How Anderson Development’s Co-op Program Began:
Anderson Development Company (ADC) started a full time co-op program in 2007. The program was implemented when a graduate of University of Toledo’s College of Engineering began working as an engineer at ADC. He worked with the placement office at University of Toledo (UT) to establish the partnership with our company. ADC and UT has worked together ever since, welcoming co-op students year after year. ADC typically has a full-time engineering student on staff at all times working on various, value-added projects within our facility. Here at ADC, we allow our co-ops to be fully engaged in real life projects and they are an asset to our organization.
How Do We Select Our Co-ops?
Students attending the University of Toledo College of Engineering are required to complete a minimum of 3 co-op assignments in order to graduate. ADC attends a career fair every spring and fall at University of Toledo in order to speak with prospective co-op students and identify candidates we wish to interview. Interviews are scheduled on campus. Once all candidates have been interviewed, ADC decides who they will extend an offer to. University of Toledo is not very far from ADC, which makes it very convenient for students to be able to continue living on campus during their co-op assignments.
What Do We Look For in a Candidate?
Two ADC employees work closely with an Engineering Co-op.
Since students typically do not have much engineering or technical experience, it is hard to pick a candidate just on their GPA alone. Although it is an important factor, it is not the most important. How a candidate presents themselves at an interview, how much initiative, willingness to learn, and how we think they will fit within our company are also very important aspects. ADC wants to be sure that we pick a candidate that will fit well with our Engineering team so the co-op can get the best experience possible.
Check back, when we post part 2 of our blog which includes a spotlight on one of our Engineering Co-ops!
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