From design team to brand strategy at BMW
Saskia Hambali, a GBDA student, shares how seemingly unrelated past experiences led to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
When Saskia Hambali (she/her), a fourth-year Global Business and Digital Arts (GBDA) student, was applying for her second co-op term, she reached out to over 200 companies on LinkedIn. She was determined to find work in the creative sector that aligned with her academic learnings as a GBDA student. Eventually she landed her dream job at a digital agency with a big client, BMW North America. She reflects on the experiences that got her there and shares advice for other co-op students who are struggling to find co-op jobs.
Saskia’s co-op journey
Work term one: In her first work term, Saskia was a digital marketing co-ordinator for iA Financial Group. She helped in the private wealth and investments sector and learned a lot about how big of a role marketing plays in finance.
Work term two: Saskia worked for a digital agency called Critical Mass, primarily focusing on her client, BMW North America. She helped strategize creative marketing campaigns to boost brand engagement and awareness.
Q&A with Saskia
What has been the most challenging thing about co-op?
“I'd say trying to balance applying for co-op on top of study terms. I feel like the actual co-op term isn't too hard because we don't have classes and can solely focus on enjoying our co-op experience. But when it's the application cycles, searching for co-ops while we're on study term with a full course load, I feel like that's where it gets difficult. Being able to balance your day-to-day life, you want to have a split focus of being able to do well in your classes, but then also trying to get a good job.”
“It sometimes gets overwhelming, thinking ‘I have to apply to like 500 jobs but then I also have to complete these assignments all within the same day.’ I feel like that's the hardest part. Just being able to find that balance is definitely a challenge.”
“I overcame it by trying to find any opportunity to apply to jobs. Whether that’s when I’m scrolling on my phone or during breaks in class. Then I'd set aside two hours after class to focus on school. But the reality is, balance is never consistent. I always try to do the best that I can to balance or level the amount of effort for school and co-op search when on a study term.”
Why BMW North America?
“Kind of a wild story. It all starts from when I was in second year. I started to get involved with student design teams in the Engineering faculty. The first time I got involved with the Engineering design teams was when I helped with the Waterloo Engineering Competition in the summer of 2023. I helped with their social media and marketing approach and that just catalyzed into me helping with a lot of other engineering clubs, especially the design teams.”
“I helped out with a design team called UW Baja SAE. The student team builds an off-road vehicle from scratch and goes to compete across the U.S and Canada. The challenge is to build a single driver all-terrain vehicle that can go through anything; water, dirt, roads, mountain roads and it's all student-built. I was brought on because they wanted to create a new brand identity, a new logo and to come up with a way to get more sponsors and student recognition.”
“So with that, I created a whole new logo, brand identity and website theming. From the beginning, what I've noticed is that they want people, but they don't know how to get people. I started to create a brand story for them, focusing on how they want to use this team as an opportunity for students to build their technical skills and create something together.”
“The following fall during open houses and student recruitment during orientation, they were able to get 10 new recruits, which was really heartwarming to see them grow after the transformation and efforts from the team.”
“After that, I slowly became more interested in vehicles like Formula One. So it was kismet when I was applying for co-op in my spring term, I saw that Critical Mass was hiring a marketing media intern which I thought was cool. I applied and didn’t think much of it. Later I dove into their website and their past work, who they work with and saw they work with big name brands which was mind-blowing!”
“I thought to myself, if I happen to get this opportunity, this is going to be insane. Then I got an interview, and they mentioned that each of their interns either works on multiple different clients, or they're assigned to one client.”
“I found out later that my role was specifically assigned to their client, BMW North America! One of the main selling points as to why they chose me was my energy and my previous experience with Baja and the design team.”
“Just being able to say from that design team experience I was able to land such a big vehicle company is crazy! Being able to see how these experiences that don’t feel significant at the time to help achieve a big step in your career and happened to get me one step closer to my dream career.”
What have you learned from co-op that you will take with you after graduation?
“I'd say try to put my best foot forward. If I didn't have these big ambitions, wanting to be in corporate finance or in an agency setting working for big brands, I don't think I would have been able to get it.”
“I get into the mindset of ‘I’m going to do this, how am I going to achieve it?’ and then with my goal in mind, my actions subconsciously follow. Pair that with my determination and perseverance to apply to over 500 jobs per co-op term, that is how I ended up where I am. Basically I tell myself ‘what if this is the one that says yes to me?’ and knowing that eventually someone will say yes.”
What advice do you have for other co-op students?
“Research and prepare.”
“Research. If you want to work for that company, you need to put in the work to get there.”
“Prepare. Socially and emotionally preparing yourself to present who you are to get these people to not only like you but also hire you.
But also, be human, because everybody else is human too. Being emotional and understanding towards one another is something that I’ve found to be important when applying to co-op jobs.”
What’s next for you?
“What’s next for me is my fall study term. This is the first time that we're not going to be together as a cohort because this is the slot that a lot of GBDA students are taking to go study abroad. I didn't choose to study abroad this upcoming term because I just got back from a trip to Singapore so I think I’m covered for travelling this year. But I'm really hoping to use this opportunity to be able to have new experiences, travel and live my university life before I graduate.”
“My last two co-op terms are coming up after that, so I'm looking forward to using what I know, but also being open to anything and everything because you never know what might lead to it!”