The third most important issue is to ensure that the jobs being offered to the students are appropriate for their discipline requirements and experience levels. A good student/employer match is important to ensure that the chosen student is capable of carrying out the responsibilities of the job and able to fit easily into the employers' work environment. In almost all the cases surveyed, employers made their hiring decisions by referring to student resumes and conducting telephone interviews. Often this was accompanied by consultation with an intermediary such as an exchange partner of the sending institution. Most of the potential problems can be avoided by following procedures practitioners use when making domestic placements: obtaining detailed job descriptions from employers that clearly set out the requirements of the position; working with resumes that are informative; facilitating discussion between supervisors and potential students. However, when dealing with international placements, other problems can arise because of differences in culture and religion. These are discussed in III G : Language and Culture later in this guide.
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A Guide for Developing International Co-op Programs |  |