Policies and Guidelines

Employers recruiting on campus will be expected to maintain EEO compliance and follow affirmative action principles in recruitment activities. Employers should consider all interested students for employment opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.

Career Services cannot act as an agent or referral entity for recruiters/employers by recommending or screening for specific candidates. It is Career Services’ obligation to:

1. Notify employing organizations of any selection procedures that appear to have an adverse impact based upon students’ race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

2. Respond to complaints of EEO noncompliance, working to resolve such complaints with the recruiter or employing organization, and, if necessary, referring such complaints to the appropriate campus department or agency.

However, to assist employers in selecting the most qualified candidates from the largest applicant pool possible, Career Services can:

1. Assist recruiters with accessing certain groups on campus to provide a more inclusive applicant pool.

2. Help employers identify and outreach to appropriate audiences based on nondiscriminatory criteria such as major, academic year, GPA.

3. Assist employers in promoting their opportunities on campus through various channels including emails, social media, partnering with faculty and other appropriate offices, bulletin boards, etc.

4. Provide instructions to employers for posting on Nittany Lion Careers, a job board that is accessible by students of all majors across all Penn State campuses as well as geographically dispersed alumni.

Those engaged in administering, evaluating, and interpreting assessment tools, tests, and technology used in selection will be trained and qualified to do so. Employment professionals must advise Career Services of any test conducted on campus and eliminate such a test if it violates campus policies. Employment professionals must advise students in a timely fashion of the type and purpose of any test that students will be required to take as part of the recruitment process and to whom the test results will be disclosed. All tests will be reviewed by the employing organization for disparate impact and job-relatedness. Career Services staff choosing to serve as test proctors do so independently of the requesting company and have no responsibility for exam review.

Career Services requires that employers supply accurate information on their organization, employment opportunities, and compensation packages when extending an offer. Employing organizations are responsible for information supplied and commitments made by their representatives.

Career Services does not have specific restrictions on when offers may be extended. We do ask that employers communicate decisions to candidates within a reasonable time frame and communicate that time frame to the candidates.

Career Services asks that employers provide a reasonable time frame for acceptance of offers extended to candidates. We prefer that candidates are given 15 to 25 business days to make a decision on an offer. Please note that specific academic colleges or programs may have additional guidelines. Therefore, we highly recommend that you consult with the appropriate office. Employers are expected to refrain from using any undue pressure to accept the job offer (including, but not limited to, rescission of the offer if not accepted in less than the two-week time frame), or to renege on acceptance of another offer.

If conditions change and require the employing organization to revoke its commitment, the employing organization will pursue a course of action for the affected candidate that is fair and equitable, including (but not limited to) financial assistance and outplacement services. This is in accordance with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Position Statement on Rescinded and Deferred Employment Offers. This document provides additional recommendations, legal considerations, and ethical considerations for employers.

• Concerning earning credit opportunities involving cannabis:
  Undergraduate and graduate students, whether University personnel or otherwise, are not permitted to receive academic credit for any work, research, or activity in violation of federal law, including work associated with marijuana. However, undergraduate and graduate students, whether University personnel or otherwise, are permitted to receive academic credit for any work, research, or activity associated with hemp.

Third-party organizations providing recruiting services for a fee will be required to:

1. Inform Career Services of the specific Employer(s) they represent and the specific jobs for which they are recruiting, and Career Services will verify the information;

2. Reveal the company names to students/alumni selected for an interview;

3. Allow Career Services to add to their job description the following statement: “Applicants, upon being selected for an interview, will be notified of the company name by the third-party recruiter.”

Career Services will request contact information for the organization for which the third party is providing recruiting services if/when there is a concern related to a company. Career Services must respect the confidentiality of this information and may not publish it in any manner. Any disclosure of student information outside of the third-party recruiting organization and the company they are representing will be with the prior consent of the student. Third-party recruiters that charge fees to students will not be permitted access to Career Services.

Career Services may restrict access to recruiting activities if the following conditions are compromised:

1. Employing organizations will not improperly influence and affect job acceptances. Such practices may include undue time pressure for acceptance of employment offers and encouragement of revocation of another employment offer.

2. Employing organizations will supply accurate information on their organization, employment opportunities, compensation packages, and typical earnings and performance statistics. Employing organizations are responsible for information supplied and commitments made by their representatives. If unexpected conditions occur that cause the employing organization to revoke its commitment, the employing organization will pursue a course of action for the affected candidate that is fair and equitable (refer to NACE Position Statement on Rescinded and Deferred Employment Offers).

