesses before considering a permanent employment offer.
• Interns/co-ops hired permanently do not need to unlearn negative work habits learned from past jobs and are easily molded to your company’s personality.
• Interns/co-ops hired to permanent positions tend to excel at their jobs, assimilate into the company well, have a well rounded knowledge of the company and possess great company loyalty.

Creating an Engineering Intern/Co-op Program takes some planning and a lot of work. The first step is to determine recruiting targets. Do a little research into which colleges/universities have expertise in your area of engineering. Also check to see what the colleges/universities in your geographical area have to offer.

Students are many times more willing to accept a position closer to home, than half way across the country. Select three or four colleges/universities as recruiting targets. The plan is to build a close and mutually beneficial relationship with the university over the long haul, so choose your targets carefully.

The next step is to attend the college/university engineering job fairs. Most institutions have both a fall and spring engineering job fair. In today’s world of recruiting engineers, you must start early.

Make plans to attend the fall job fair, which is held sometime in September through early October. If you wait until the spring job fair, which is held sometime in February through March, you may find that all of the best candidates have already been hired and you are picking through the leftovers. Use the job fair as a way to get some corporate exposure as well as collect candidate resumes.

When a student visits your booth at the job fair, provide him with a three minute “interview”. Question him about an interesting topic on his resume and let him talk.

From this three minute interview, make a determination if the student could possibly be a candidate or not. This is purely a gut reaction, but is an effective way to reduce the number of possible candidates.

When you return to the office, take a few hours to review the resumes from the possible candidates. Choose 12 to 14 candidates that you would be interested in conducting a thirty minute formal interview with.

Choose two or three alternates in case any of your first choice candidates turn you down. Work closely with the college/university recruiting office to arrange formal interviews at the college/university. You want to keep your company name and your job opportunity fresh in the mind of the candidates, so perform the interviews as soon after the job fair as possible.

Some colleges/universities offer an information session for the students to learn about your company and the open positions. This is an excellent opportunity to build relationships and company name recognition. Plan to have the formal interviews finished by the middle of October.

Once all of the interviews are finished, take a few hours to determine which candidates you are interested in hiring. Send an email to the candidates that do not meet your requirements as soon as possible. This is a polite gesture, and allows the candidate to pursue other positions.

Also send an email to the candidates you are interested in to inform them that they are being “considered” for a position. This helps foster the relationship by keeping the candidate informed of their status. Rank the candidates you are considering from most to least sought-after and start making employment offers.

It is best to start making offers by late October for interns and co-ops that will be starting the following summer. If you wait too long to make offers, all the best candidates will already be hired and you will be forced to hire candidates from further down the list.

The goal is to have all of the intern and co-op positions filled by mid-November. If a candidate declines the offer, simply find the next candidate on your list and make an offer.

Bringing engineers into your company through an intern/co-op program helps a company find talent while providing a valuable learning environment to the intern/co-op.