To effectively support and facilitate strategic partnerships between students and employers, the LSA Opportunity Hub has established policies that provide consistent operational procedures.
Employers wishing to recruit and/or engage with LSA Students through the Opportunity Hub are required to adhere to the National Association of the Colleges and Employers (NACE) Principles for Professional Conduct for Employment Professionals and the LSA Opportunity Hub Recruiting Policies. These guidelines have been adapted with several underlying considerations and guidelines in mind:
Bonafide Employers
The Opportunity Hub only schedules bonafide employers* or those representing specific bonafide employers with actual or anticipated job openings and higher education/professional school representatives, to recruit or host employer engagement events on our campus. Bonafide employers are defined as legally constituted or chartered organizations or employers, e.g., businesses, companies, governmental agencies, educational systems, organizations with Articles of Incorporation on file in any state, private corporation, organizations required to file federal income tax returns or organizations chartered by a government entity. Those representing specific bonafide employers are defined as established third-party recruiting services contacted by a specific organization to provide candidate referrals without a charge to the candidates.
Non-Discrimination Policy & Commitment to DEI (as adapted from the University Career Center)
Employers who wish to recruit and/or engage with the Opportunity Hub must comply with all applicable federal and state laws and executive orders, including those prohibiting unlawful discrimination and providing for equal employment opportunity. According to University of Michigan’s regental guidelines, “no career planning and placement services will be made available to any company or organization which, in its recruitment or employment practices, is in violation of laws against discrimination. Likewise, no career services will be made available to any company or organization that does not support equal employment opportunity.” (Regents of the University of Michigan, December, 1977)
Furthermore, employers will be evaluated to determine how well their organization aligns with the college’s commitment to Diversity Equity and Inclusion. The college, and by extension the Opportunity Hub, will not work with organizations who do not align with our commitment to DEI. Please see our DEI statement here.
Third-Party Recruiters
Third-party recruiters are agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities other than for their own needs. They may include organizations that refer or recruit for-profit or nonprofit, and it includes agencies that collect student information that is to be disclosed to employers for the sole purpose of recruitment and employment. The following guidelines must be followed by third party recruiters who wish to use the Opportunity Hub’s job posting board on LSA Engage and participate in any career events:
Third-party recruiters will disclose to students the name(s) of the client, or clients, that the third-party recruiter is representing and to whom the students' credentials will be disclosed.
The recruiter will indicate in LSA Engage that they are a third-party recruiter in order to be approved to post opportunities.
When deemed necessary, third-party recruiters will disclose information upon request to the Opportunity Hub that would allow the staff the ability to verify that the organization is recruiting for a bona fide opportunity. Information should include contact information for the organization for which the third party is providing recruiting service.
The Opportunity Hub will respect the confidentiality of this information and may not publish it in any manner.
Commission-based Opportunities
Commission-only opportunities for students will not be granted approval by the Opportunity Hub. Organizations seeking to hire LSA students into paid internships through the Opportunity Hub must pay a base salary in addition to any commission-based incentives. Additionally, the Opportunity Hub reserves the right to deny access to any employer offering opportunities that require students to purchase products or services upfront as part of employment. Employers offering opportunities where employees receive commission based on a “pyramid” may be denied recruiting activities.
The Opportunity Hub does not promote or post “home-based” employment opportunities such as childcare or elder support or similar positions unless the employer meets the criteria of a “Bona fide employer” as stated in the aforementioned section of this policy.
Organizations that charge a fee for employment or participation may be contacted for further information to ensure opportunities are viable for LSA students.
Paid vs. Unpaid Internship Opportunities
It is strongly encouraged, though not required, for organizations offering internships to consider paying students for their internship positions. By providing a paid internship, you increase your chances of attracting the best talent and become more competitive in the ever-changing labor market. If you would like an Employer Engagement team member to provide helpful information and best practices on offering a competitive salary for your available internship opportunities, please contact recruit-lsaopphub@umich.edu with “paid opportunity” in the subject line.
Extending offers
Efforts should be made on the part of the employer to give students adequate information and time to fully consider an offer for an internship, full-time and/or part-time employment. We encourage LSA students to engage in as many recruiting opportunities as possible and encourage employers to understand that theirs may not be the only offer that a student needs to consider. Below you will find best practices for extending offers to LSA students:
Extending offers: Employment offers to LSA students should be extended in writing and include compensation (if paid), the role for which the student is being hired, start and end date, benefits, and any other important details of the position.
Timelines: Employers extending offers for internships or full-time employment should allow no less than two weeks (preferably more) from the date of the written offer, for the student's consideration and decision to accept or decline. Employers should remain flexible by granting extensions on a case-by-case basis and as the circumstances warrant.
Exploding Offers: An exploding offer is an offer of employment that is rescinded if not accepted in a very short period of time and does not adhere to the guidelines outlined above. Students should also not be pressured to accept offers “on the spot” or "early,” whether this is based upon a shorter time frame for consideration overall and/or due to any special diminishing incentives attached, e.g. tiered or expiring bonuses, reduced options for location preferences, etc.
Cancellation and No-Show Policy
If it is necessary for an organization to cancel their attendance at a recruiting or employer event (on-campus interview, recruiting event, employer connection session, coffee chat, etc.), we require that you do so in writing (via email) at least three (3) days prior to the scheduled event. Cancellation notices should be submitted to recruit-lsaopphub@umich.edu with “cancellation” in the subject line. If canceling an interview visit, it is the responsibility of the organization to notify all students who have been scheduled for an interview. The Opportunity Hub is not responsible for notifying candidates on the behalf of the organization.
Please note that last-minute cancellations and no-shows negatively affect your image with students who were expecting to meet with you and by extension, the Opportunity Hub, who is facilitating these connections. We strongly encourage that you make an effort to attend your scheduled event or send an alternative representative from your organization if the original contact is unable to attend.
Failure to notify the Opportunity Hub within three (3) days may result in a loss of access to recruiting resources.
Additional Employer Engagement and Recruitment Considerations
The Opportunity Hub makes efforts to align its recruiting policies with those of the University Career Center (UCC). We may consult with the UCC for guidance when further considerations that are not publicly outlined in the aforementioned policy are needed.
Access to Services
Employers who wish to recruit and/or engage with the Opportunity Hub must be registered and approved as an employer on LSA Engage (supported by 12Twenty’s CSM platform). All recruitment visits will require an employment opportunity such as an internship, experiential learning, or professional (part-time or full-time) employment. These opportunities must be posted in LSA Engage prior to the date of your scheduled event. Employers are encouraged to attend and participate in the Hub’s pre-scheduled events that will be hosted and coordinated by our staff. If you would like to schedule a recruiting visit outside of our scheduled events, we ask that you schedule a maximum of two (2) Individual Recruiting Visits per semester.
- Student Responsibility
- The LSA Opportunity Hub is dedicated to advancing students' interests and opportunities. Inclusion of a resource does not imply LSA Opportunity Hub or University endorsement of the particular organization, employer, opportunity, or resource described. The LSA Opportunity Hub acts in a non-discriminatory and content-neutral manner when providing support to students. It is the student’s responsibility to stay informed about the organizations and opportunities they choose to pursue in order to make decisions pertaining to their career development and exploration. The Hub provides resources and guidance, but ultimately, the responsibility to remain well-informed and critically engaged lies with each student.