3. Employing organizations will provide Career Services with appropriate permanent contact information and will clearly display the identity of the organization they are representing at all recruitment events and activities.

4. Employing organizations requiring a financial investment on the part of students to participate in an internship or full-time permanent position (e.g., the purchase of a demonstration package or payment for a required training program) will do so only if 1) students have the opportunity to rent necessary equipment/materials; and/or 2) students are fully informed on the amount and specific uses of required fees as well as whether or not a reimbursement policy exists.

5. Employing organizations recruiting students for the purpose of selling their products/services to students, staff, faculty, and others on campus must pursue potential partnerships with student clubs or organizations. Career Services will not become involved in the promotion of such opportunities (refer to Penn State Policy AD27 for further information).

6. Employing organizations are prohibited from serving alcohol as part of the recruitment process. Employers may not have any banners, posters or other displays featuring any alcohol (or tobacco) logos, images or products of any kind.

7. Employing organizations will maintain equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance and follow affirmative action principles in recruiting activities. Appropriate recruiting activities include the following:

   1. Recruiting, interviewing, and hiring individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, and providing reasonable accommodations upon request;

   2. Reviewing selection criteria for adverse impact based upon students’ race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability;

   3. Avoiding use of inquiries that are considered unacceptable by EEO standards during the recruiting process

   4. Investigating complaints forwarded by Career Services regarding EEO noncompliance and seeking resolution of such complaints.

8. Employing organizations will maintain the confidentiality of student information, regardless of the source, including personal knowledge, written records/reports, and computer databases. There will be no disclosure of student information to another organization without the prior written consent of the student, unless necessitated by health and/or safety considerations.

9. Employing organizations engaged in administering, evaluating, and interpreting assessment tools, tests, and technology will inform Career Services of these tests and ensure that such tests do not violate campus policies.

Penn State Career Services makes every effort to secure and protect the privacy of your personal information.

Through Nittany Lion Careers, Career Services contracts with NACElink Network to provide Penn State students and alumni with additional job postings and resume services. Please refer to the NACElink Privacy Statement for technical details and a description of the NACElink.com site.

Some areas of our website collect personal information for the following purposes:

• Authentication: programs that require registration utilize a login name and password to authenticate returning users.

• Identification: some forms on our website ask for personal information such as your name and email address, so that we can respond to a request or question. Such information is voluntary unless otherwise noted on the form. However, not providing any contact information may make it impossible for us to respond personally to you.

• Statistical Usage: some pages on our website may record your personal information, in order to provide statistical data. This information is used in aggregate form, and does not personally identify you.

• Through NACElink, available via Nittany Lion Careers, registered students and alumni can post resumes, view and apply for jobs, and schedule on-campus interviews. The information in a candidate’s profile is used by Nittany Lion Careers for job-search advising, promoting programs and services, notifying candidates of employment opportunities, and referring qualified candidates to employers.

• Resumes are not shared with third parties, such as employment agencies or search firms.

• Only the resumes of students who have given permission to have their resumes released to employers are shared with prospective employers.

• Resumes are selected based on objective, legally-permissible requirements.

Career Services may conduct searches on resumes and candidate profiles to notify candidates of educational or employment opportunities through email communications. By entering data into the Nittany Lion Careers system, students and alumni may have data included in aggregate reports used for evaluation of employment activities, educational programs, reports developed for institutional studies, and salary surveys.

NACElink cannot use or sell individual candidate data. Unlike commercial vendors, NACElink staff cannot look at individual candidate data.

Personally identifiable information is protected both on - and off-line. The data of students, alumni, and employers are password protected. NACElink has technical, administrative, and physical security measures and safeguards in place to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under NACE’s control.

Nittany Lion Careers does not endorse any employer and urges students to use good judgment in all of their interactions with employers. Nittany Lion Careers suggests that students request business references for unknown organizations before interviewing with them off campus or exploring job opportunities. Students should never give a potential employer their credit card, social security numbers, or bank account numbers, and never spend any of their own money on an employment “opportunity” unless very certain that it is for a legitimate reason (such as training costs).

Students and alumni should contact Penn State Career Services if they have any concerns about the use of their information. Students and alumni can view, correct or change their information by logging into their Nittany Lion Careers account.

While using the Career Services website, you may encounter hypertext links to the Web pages of organizations not directly affiliated with Penn State Career Services or Penn State University. Career Services does not control the content or information practices of these external organizations; we highly recommend that you review the privacy statements of these organizations.