As a recent university graduate, I strongly believe that co-op is one of the best things you can do as part of your degree. Gaining hands-on experience in your field provides learning opportunities that just aren’t possible in the classroom.
But not all co-ops are created equal. Differing company cultures, strategies and industries mean there are an endless amount of working environments. My experience at Colliers Project Leaders as a Marketing Content and Research Co-op was a perfect complement to my degree, setting me up for a successful career in business-to-business (B2B) marketing.
What made this role so rewarding? What did my day-to-day look like? And how did this role fit my own career goals? Let me walk you through my experience.
All aboard!
From day one, I gained valuable experience. The onboarding process was engaging and gave me the tools and training I needed to succeed in my co-op role.
Beyond the typical introduction to the company’s culture, values and key systems, I was given comprehensive Indigenous cultural awareness training. The Indigenous cultural awareness modules covered many important topics around Indigenous history, treaties, education and activism. This training was an important foundation for my role, as I would go on to write several featured projects that tell the story behind impactful Indigenous infrastructure and how our project managers partnered with these communities to support their goals.
My supervisor, Katrina Finnigan, mentored me in everything from where to find the Colliers Project Leaders’ style guide, and tips on conducting interviews with subject matter experts (SMEs) to writing engaging project features and insights articles. If I had any questions, there was always someone to ask.
A day in the life
Over the course of my co-op term, I got to work with practitioners across different regions and specialties to create content for the Colliers Project Leaders website. My first featured project, Aurora Town Square, involved interviewing the designated project manager to collect first-hand knowledge of the project. I took those insights and transformed them into a written profile. The Marketing Strategies team uses peer-editing to refine content, and I relied on the help of my colleagues to provide feedback and edits before publishing the final piece.
As a Marketing Content and Research Co-op, my role also involved research projects. I helped gather industry insights on electric vehicle adoption in Canada for the business development team. On another occasion, I also helped our Communications Specialist, Kayla Valtins, by researching best-practices for Pride messaging to inform our social media strategy in June.
What really set my experience apart was the ability to take on projects that interested me and aligned with my personal career goals. I was able to do some reporting and research using Google Analytics, satisfying my own curiosity and providing valuable insights for our content creation strategy.
What made this role so enjoyable?
This role was enjoyable for so many reasons, but three stand out.
1. Having some freedom to pursue topics you’re interested in can really make a job special.
In addition to taking the initiative to learn Google Analytics, I also took a supporting role in delivering the company’s annual Community Builder Grant. I helped organize applicant information so a panel of Indigenous leaders could choose the finalists. I had the honour of sitting in on the panel discussion as an observer and learning from the Knowledge Circle. Once the recipients were selected, I wrote a news item celebrating the winners in the September edition of our Breaking Ground email newsletter.
2. Setting personal goals for what I wanted to accomplish during my term helped me make the most of my co-op opportunity.
Setting actionable goals and regularly communicating with my supervisor enabled me to take on projects that interested me. I am passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and I turned this interest into a goal to work on as many EDI-oriented initiatives as possible. Beyond writing pride messaging and helping with the Community Builder Grant, I created a brochure highlighting Colliers Project Leaders’ experience delivering CHRT #41 and Jordan’s Principle projects.
3. I had a real say in our team’s strategy.
I was invited to our team-wide marketing conference in June, where we updated our scorecard for the year, brainstormed new ideas and approaches and discussed how we would achieve our goals. I joined brainstorming sessions with the rest of the content team, covering ways to develop new content, improve SEO and repurpose high-performing content for campaigns.
Wrapping up the co-op term
My co-op term flew by. This role complemented my degree and provided me with hands-on experience in everything from conducting industry research, writing optimized and engaging articles, to telling the stories behind impactful projects in communities across Canada.
If you’re looking for an engaging and immersive co-op role that will leverage your initiative and interests in the fast-paced world of project management – Colliers Project Leaders is a great place to apply.
Ready to apply? Check our current openings.
