What are typical timelines or procedures for hiring?

Every institution will have a process and schedule for hiring WIL students. Some programs are more flexible than others, so it’s important to become familiar with your partner institution’s procedures before you recruit WIL students.

Important dates

When meeting with your institution partner, ask about important dates for hiring WIL students. In general, the recruitment cycle for a WIL student begins one semester before the experience begins. Structured experiences like a co-op work term, internship, or practicum will have structured schedules similar to the timeline below. There might be some flexibility if students are still available after the experience semester begins. 

Plan the experience Post the job, interview, and hire WIL experience
January to April May to August September to December
May to August September to December January to April
September to December January to April May to August


For a short experience, like an applied research project, recruitment and the experience might occur in the same term, but the planning will still take place the previous term.

Procedures 

Common procedures involved in hiring a WIL student include: 

  1. Confirm your participation as a WIL employer 
    • Register on the institution's job portal 
    • Verbal or written agreement with a WIL program coordinator or instructor on your intent to work with WIL students 
  2. Promote your WIL opportunity 
    • Eligible students are notified of your WIL opportunity 
    • Interested students apply for the WIL opportunity 
  3. Review applications and interview candidates
    • Review applications
    • Select candidates to interview
    • Conduct interviews
      • Some institutions will coordinate interview schedules and facilities for you.
  4. Select WIL student 
    • Select the WIL student(s) you'd like to work with and extend an offer to them
    • Some institutions and programs, like the University of Waterloo’s co-operative education program, use a Rank and Match process. In Rank and Match, students and employers submit a ranking, and an algorithm uses this information to create a match.
  5. Start the WIL experience 
    • We will expand on how to have a productive WIL experience in Phase 2: Experience 

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