I am an engineering undergrad student seeking full time work. I am also planning to do an exchange semester (semester 1 2019). It feels that I should raise this in the interview. If possible, I'd like to continue working with the employer after the exchange program.
So the question is, should I raise this with the employer, and is there a way to do it that doesn't hurt my chances at the job?
The short answer is that it would generally be best to let them know up front, keeping in mind that if the company is expecting their internship to last longer than a semester, this could hurt your chances at getting the job.
The reality is that if you do withhold this information until after you are hired, the company could decide to permanently part ways once you leave for your exchange semester, leaving you having to look for a different internship once your exchange semester is over.
What you might want to try looking at is what (in the US) is commonly called a co-op; it's a type of job where you alternate between working and taking classes each semester. You can find more details about something like this here.
