Summary

This advisory opinion, which draws from all five of the Principles for Ethical Professional Practice, addresses:

• Career center development of policies/guidelines to govern an employer’s access to the institution’s students for employment recruitment purposes;
• The perceived or real obligation of career centers to vet employers;
• Providing constituent access to recruiting policies/guidelines, as well as career center roles and responsibilities around providing access to employers and employment opportunities;
• Ensuring clear understanding of career center policies/guidelines when discussing recruiting strategy with current or potential employers, including alumni;
• Addressing concerns with employers; and
• Maintaining neutrality when counseling/coaching students regarding employers and employment opportunities.

Introduction

By supporting appropriate recruitment and employment practices, career services can play a key role in ensuring positive connections between employers and students. As a cornerstone of that support, career centers should develop policies/rules that govern an employer’s access to their institution’s students for employment recruitment purposes.

To that end, the career center should engage in dialogue with the institution’s legal counsel and the career center leader’s immediate supervisor prior to implementing such policies. Employer advisory boards could also be included in this discussion. Employers that fail to abide by the appropriate policies/rules may be denied access to the school’s students for recruitment purposes.

Professional Perspectives

The Principles for Ethical Professional Practiceprovide two basic precepts that spell out core values and the philosophy of the career services and employment profession:

• Maintain a recruitment process that is fair and equitable; and
• Support informed and responsible decision making by candidates.

The Principles for Ethical Professional Practice offer guidance when it comes to the intent to treat employers and students fairly:

• Principle 1: Practice reasonable, responsible, and transparent behavior.
• Principle 2: Act without bias.
• Principle 3: Ensure equitable access.
• Principle 4: Comply with laws.
• Principle 5: Protect confidentiality.

A Career Center’s Responsibility

While career centers typically do not endorse specific organizations, the posting of employer positions or their inclusion in career center events, services, or programs may imply to students that the career center has vetted the employers and that students can feel comfortable applying to these organizations.

Individual campuses may set policy about the criteria for hiring organizations to have access to students through career center communication and recruitment channels. For example, if a career center has concerns that an organization is engaging in fraudulent business practices or discriminatory practices, the career center may feel justified in denying the employer access to its services. Additionally, if the career center cannot verify that the employer is a legitimate business, the career center may deny the employer access to campus recruitment services. In practice, career centers should post a disclaimer acknowledging that they have attempted to make a good faith effort to vet all employers but that, as scams are a reality, students have a shared responsibility in researching each opportunity they are considering and that not all employers are vetted by the career center. The disclaimer should also specifically indicate that by using the services, the student is holding the career center harmless from any and all claims that may arise. The career center should work with legal counsel to develop appropriate language. A best practice for career centers is to make available resources about scams and fraudulent recruiting, and how to identify these types of activities.

Suggested Steps When Working With Employers

1. Develop a set of employer/recruitment policies for the career center, have them reviewed by the career center leader’s supervisor and, if appropriate, by university counsel, post them on the career center website, and share them as a standard policy with all employers recruiting through the career center. Refer to the NACE Principles for Ethical Professional Practice and/or include them as a part of the career center’s policies.

2. Make reasonable efforts to ensure that all organizations recruiting through the career center have been informed of office and university policies related to recruiting, including an understanding of and an emphasis on equity and inclusion.

3. If there are any concerns regarding a specific employer, the organization should be contacted. Frank discussions between career centers and organizations that are interested in recruiting the institution’s students will help to clarify policies and expectations. If available, career center staff may want to use alumni contacts within the organization to discuss concerns. If the concerns remain unresolved, then supervisors or other appropriate officials within the company should be contacted. If that fails to resolve the concerns, the career center should follow the steps outlined in the institutional or office policy related to how work with the employer should proceed. Regardless, all communications should be documented in the event that a legal issue arises between the parties.

4. Based upon the circumstances, a career center should develop customized intervention plans regarding fraudulent employment practices, discriminatory recruiting practices, student complaints against an employer, and allegations of harassment. A best practice for career centers in these situations is to consult with their Title IX coordinator and/or legal counsel (if appropriate) who may refer career center staff to additional individuals and/or resources.