January 17, 2020
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Mission & Vision - To be a World Class light technology integrator; providing solutions that enhance products and improve life.
Lumitex uses their co-op as a pipeline for talent. When I reviewed the Lumitex site for information before the show, there were two words that resonated with me from the intern quotes and feedback – ownership and impact. The Lumitex co-op provides students the opportunity to take ownership of their work or projects and to have a true impact on the organization.
Lumitex runs year rounds co-ops across the company – with around 5 to 6 interns on site at any given time – electronics engineering, quality engineering, regulatory, process engineering, medical design engineering, etc.
Lumitex uses a robust selection process. Most important is alignment with the culture and core value of the company. During the interview process, students must apply online and answer questions around the core values. Interviewers use behavioral interviewing to dig deeper into the student’s alignment with the culture. Once students are selected, they meet with the person who will manage them. The student completes an interest survey to understand what they are interested in learning or experiencing.
Peggy asked the intern managers to describe the experiences and types of projects that the interns have or could work on. They take those descriptions to the career fairs to share with candidates. They also bring former co-ops or current co-ops to the career fairs to talk about their experience with Lumitex.
The co-op starts with a lunch with previous or current co-ops, management and more. They hear about what it takes to be successful in the internship.
I enjoyed hearing how Peggy compiled a top 10 things list for the co-op managers. It lists the top 10 things that co-ops may be thinking about when they start the internship. It is a great idea I plan to try at Vizion360. Lumitex also coaches those managers on goal setting with the co-ops and providing feedback.
Recently, Peggy added a Lunch and Learn program for the interns. The functional areas of the business talk about what is important in their area, professional skills, career planning and more. There are cookouts in the summer on Fridays, there is a Friday breakfast club.