Career Exploration and Development

Employer & Third-Party Recruiting Organization Policies

Disclaimer

Career Exploration and Development (CED) at Oberlin College and Conservatory, in its provision of services to students, alumni, and off-campus employers, makes no representations or guarantees expressed or written regarding the opportunities listed on its website and is not responsible for the wages, safety, working conditions or any other aspects of off-campus employment. It is the responsibility of the students and alumni to take the necessary precautions when interviewing for and accepting part-time, full-time and/or internship positions. 

In addition, the CED website contains links to other websites as a convenience to our students and is not responsible for the content of these sites. The opinions and views associated with these linked sites are not necessarily those of Oberlin College and Conservatory and CED.

Career Exploration and Development (CED) operates under the ethical standards for professional conduct set forth by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)  . All employers and third-party recruiting organizations that recruit Oberlin College students and recent alumni are expected to follow the NACE Principles for Ethical Professional Practice  .

In addition, CED does not allow on-campus recruiters to interrupt academic talks, presentations, or classes. Recruiters wishing to visit a specific class must work through CED to gain permission from the professor at least 7 business days in advance.

Any organizations that violate these principles will have their recruiting privileges revoked.

In all of its relationships, Oberlin College is committed to a policy of non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family relationship to an employee of Oberlin College, disability, or veteran status. Equal employment opportunity extends to all aspects of the employment relationship including hiring, recruiting, interviewing, transfer, promotion, training, working conditions, compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. Oberlin College is also committed to provide all of its programs and activities to its students and alumni on a non-discriminatory basis.

Oberlin College expects that any employer or third-party organization representing an employer that posts a position through the Career Development Center or uses the College's facilities for the purpose of recruiting for full-time, part-time, temporary or intern positions complies with federal and state equal employment opportunity laws in its recruiting and hiring. Oberlin College also expects that employers, third-party organizations, and their representatives strive to eliminate all forms of harassment in their recruiting, hiring, and selection process.

The Oberlin College Career Development Center reserves the right to advise students and others in our community should any employer, institution, or agency using our referral or posting services demonstrate, be found legally responsible for, and/or face pending litigation for discriminatory or otherwise unfair hiring/admission practices.

If you are offering an internship with a "for-profit" organization in the private sector, and have questions about how The Fair Labor Standards Act applies to interns, please review the U. S. Department of Labor's fact sheet: Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act  . Additional information is available through the U. S. Department of Labor  .

Since informed decisions benefit both students and employer partners, we recommend students be given ample time to complete their job searches before making decisions regarding job offers. In accordance with NACE Principals, we encourage all employers to provide a reasonable time frame for students to consider all job and internship opportunities and offers. Pressure to accept early makes it difficult for us to enforce our policies against students reneging on job offers. Please refrain from pressuring students on acceptances and understand the necessity of letting candidates make an informed decision resulting in truly committed employees.

We have created guidelines concerning the acceptance of job and internship offers for fall and spring recruiting that are fair and equitable to all participating candidates and employers:

  • If employers make offers at the end of the summer to their interns, we recommend that they give interns until November 1 to make a decision, allowing candidates full participation in fall on-campus recruiting.
  • If employers make offers to candidates during the fall recruiting cycle, in order to make an informed decision, we ask that they give these candidates until December 1.
  • For offers made on or after December 1, we recommend all candidates be given at least 2 weeks to make a decision.
  • In order to avoid any misunderstandings, we suggest that employers provide students with written confirmation of job offers and details.

Employers should strive to communicate decisions to candidates within the agreed-upon time frame, and refrain from any practice that improperly influences and affects job acceptances. Such practices may include undue time pressure for acceptance of employment offers and encouragement of revocation of another employment offer. No special incentive should be held out to induce early acceptance of an offer, nor should a student be subjected to the terms of an exploding offer, such as a required quick response time, reduction in offer package, or any other practice that puts unreasonable pressure on a student.

For more information or questions, please refer to National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) policy on Reasonable Offers  , or contact the Oberlin College Career Development Center.

Terms of freelance employment include work hours determined by the assignment and using one's own workspace and materials; freelancers generally provide their own benefits. The freelancer often collects state sales tax from clients and pays his or her own income taxes. Freelancers own their own designs, music, etc. Employers who are hiring students for a freelance position must have an established business and a work for hire contract or agreement.

Fair Labor Standards for Internships

If you are offering an internship with a "for-profit" organization in the private sector, and have questions about how The Fair Labor Standards Act applies to interns, please download the U. S. Department of Labor's fact sheet: Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act . Additional information is available through the U. S. Department of Labor .

In addition to the policies outlined in the NACE Principles for Professional Practice  , Career Exploration and Development (CED) expects employers and third-party recruiting agencies to comply with the following policies:

  • Positions offered through third-party recruiters must be listed with the actual employer's address and contact information. Anonymous postings will not be accepted.
  • Employers offering opportunities to teach abroad must have an established corporate web site that clearly describes the application process and policies, including any fees involved, as well as the formal structure of the program and the support that will be provided to students while abroad. Upon request, employers will provide CED with two references from past participants.
  • We only accept positions that are appropriate for current students and recent alums. We do not accept positions for which Oberlin students are not qualified (e.g. positions requiring an advanced degree, more than 3 to 5 years of experience, and/or majors not offered at Oberlin), nor do we accept positions for which Oberlin students are over-qualified (e.g., positions that do not require a college degree).
  • We do not accept positions that would employ students for a private individual with an unestablished business and no employment or work-for-hire contract (i.e. babysitter, tutor, caretaker, interior designer for your private home, etc.).
  • We do not accept jobs or internships that are compensated only by commission.
  • We do not accept tuition-based positions, or positions from employers and third-party recruiting organizations that require students and alumni to pay a fee payment or investment prior to employment.
  • We do not accept organizations that provide financial incentives to staff who recruit new hires for the organization and for which the recruiting staff member receives a portion of the new hire's commission.

Employers or third-party recruiting agencies that do not follow these policies will not be provided with any services through Career Exploration and Development at Oberlin College.

Career Exploration and Development (CED) is committed to sharing career opportunities with students and alumni sustainably and effectively. As of Fall 2016, we will share all recruitment resources digitally.

How it works:

  • Recruiters may bring hard copies of fliers to on-campus events such as info tables and info sessions.
  • CED will not keep any remaining materials after these events.
  • CED will post fliers advertising on-campus recruiting events if the employer provides them at least two weeks in advance.
  • Upon request, CED will keep digital copies of recruitment materials, which we will share with students who express interest.
  • If no digital copy is readily available, CED will gladly scan a hard copy to create a digital version.
  • CED will not keep mailed materials and will inform senders of our policy for future reference.

Career Exploration and Development (CED) adheres to the aforementioned policies and guidelines to ensure the quality of our services and reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions at any time.