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International Employer Guide

Brown students

In addition to their outstanding intellectual credentials, Brown students are known for their creativity and initiative. They view the world through a lens of possibility and opportunity to improve the world they encounter. Past employers of Brown students praise the way Brown students blend their knowledge and ideas with tireless energy and a strong work ethic to re-imagine problems and execute assignments.

Benefit to you

Interns from Brown will bring to your organization an eagerness to learn and a fresh perspective. They will be effective and diligent members of your team, taking on specific summer-long projects or assisting your staff with any assignment. Brown students are motivated to become productive members of your organization while producing excellent work during their internship.

Process for creating an internship

Step 1: Define specifics

  • Start and end date, as well as length of position - Summer internships are generally 8-12 weeks. Note that the duration of the internship should be sufficient for your students to achieve expected outcomes.
  • Visas and/or formal work permission - Your intern will need guidance on obtaining a proper visa and/or permission to work in your country.
  • Intern compensation and budget - Internship pay should be consistent with labor laws and regulations in your country, and should be sufficient to cover the basic cost of living (housing, food, daily transportation, etc.) for the specific location of the internship. In addition, students coming to your country will have costs related to travel and/or fees. For information on intern compensation in the United States, consult the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) guidelines.
  • Familiarity with your country and city - Students will need an orientation to the city and country in which they are working. Depending upon prior experience with your country, your intern will need information about cultural norms, safety, and other pertinent issues.
  • Training and supervision - Identify a manager who will provide appropriate training and supervision for your intern.
  • Hours and workplace - A workstation and system for keeping track of hours worked should be defined prior to the internship start date.
  • Nature of the work - Ensure that your intern will work in a professional setting while performing tasks conducive to his/her education.
  • Work environment - The workplace must be safe and free from discrimination and harassment.

Step 2: Post your position, market to students, and conduct interviews

  • Connect with the Center for Career Exploration - Begin by completing the BrownConnect Internship Form. Center for Career Exploration staff will follow up to help with the development of your opportunity and to ensure it is quickly posted to our Job and Internship Board.
  • Promote your opportunity - The Center for Career Exploration’s employer relations team can develop a plan for marketing your internship opportunity to students. This can include an on-campus information session, advertising in student publications, and/or connecting with student organizations and academic departments. In an effort to maintain a fair and equitable recruiting process, Brown University Staff adheres to the Ethical and Legal Standards in Student Hiring. While we are unable to refer specific students to employers, we are happy to connect you to students with special academic and co-curricular interests.
  • Interview candidates - The Center for Career Exploration can help you to set up interviews on campus. We can also provide space and a computer for video (e.g. Skype) interviews, or interviews via telephone. Note that interviewing for internships generally occurs between February and April.
  • Candidate evaluation - The Center for Career Exploration recommends that you evaluate intern candidates not only on their general qualifications, but also on their ability to make a good transition to the culture of your country.

Step 3: Complete and evaluate the process

  • Report back to Brown - When you extend an internship offer to a student, or a student accepts or declines an internship offer, please notify the Center for Career Exploration so that we can keep track of the progress of our students.
  • Evaluate the experience - Complete an evaluation with your student at the end of the internship. The student should provide the employer with a self-appraisal, and the employer is encouraged to provide an evaluation highlighting accomplishments, quality of work, and recommendations for further growth/development. The Center for Career Exploration will also ask the employer to complete a brief evaluation of our job posting and hiring process.

The Center for Career Exploration will provide support for all phases of an internship from posting a position to evaluating the student and employer’s experience after the internship. Please feel free to contact the Center for Career Exploration at any time at brownconnect@brown.edu or 401-863-3326.