Exploring different areas of HR through co-op

The Ted Rogers Co-op program was a key factor in my decision to study at TMU. Coming into university, I was unsure of what career path I wanted to pursue post-graduation, and at times found it challenging to picture myself outside of a school environment. The Ted Rogers Co-op program stuck out to me as an opportunity to test the waters in an area of interest and gain a better understanding of what a career in a given field would really look like. It was also an avenue to see how my course learnings would translate to the workplace and gauge whether this was an area I could see myself working in.

After taking a few introductory HR courses, looking into potential career paths and connecting with a few individuals working in the industry, I ultimately decided to select HR as my major and felt that gaining first-hand work experience would aid in my career decision-making down the road. This led me to apply to the Ted Rogers Co-op program, as I knew I wanted to explore different areas of HR, given how broad of a field it can be.

After an extensive search term to find my first placement, I landed my first co-op term at LCBO as an HR Assistant in Total Rewards, where I supported the development of company-wide employee incentive programs. I was very excited to join the team at LCBO and contribute to the modernization of such initiatives. This experience gave me valuable insights not only into the field of Total Rewards and the different aspects that fall under this umbrella, but also provided me with a glimpse into the working world as a whole, given that it was my first time working in a professional environment.

Following this term, I began my second placement at LCBO within their Talent Acquisition team, where I supported the recruitment of head office and warehouse employees. I knew recruitment was an area I was interested in after taking a Recruitment & Selection course, but found that this work term in particular further piqued my interest, as it combined aspects of both my major and minor. With LCBO being a unionized environment, I was able to draw upon my union management course materials to better understand the intersection between talent acquisition and industrial relations.

Although I set out an initial goal to test out different areas of HR throughout my work terms, I ended up developing a strong interest in Talent Acquisition during my time at LCBO and knew this was an area I wanted to dig deeper into. This led me to my next co-op placement at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a Talent Acquisition Intern, where I’m currently completing my second consecutive term. I was also very excited to join the Talent Acquisition team at BCG and have been able to apply skills from my previous work terms, while also continuing to learn and develop new ones. Throughout this internship, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with and support my team members with each of their recruitment portfolios, while also learning more about the consulting industry at large. I’ve greatly enjoyed my time at both LCBO and BCG and am grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from many experienced professionals.

Looking back at my co-op journey to date, I feel I have gained invaluable experiences that I likely wouldn’t have otherwise had without the Ted Rogers Co-op program. Each of my co-op terms have allowed me to build and develop skills both personally and professionally. In doing so, I have been able to discover career paths of interest, which has helped me considerably as a student who came into university feeling unsure of what I wanted to do. I would highly recommend the Ted Rogers Co-op program to any incoming or current TMU students as a great way to discover your interests and potential career path opportunities, while also gaining valuable experience.