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Sarah Lilley

Sarah Lilley
Diploma in Business Management - General Business
Graduated in Winter 2007

Sarah Lilley is a Business Management graduate who accepted a position with BackCheck as a Human Resources Interviewer when she participated in the Co-operative Education Program at Douglas College. When asked why Sarah had applied for Co-op, she responded "I applied for co-op because I wanted to gain experience in the business field. I was also curious to explore what options there were in my field".

Sarah Lilley started her co-op experience working as a Human Resources Interviewer. She started off with four weeks of training and then eventually started to conduct pre-employment reference checks over the phone for clients. She saw a position open up in the accounting department and decided to apply and eventually was offered the position. She is currently still employed in that position in which she is the account representative for many of the company's large clients.

"There were many aspects of the co-op placement I enjoyed. I enjoyed seeing how my studies applied in real life situations. Every day I felt I was learning valuable lessons for business that I would not learn in a classroom" responds Sarah, when asked what she enjoyed most at her co-op placement.

Every co-op placement may have its challenges and that was no different for Sarah Lilley. When asked about her most challenging task at her placement, she responds "The initial training as a Human Resources Interviewer was very detailed and tiring. However, as I practiced the skills required, it came easier to me. The company was very encouraging and helpful at every stage of my development, both as an interviewer and as an accounting clerk".

This placement with BackCheck taught Sarah many valuable things. She was able to learn about the business world and about herself. She was given the responsibilities and tasks to complete by certain deadlines. She was able to improve her communication skills, written skills, time management skills and accounting skills. When asked about how the Co-op office was able to prepare Sarah for her work term, she replied, "The Co-op office helped with many aspects of my application and job interview with BackCheck. After I attended the resume and job interview workshops, which were both excellent, I created a resume and cover letter for applying to jobs. They helped with proofreading it, as well as communicating with BackCheck to set up the interview and encouraging me throughout the whole process".

Sarah was fortunate enough to be hired by BackCheck after her co-op work terms were completed. They are also letting Sarah work part-time as she attends SFU for her business degree. When Sarah was asked her advice to fellow or future potential co-op students, she responds, "My advice to future student is to take co-op. You will not regret it! I have learned so much about my field of study and about myself. Taking co-op confirmed that business was the right choice for me".