Employer best practices - Office of Professional Practice - Purdue University

OPP surveyed students who have previously participated in Purdue's Co-Op Program. Students gave insights on key aspects, including the most effective onboarding tools, impactful strategies during co-op experiences, motivations for selecting specific co-op employers and the valuable skills, tools and programming languages learned.

• Ensuring students are registered for the appropriate internship/co-op course
• Providing information regarding schedules, what to expect, etc. before the first day
• Offering students time to learn more about the company, shadow other employees, complete daily tasks and acclimate before main projects are assigned
• Onboarding occuring with other interns/full-time employees, as well as an onboarding "buddy" serving as an active resource to provide training, support, job tasks, etc.
• Preparing equipment for the first day so students have the ability to walk through timecards, resources, software, etc.
• Enabling students to schedule one-on-one meetings, offer training to understand work and touch base with supervisors consistently to ensure professional development

• Creating an inclusive business mindset that allows co-op students to attend weekly meetings, shadow different units and positions and build impactful relationships outside of their immediate supervisor or team.
• Building a progressive plan for work similar to advancing knowledge within academic studies. Students achieve more with their ability to be challenged and opportunity to reach specific benchmarks throughout the co-op life cycle.
• Allowing for students to prepare for co-op work rotations with suggestions of skills or coursework knowledge that could help prepare for future work.
• Offering a holistic, positive experience from hiring, onboarding and offboarding with open communication including the OPP employer feedback form. The majority of student success and retention is aligned with benefits and connection to employer.

• Ability to establish meaningful personal connections with other individuals at the company
• Opportunities to experience different areas through various rotations, enabling a more comprehensive exploration of their field of interest
• Access to housing support to ensure a stable living arrangement during the co-op experience
• Consideration of pay rate offered by employers in their decision-making process
• Flexible, reasonable time frame for decision-making upon sending offer letter to student