Recruiting Guidelines

In order to recruit on Colorado State University’s campus, we expect that all employers abide by the CSU Principles of Community. These principles encompass foundational values that include inclusion, integrity, respect, service and social justice. Additionally, we ask that all employers abide by the Principles for Ethical Professional Practice of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). To protect the best interest of our students, employers conducting recruitment activities through career services, student associations, or academic departments should do so in accordance with all these policies, including the ones outlined below.

If employers are found violating any of these guidelines and/or student complaints are filed regarding an employer, Career Services will investigate and reserves the right to deny an organization campus recruiting services pending the results of the investigation.

Employers that have met our eligibility requirements are able to recruit on-campus and through our services with the following expectations:

Disclosure of Employer Recruitment Activities & Practices

  • We ask that employers/recruiters work with the appropriate career center(s) and/or departments on their recruiting and campus activities to ensure an exceptional CSU experience and to make sure all guidelines are being followed.
  • We ask that recruiters be transparent with career services about their recruiting activities and the information provided to students. ‘Bait & Switch’ tactics and embellishing opportunities or compensation, for any reason, is not permitted.
  • We ask that employers do NOT drop-in unannounced to classrooms in order to promote their opportunities or pass around sign-up sheets to capture student contact information. Best practice dictates that unless you or your staff have a personal connection to the faculty member, that you don’t cold call/email university staff.

Undue Pressure by Employer

  • Recruiting Students – Employers must refrain from putting undue pressure on students to attend recruitment events or to apply for opportunities with the organization. Whereas assertive recruitment is appropriate, aggressive recruitment is not (unsolicited or excessive phone calls, unsolicited emails to students, etc.).
  • Pressure To Accept an Offer – Exploding offers (offers that do not afford a candidate the appropriate time to either accept or decline) are unacceptable. For example, an offer with a 48-hour window or less would be an exploding offer.
  • Employers are to refrain from exerting any undue pressure on candidates to accept a job offer.
    Employers should not try to persuade students to renege on employment offers from other companies under any circumstances. This would be in direct breach of the recruiter code of conduct and ethics.

Student Direct Referrals

Career services staff supports and maintains fair and equitable recruiting practices and is therefore precluded from making direct student referrals or recommendations as outlined in NACE Principles of Professional Practice.

Financial Investment by Student

Employers are prohibited from charging fees to students during the job search process or during employment. Career services will not post positions where the student is required to purchase or rent any type of sales kit or presentation supplies.

Unapproved Campus Marketing

All forms of marketing on the CSU campus must receive the approval of the appropriate career services office, department and/or the student activities office.

Alcohol Connected to On-campus Recruiting

The serving of alcoholic beverages at or during a recruiting or corporate event is not allowed. For numerous reasons including safety, inclusivity, health, etc, we strongly discourage the serving of alcohol at off-campus recruiting events as well.

Extending Offers

We ask that employers convey final hiring decisions to candidates within a reasonable time frame and communicate that time frame to candidates during the interview process.

As a general rule, employers should give students a minimum of two weeks from the date the offer is made to make their decision.

We ask that employers making full-time offers to interns at the conclusion of their internship to give students until at least November 15th so that these students are able to participate in on-campus recruiting during the fall semester. This will allow students to make informed career decisions and will support their acceptance of offers and commitment to employers.

Employers should in no way try to persuade students to renege on employment offers from other companies under any circumstances. This practice would be in direct breach of our recruiter code of conduct and ethics and may result in restricting access to our career services and students.

Exploding Offers

Exploding offers (offers that do not afford a candidate the appropriate time to either accept or decline) are unacceptable. For example, an offer with a 48-hour window would be an exploding offer. Employers are to refrain from exerting any undue pressure on candidates to accept a job offer. Applying pressure to a student to accept a job offer at the conclusion of a summer internship prior to commencement of the fall recruiting season would also be considered an example of an exploding offer.

Rescinded Offers

If conditions change and require your company to rescind an offer made to a student, we ask that you call the career services prior to taking any action. If after discussions with the career services the offer is rescinded, we ask that you pursue a course of action for the affected candidate that is fair and equitable potentially including-but not limited to- financial assistance and outplacement services.

Student Reneges

We encourage students to immediately release offers they do not plan to accept. Additionally, any student reneging on an accepted offer is considered in serious breach of our recruiting policies and a poor reflection on Colorado State University. If this situation occurs, contact career services prior to taking any action. The student will receive immediate attention. Actions that may be taken include revoking the student’s access to career services.

Contracts

If your organization has a required contract that must be signed in order to be employed with your organization, the student must be allowed to take the contract with them in order to review and seek any needed counsel or advice before signing. They must also be afforded a reasonable amount of time (general rule is a minimum of two weeks) to consider before making a decision. Career Services also reserves the right to request to review any contracts being used in campus recruiting.

Career Services takes student complaints seriously and will investigate any concerns brought to our attention. Employers found to be violating CSU’s Principles of Community, NACE policies, or CSU Campus Recruitment Guidelines, could result in any/all of the following:

  • Restricting employer access to career services and students
  • Flagging and notation of complaints regarding the employer in Handshake, which is seen by other schools
  • Placement of employer on a probationary period and required action plan