Explore Micro-Placements for Employers
Micro-placements that work for employers and students
Enhance your talent acquisition strategy by engaging students through a micro-placement. The Explore Micro-Placement program allows employers to give students much-needed work-integrated learning and career exploration opportunities, but with added flexibility.
Your company can foster short-term skills and career development through projects and job shadowing opportunities, to generate positive student relationships, enhance talent acquisition strategies, gain temporary help, or to give back.
Overview
- Micro-placements can be offered as a job shadow (4-8 hours) or project work (30-40 hours)
- Micro-placements can be set up for onsite or online work, or a combination of both
- You choose how you structure your placement — the 4-8 hour job shadow can be completed within a week, while the 30-40 hour projects can be dispersed between one to eight weeks
- Micro-placements can be paid or unpaid
- Placements cannot be combined with an existing co-op role or source of funding
Upcoming info sessions
Frequently asked questions
Job shadow placements should offer insight into the company’s work and operations, while providing career conversations and perspectives in a mentoring role.
Project-based placements require additional structure such as scheduling regular check-ins and being available for questions, in addition to providing job shadow and career development opportunities.
Flexibility is one of the main aspects of this program. Job shadow placements should be completed within a week, while project-based placements should be completed within eight weeks. Once placed, you and the student will determine the specific start & end date as well as how hours will be distributed.
No, you can set up a wide variety of micro-placements with the option to place multiple students per opportunity. You can also host job shadow and project-based placements simultaneously.
We make it easier by reviewing the applications for you! In your posting, you can request students from specific programs or welcome students from all disciplines. This will help us in placing students.
In your first meeting with the student, you can conduct an informal interview with them. If you don’t feel they are a good fit, just let us know and we can restart the process.
Micro-placements are short-term based work where you can engage students through job shadowing and/or project work. This allows for flexibility and variety in what you can offer.
Yes! Finer details of the placements can be discussed with the students to see what works for both sides.
It is entirely up to you. If your placement is unpaid, you may choose to show your appreciation by offering perks or bonuses such as office freebies, attendance to workshop/events, use of services or products, reference letter, etc. However, this is entirely optional.
Yes! If you feel that the student(s) provided great work, you can certainly keep in touch and reach out when future opportunities arise. However, this is not a requirement.
What can you do with a micro-placement?
Research
Do you have research needs? Students from a wide variety of disciplines can help perform research, administer surveys or collect data.
Incorporate this into your recruitment
Micro-placements are an excellent way to pre-screen potential hires. Consider creating a short-term project or series of tasks that can help introduce students to their future colleagues and their work.
Hire an international student
International students can provide valuable insight to your company. They can lend their unique perspective to your equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives, translating documents, or support in new markets.
Communications and marketing
Get help creating communications plans, designing materials, performing social media or web audits, collecting analytics and more.
Special projects support
Does your company have projects that have time-heavy activities? Place multiple students for specific task support to alleviate the work and help things run more efficiently.
Data analysis
Get support with documentation, setting up teams/processes/systems, organizing or collecting assets and more.
Job shadowing
Give students a glimpse into a variety of positions within your company. What does a day in the job look like? What can I expect to work on? What skills should I develop now to be successful?
User testing
Need beta testers or test users? Need participants to review or provide feedback? Create a series of micro-placements to give students experience with these practices.
Business development
Have students support the development of your business development plans. They can help you evaluate partners technology, identify value propositions, develop contact lists, or create presentations.
...and so much more!
The possibilities are endless with an Explore Careers micro-placement. If you want to discuss more options for how you can create a micro-placement, email Lawrence Chan at recruit@ucalgary.ca.