Professional Standards
for College & University Career Services
IX. EMPLOYER RELATIONS AND RECRUITMENT SERVICES
Employers are both vital partners in the educational process and primary customers for college/university career services. Each career services office develops policies and practices for employer relations and services. Within the context of these principles, career services:
- develops strategic objectives for employer services and job development that yield maximum opportunities for the institution’s students and alumni;
- develops and maintains relationships with employers who may provide career development and employment opportunities for students and alumni;
- enhances customer service and fosters continuous improvement by using feedback from employers on key performance indicators and measures of services;
- informs, educates, and consults with employers on the nature of services provided and student candidates available;
- involves employers in programs that meet students’ career and employment needs;
- promotes employer adherence to professional and ethical standards that model professional and ethical conduct for students; and
- provides employer feedback to faculty, administrators and students on the preparation of students for jobs, the curricula, and the hiring process.
In addition, career services:
- develops and implements marketing strategies to cultivate employment opportunities for students;
- maximizes opportunities for employers to consider candidates for employment;
- maximizes students’ exposure to employers, while respecting appropriate academic and co-curricular standards;
- encourages dialogue among employers, faculty, and the institution’s administrators concerning career and employment issues; and
- facilitates employer involvement and communication with faculty, students, and administrators; and uses employers’ experiences and expertise in support of institutional activities.
Career services does not give preferential treatment to specific employers. Career services treats employers uniformly and consistently.
Career services understands the variety of needs and employment practices among small businesses, large corporations, government, and nonprofit organizations. Career services defines the types of employers it will serve and articulates policies that guide its working relationships with various types of employers.
Career services offers a variety of services to employers that reflect student interests and employer needs. These include, but are not limited to, site visits; campus recruiting; resume referrals; information sessions; meetings with faculty members; prerecruiting activities; student access to employer information; posting and publishing of job openings; career and job fairs; providing information on academic departments and students within legal and policy guidelines; assistance in recruiting student populations; experiential learning options, which may include shadowing experiences, internships, or cooperative education; videoconference interviewing; salary information; advertising and promotional vehicles; career center advisory board memberships; and individual employer recruiting and college relations consultations.
Career services:
- provides information to employers on the institution’s operations, enrollment, curricula, interviewing logistics, etc. (e.g., policies, procedures, transportation, lodging);
- encourages employer participation in career planning courses, career conferences, career and alumni fairs, cooperative education, and internships;
- provides information and services to assist recruiters and graduate school representatives to effectively communicate their opportunities to specific and targeted student populations;
- encourages employers to list job vacancies on a continuing basis and to provide information to career services on their job offers, salaries, and hires;
- encourages employer support of the institution, which may include scholarships and other forms of financial support, in coordination with development office efforts; and
- develops policies for working with third-party recruiters, which may include recruiter disclosure of the identities of organizations they are representing and agreement to adhere to the ethical guidelines documented in the NACE Principles for Professional Conduct.
