The following recruitment policies and procedures apply to all of our recruiting programs, including but not limited to: position postings, internships, on-campus interviews and job fairs. These policies will be reviewed regularly and may be subject to change at the university’s discretion.
Non-Discrimination Policy
Ƶ (“BSU”) is committed to a policy of non-discrimination, equal opportunity, diversity and affirmative action and expects employers to comply with our policy. The University is dedicated to providing educational, working and living environments that value the diverse backgrounds of all people. .
Ƶ Career Services & Internship Program Office is a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and adheres to and promotes its and requires that employers working with our office and utilizing our services will conform to these principles as well as .
The Massachusetts Fair Employment law protects candidates from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry or military service. Additional details can be reviewed at: .
In compliance with federal law, employers must “Treat U.S. citizens, non-U.S. citizen nationals, lawful permanent residents, asylees, and refugees consistently in recruitment or hiring, without regard to their citizenship status, except in the limited situation where a law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requires you to consider candidates with certain citizenship statuses.” Employers should review the DOL guidelines and best practices at: .
Expectations of Employers
The Career Services and Internship Program Offices serve employers looking to fill full-time permanent professional positions requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher as well as academic internship opportunities. Additionally, we will post part-time, non-degree and summer roles that are appropriate for our student population.
Expectations of Employers:
- Refrain from any practices that improperly influence and affect job acceptances (i.e., time pressures, encouraging backing out of other offers, exploding offers, etc.).
- Honor all offers made to students and alumni. Withdrawing job offers, both written and oral, violates professional standards and can have a negative professional and financial impact on students.
- Ensure that all recruiting events and interviews will be kept professional and as such alcohol will not be served.
- Keep all student information confidential regardless of the source. Sharing student information with another organization is prohibited without the prior written consent of the student.
- Have a fair and equitable recruiting and hiring process that includes timely communication of candidate status and hiring decisions.
Prohibited Positions and Practices
While our offices reserve the right to restrict access to services and programs in the best interest of our students and alumni, the following practices, positions and strategies are restricted from our campus:
- Employers and individuals offering employment/entrepreneurial opportunities with compensation packages requiring prospective employees to pay start-up fees, purchase a franchise, products or services upfront.
- Employers/individuals offering employment/entrepreneurial opportunities based on a “pyramid” or “multi-level” type networking structure requiring/encouraging the recruitment of others who recruit others to sell products and services.
- Babysitting or other In-Home jobs and/or internships where an employee would be working out of someone’s home or dwelling. We encourage you to use sites such as .
- Campus/Brand Ambassador Positions and similar roles that seek students to sell or market an organization or brand on campus.
- Placement Agencies/Organizations offering unspecified opportunities to teach abroad, teach abroad agencies based outside of the United States and those that charge for their services.
- Placement/Training Agencies or Organizations that provide training with no definitive or guaranteed job offer.
- Use of “exploding offers” that include undue time pressure to accept an offer (such as same day) and/or those that encourage candidates to back out of existing offers.
- Rescinding, deferring or making bad-faith job offers.
Third-Party Recruiters
BSU as well as career centers across the country utilize NACE’s Principles for Third Party Recruiting described in the which you can review. Important notices include:
- Third-party recruitment agencies must disclose that they are such an agency in their Handshake profile.
- Third-party recruiters who are hiring for positions within their own organization and will be the employee’s full-time employer may post these positions on our database.
- Third-party recruiters who are hiring for full-time professional positions requiring a bachelor’s degree outside their organization may have positions posted provided they include the name of the organization they are recruiting for in the posting. Additionally, contact information for the client employer must be provided upon our request.
- Third party recruiters who directly charge candidates are prohibited.
- Third party recruiters must not retain any student resumes or records for future placement unless the student provides written consent.
- In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, third-party recruiters will not disclose to any employer, including the client-employer, any student information without obtaining prior written consent from the student. Under no circumstances can student information be disclosed for other than recruiting purposes, nor can it be sold or provided to other entities.
- Follow EEO standards in the screening, recruiting and referring of qualified applicants without regard to any background/protected group.
Position Posting Guidelines
The Career Services & Internship Program Office serves employers looking to fill full-time professional positions requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher as well as academic internship opportunities. Additionally, we will post part-time, non-degree and summer roles that are appropriate for our student population. Commission only positions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must disclose the compensation details in the posting. All full-time job postings have a limit of 90 days on our system but can be refreshed.
All internships and co-ops must follow to be eligible in our system. Additionally, as a matter of equity, we encourage all employers to review and strive towards paid internship programs as the norm in the field. You can review additional guidelines on our Internship Program at /academics/internships/employers. Internships and co-ops can typically be listed on Handshake for up to one calendar year.
All jobs and internship positions are posted on our Handshake database which can be accessed at: . For positions to be approved, employers must:
- Provide clear, accurate and up-to-date information in all position postings and dealings with BSU students and alumni.
- Have actual or anticipated career related jobs and/or internships for our students and alumni and not post solely to collect resumes.
- Ensure that all position postings must have full details, verifiable contact information, detailed descriptions, and all conditions of employment must be clearly articulated in the posting.
Position Offer Guidelines
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has issued the following advisory opinion on that we encourage employers to review. A few important recommendations:
- Avoid offering opportunities to candidates 12 months or more in advance of the start date.
- Allow candidates adequate time to consider the position offer; one to two weeks at a minimum.
- Consider reasonable requests for additional time for candidates to review offers to make the best choice for both the candidate and employer.
Right to Refusal
The Career Services & Internship Program Office at Ƶ reserves the right to refuse service to potential employers due to any of the following:
- Requiring personal information at the time of application, such as financial information, social security numbers, or information pertaining to protected class status.
- Misrepresentation, whether defined by dishonest information or absence of information.
- Fraudulent activity or business practices.
- Harassment of BSU students, alumni, or staff.
- Breach of confidentiality as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
- Failure to adhere to the Career Services & Internship Program Office/BSU’s employer guidelines.
- Any violation of BSU rules and regulations.
- Any violation of local, state, or federal laws.
In compliance with the Department of Justice's rulings regarding citizenship discrimination and best practices for online job postings, the Career Services & Internship Program Office does no screening of candidates or verification of work authorization. Employers may include employment eligibility information in their Handshake job descriptions as a point of information for potential candidates so that the candidates may self-screen.
Employers are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel and establish legally permissible internal screening procedures before posting jobs or recruiting on campus. The Career Services & Internship Program Office at BSU reserves the right to modify or remove any statements or job postings that include any potentially illegal or discriminatory language.
Our office makes every effort to research employers and employment opportunities that are posted on our database and to prepare our students for the job/internship search and interview process. However, the responsibility of background screening of prospective employees and employers’ rests with the respective companies and students, as does the decision to extend or accept employment offers. Our office shall not accept responsibility or liability for the future actions of either the employer or the employee. We, therefore, encourage all parties involved to utilize discretion and sound judgment prior to entering into an employment agreement.
If you have questions or concerns with any of the above policies and procedures, please contact Career Services & Internship Program at 508-531-1328 or email us at careerservices@bridgew.edu.
Last updated in December 2023