Recruiting Dates and Process

We have now completed recruiting for this period.

Students from the programs below are scheduled for work terms each fall.

Available for four months, September through December:

• Business
• Business and Computer Science
• Business and Financial Mathematics
• Business and Mathematics
• Business Technology Management
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Economics
• Master of Applied Computing
• Master of Arts in Business Economics
• Master of Business Administration
• Master of Finance

Available for eight months, September through April:

• Business
• Business Technology Management

Available for 12 months, September through August

• Professional Experience Program in Computer Science
• User Experience Design

Primary recruiting period for Winter 2025: 

• Job postings open on Monday, September 9, 2024.
• Last day to post a job is Wednesday, September 18, 2024.
• Interviews may be held on Tuesday, September 24 through Thursday, October 3, 2024.
  • Interviews must be scheduled through our office and may be virtual or in-person at Waterloo Campus.
  • In-person interviews may be held on Monday, September 30 and Tuesday, October 1 2024.
• Please submit rankings by 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 3, 2024.
• Match results will be communicated to you in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.

Note:  Please honour our policy that employers and co-op students may not communicate between the interview and the time we release results of the match to students. If you need information from a candidate, please ask a co-op staff member to assist you. Thank you.

Continuous recruiting period for Winter 2025:

• Job postings open on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
• Jobs may continue to be posted any business day through until the start of Fall term.
• Interviews may be scheduled on any business day during the continuous recruiting period.
• There is no rank and match in the continuous recruiting period.
• You may ask your co-op consultant to schedule interviews and extend job offers on your behalf, or you may contact students directly if you prefer. 

Programs

Students from the programs below are scheduled for four-month work terms each winter.

• Business
• Business and Computer Science
• Business and Financial Mathematics
• Business and Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Economics
• Master of Finance

Early CPA recruiting period for Spring and Fall 2025:

We welcome Chartered Professional Accounting firms to recruit students for work terms of four or eight months, beginning in May or September.

• Job postings open on Thursday, November 14, 2024.
• Last day to post a job is Friday, November 29, 2024.
• Interviews may be held on Monday, January 6 and Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
  • Interviews must be scheduled through our office and may be virtual or in-person at Waterloo Campus on either date.
• Please submit rankings by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
• Match results will be communicated to you in the afternoon on Thursday, January 9, 2025.

Note:  Please honour our policy that employers and co-op students may not communicate between the interview and the time we release results of the match to students. If you need information from a candidate, please ask a co-op staff member to assist you. Thank you.

Primary recruiting period for Spring 2025: 

• Job postings open on Thursday, January 9, 2025.
• Last day to post a job is Monday, January 20, 2025.
• Interviews may be held on Thursday, January 23 through Monday, February 3, 2025.
  • Interviews must be scheduled through our office and may be virtual or in-person at Waterloo Campus.
  • In-person interviews may be held on Monday, January 27 and Tuesday, January 28, 2024.
• Please submit rankings by 9 p.m. on Monday, February 3, 2025.
• Match results will be communicated to you in the afternoon on Thursday, February 6, 2025.

Note:  Please honour our policy that employers and co-op students may not communicate between the interview and the time we release results of the match to students. If you need information from a candidate, please ask a co-op staff member to assist you. Thank you.

Continuous recruiting period for Spring 2025:

• Job postings open on Friday, February 7, 2025.
• Jobs may continue to be posted any business day through until the start of Spring term.
• Interviews may be scheduled on any business day during the continuous recruiting period.
• There is no rank and match in the continuous recruiting period.
• You may ask your co-op consultant to schedule interviews and extend job offers on your behalf, or you may contact students directly if you prefer. 

Programs available for four-month work terms, from May through August:

• Arts
• Business
• Business and Computing
• Business and Financial Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Economics
• Master of Arts in Business Economics
• Master of Arts in Communication Studies
• Science

Programs available for eight-month work terms, May through December:

• Business
• Economics
• Master of Applied Computing
• Master of Arts in Business Economics 
• Master of Business Administration
• Master of User Experience Design

Programs available for work terms of 12 to 16 months, beginning in May:

• Professional Experience Program in Computer Science
• User Experience Design

After we have shared the results of the match with you and the students, we enter the continuous  recruiting period.

We can arrange interviews any business day during this period. Most interviews take place by phone or video conference; we host some in-person interviews on campus.

If you prefer to arrange interviews yourself, please let us know the details so we don't schedule students for other interviews at the same time. 

After your interviews, let us know which students you agree to hire. A co-op consultant will extend employment offers to students directly on your behalf and let you know which students accept your offer.

We accept job postings and arrange interviews until all students have found employment.

For more information, you may watch this video about the continuous recruiting period.

During the primary recruiting period, the Co-op Office will schedule all your interviews.

Most interviews currently take place by phone or video conference. We reserve a couple of days for  in-person on interviews on campus during each interview period.

You will rank the students you interviewed, and they will rank you. By ranking students, you agree to hire the one with whom you are "matched."

Please do not communicate directly with students you have interviewed during the primary recruiting period until after we have told you the results of the matching and ranking process. 

Employers who interview during the primary interview period rank their candidates, and students rank employers. If you interview co-op students during the primary interview period, you will use Navigator to submit your rankings online.

Please submit your rankings by 9 p.m. on the final day of the primary interview period.

Once you have conducted interviews, please do not contact your candidates until we have communicated the results of the match to you.

How the Ranking and Matching Process Works

You provide us with your rankings online, according to our advertised deadline. (If you miss the deadline, we will inform students that rankings are not available for your position.)

Students rank the positions for which they have been interviewed, according to our advertised deadline.

By ranking a student, you are extending the student an offer of employment, if you are matched. The student accepts the offer by ranking your position.

Employer and student rankings are combined to produce a sum, or total score, for each combination.

Students are matched with employers sequentially, based on total scores and the principle of “low score wins.” Total scores of two are linked, followed by total scores of three, then four, and five, and so on, until all possible combinations have been exhausted. Ties begin to occur at total scores of three, and are broken randomly.

The lowest possible total score is two. There are no ties at this level, as you have only one first-choice per position, and students may rank only one employer as their first choice.

If you rank a student #1 and they rank you #1, you are automatically matched at a score of two. A match at 1-1 occurs when:

Once students and employers matched at total scores of two have been eliminated, Navigator links all combinations with total scores of three. Scores of three can result from either of the following combinations:

The program breaks ties randomly.