Engineering Professional Practice staff do not select students for employers. In order for you to employ a Co-op Engineering student, you must put in place the method (or methods) of selection that are best for you. The following are some of the most common ways to begin your selection process.

Resume Referrals: This is the first step in the selection process and you will likely want to follow up with one of the other activities listed below. The Engineering Professional Practice program will discuss your position(s) with qualified students based on availability. After a short period of time, the paperwork of students who have responded and expressed an interest in your position(s) will be forwarded to you for review.

Telephone Interviews: At the point where you have identified one or more candidates you feel could be a match for each open Co-op position, you may want to conduct telephone interviews with those students. You should feel free to contact students directly. If you experience difficulty reaching students, the Engineering Professional Practice program will contact the students for you and advise you of the best times to reach the student. Upon completion of interviews, notification of an offer or rejection should be directed to the student with a copy to our office.

Campus Interviews: One of the best ways to select students is to visit UT and participate in formal interviews with the candidates. Call the Engineering Professional Practice program allowing as much advance notice as possible to set up a mutually acceptable date for your visit along with any details, i.e., interview day start time, finish time, length of interview, etc. After an announcement is made to students, a Co-op advisor will screen students, set up your interview schedule, and contact you with the details.

Site Visits: A site visit will be the most valuable to you in making the decision on hiring. An invitation to selected candidate(s) to visit the work location for a tour of the facility, introductions to key people and, perhaps, additional interviews will provide insight on how the student would perform if hired. The student’s reactions to the facility and other employees could help make the decision on who is the best candidate for the job. Likewise, a site visit provides students with a look at the work setting and a better idea of what would be expected of them as employees. Keep in mind that students have a heavy course schedule and it may not be easy to miss classes for a day. Try to schedule site visits on days when school is not in session or during holidays. These dates are included in the calendar on the web site.