The Career Center encourages all recruiters to review the following set of policies before initiating recruitment activities with current CWRU students or alumni. The shared commitment to these policies by the employer, recruiter, and the Career Center will ensure a fair and ethical recruitment process. The Career Center makes its programs and activities available to organizations whose behavior and practices are consistent with the following policies.
Case Western Reserve University does not discriminate in recruitment, employment, or policy administration on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, color, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, or status as a disabled veteran or other protected veteran under U.S. federal law. In addition, the university expects all employees, students, vendors, and associates to comply with the policy of non-discrimination.
NACE Principles for Professional Practice
The Principles for Professional Practice are designed to provide career services practitioners and college recruiting professionals with basic precepts for career planning and recruitment.
Offer & Acceptance Policies: CWRU Career Fairs, On-campus Interviews, & CWRU-Specific job/internship postings in Handshake
If a student is considering an offer or multiple job offers, it is our expectation that the student will discuss the offer with a career consultant in the Career Center to ensure the student is considering all aspects of the offer (e.g., salary, responsibilities, supervision, start date, and location) that may influence a decision. Career consultants will be impartial in our discussions with students, sharing the potential benefits and challenges of the student's decision. In the event the student requires more time to make a decision, we will provide guidance on how best to request an extension from the employer.
All offers extended to previous summer interns or as a result of fall on-campus recruiting should be open for two weeks or until Nov. 15, 2024, whichever comes later. All offers extended as a result of spring on-campus recruiting should be open for two weeks or until March 15, 2025, whichever comes later.
The staff of the Career Center encourages students to have a formal offer in writing before making a decision. If a student accepts an offer, whether it be in writing or verbally, for a full-time position or experiential education opportunity (e.g., Internship, Practicum, Co-op), that student is expected to stop all recruiting activities, including applying and interviewing, for the period included in the offer. Additionally, students are expected to notify all other employers with whom they have scheduled or have pending interviews of their need to be removed from further consideration. Exception: If the offer is for a summer internship, students will cease their summer search but may well choose to apply for fall opportunities or for full-time opportunities aligned with a subsequent graduation timeline.
Declining job offers after acceptance
In the event a student notifies a career consultant that they have previously accepted an offer and are now considering reneging on that offer to accept another position, the career consultant will share the implications of that action. If, after consultation, the student feels that reneging is in their best interest, the career consultant will offer proper etiquette on how to professionally and appropriately notify the employer.
Exploding offers
Exploding offers are prohibited. Exploding offers are usually offers made with the expectation that the candidate will accept (or decline) the offer with a week or less to consider. Sign-on bonuses should be honored regardless of when a student accepts the offer. Remember, you want to build your brand as a fair recruiter, so giving a candidate less than a week hurts your brand and your company's reputation.
Third-party recruiters
The Career Center generally prohibits third-party recruiters from any on-campus recruiting, including the use of our job listing service, Handshake, although exceptions can be made. Third-party recruiters are agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities, generally on behalf of a third organization, though sometimes as their own employees. This includes entities that refer or recruit for profit or not for profit, and it includes agencies that collect student information to be disclosed to employers for purposes of recruitment and employment. To learn about our exceptions to this policy, please contact our employer experience team at employers@case.edu.
Entrepreneurial opportunities
Some employers and franchise managers wish to publicize opportunities to Case Western Reserve University students that involve one or more of the following characteristics:
- Offer compensation that is based mostly on commission rather than on a salary
- Offer no salary but, instead, offer students the opportunity to run their own business through a franchise
- Require the payment of "up-front" fees for training and/or materials to enable the student to start up her/his own business
- Charge the students penalties or fees for services if the franchisee decides to leave the program
Many students run successful businesses through these opportunities, but there are those who incur unexpected liabilities and find themselves in debt. Naturally, we would like to minimize the occurrence of such negative scenarios and ensure that our students are well informed about the potential risks and rewards of these kinds of opportunities.
Therefore, if you want to publicize your commission-based or franchise opportunities at Case Western Reserve University, we require that you do the following when posting in Handshake:
- In the "Description" section, ensure that you make clear the characteristics of your opportunity by including the following statements where applicable (you can edit them according to your particular situation):
- If you decide to leave the program, you may be liable to pay fees and/or financial penalties.
- You will be required to pay fees for training and materials before you can start working with us.
- There is no salary for this opportunity. All persons who work with our organization will be self-employed and will earn money if they make a profit when running their own businesses.
- There is no salary for this opportunity. You will make money based on commissions that you receive from sales
We reserve the right to edit your description and to remove your posting if these rules are not followed. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
Right to Refuse
The Career Center reserves the right to refuse access to its services and programs to employers if:
- job postings or employer connections do not serve the interests of Case Western Reserve University or its students;
- the employer requires at the time of application a candidate's personal information, such as bank account information and social security numbers (other than in connection with voluntary background checks);
- the employer misrepresents the employer and/or the position, either through dishonest information, the absence of information or fraud;
- student/staff/faculty complaints of harassment or fraud regarding the employer are received and determined in CWRU's sole discretion to be valid;
- the employer shares a candidate's personal information or credentials to third parties without prior written consent from the applicant;
- the employer fails to adhere to the Career Center or Case Western Reserve University policies and/or violates any local, state or federal laws or regulations.
Employers with questions regarding these policies are encouraged to contact our Assistant VP of Careers and Corporate Engagement, Drew Poppleton, at drew.poppleton@case.edu or by phone: 216.368.4446.