After you have matched projects to your experience, you should prepare your learners for what they should expect as they begin to start their projects and engage with the employers.
Here are the best ways you can prepare your learners in order for them to be most successful during their project's initial phase.
Best practices
Provide projects as early as possible
No matter how learners will either be assigned to or self-select projects to work on, provide your matched projects and their descriptions to your learners as early as possible so that they can read and prepare for them well ahead of meeting or engaging with the employer.
Set expectations
Inform your learners of your own expectations heading into a project which may include:
How they should handle project management
How they should handle communication with the employer
How they will provide the employer with progress during the project
Provide guidance
This may be your learners first time working on a real-world project or engaging with an employer. If so, make sure you remind them of the following:
Be professional
Whatever the means of communication, learners should communicate to the employer as they would in a professional role. Be courteous, pay attention, be proactive.
Meet expectations
If the employer has asked learners to a meeting and has provided them with an agenda or items to come prepared with, make sure they come prepared. Have discussion points ready, be prepared to present as needed, ensure your equipment works ahead of time.
Take the lead
Most employers will expect learners to self-manage projects after being given clear problem statements and objectives / deliverables. Make sure your learners understand this and are prepared to be proactive when it comes to asking question, completing work, and reporting on their progress.
Report bad actors
If learners are unable to communicate with their project's employer or you have a negative interaction with them, make sure they have a clear reporting action they can take so that you may intervene and further action can be taken.