Recruiting Guidelines and Expectations for Employers
Welcome to the 2024-2025 recruiting season at Duke! We invite you to review our updated guidelines and expectations on our site as well as those set forth by the National Association of Colleges and Employers Principles for Ethical and Professional Practice. We encourage you to be communicative, flexible, and transparent in your work with students throughout the recruiting process. The Career Center reserves the right to block an employer, permanently or temporarily, from engaging in recruitment activity that is deemed unethical or unprofessional.
The Career Center adheres to the Policies, Statements & Procedures as set forth by the Office for Institutional Equity at Duke University.
This includes the Nondiscrimination Statement, which states the following:
Duke prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status, in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid, employment, or any other institution program or activity.
If you have questions regarding employer policies (or procedures not addressed here), contact us at careeremployer@duke.edu.
[Recruiting Guidelines and Expectations for Students] [Recruiting Guidelines and Expectations for Employers]
Overall, we expect our employer partners to be communicative with students about offers and to provide a reasonable timeline and flexibility (i.e. we recommend honoring student requests for reasonable offer extensions, which likely will lead to a decrease in reneges) for students to make informed decisions.
We understand that the following offer timelines are not collectively applicable to every employer or industry. With that in mind, we ask that employers extend reasonable timeframes and provide flexibility to our students to decide on an offer. The Employer Relations team is always happy to help and to discuss questions you might have around these offer guidelines. Feel free to contact us at careeremployer@duke.edu.
Exploding Offers
We strictly prohibit exploding offers and ask that employers refrain from any inappropriate actions that may influence job and internship offer acceptances. For example, encouraging a student to renege on an already accepted offer from another company. Instances and consequences of exploding offers will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and could impact your ability to recruit at Duke.
Examples include:
- “We will provide a signing bonus if you accept the offer within 24-48 hours.”
- “We have 10 offers outstanding for eight openings and will take the first eight students who accept.”
- “We will extend an offer if you agree to accept today.”
Rescinding Offers or Delaying Start Dates
Just as we advise students to honor commitments made to employers and not renege on accepted offers, we expect employers to honor their internships/job offers to our students and not rescind the opportunity extended and/or avoid delaying anticipated start dates. If an employer finds themselves in a position to rescind offers or delay start dates, we recommend reaching out to our team at careeremployer@duke.edu.
In all cases, we recommend employers provide flexibility if a student requests a reasonable offer extension.
Return Internship Offers extended from Summer 2024 internships: We recommend that employers extending return internship offers to interns allow students until November 1, 2024 or two weeks after offer is extended (whichever is later) to make a decision on the offer. This allows candidates to start the academic year and participate in fall campus recruiting activities should they choose.
Full-time offers extended from Summer 2024 internships: We recommend that employers extending full-time offers to their interns allow students until November 1, 2024 or two weeks after offer is extended (whichever is later) to make a decision on the offer. This allows candidates to start the academic year and participate in fall campus recruiting activities should they choose.
Offers extended in Fall 2024: We recommend that employers extending full-time job and/or internship offers to candidates allow students at least two weeks to make a decision on the offer. You may even provide additional time (ex. up to eight weeks) if an offer is extended early in the fall recruiting season.
Offers extended in Spring 2025: We recommend that employers extending full-time job and/or internship offers to candidates allow students at least two weeks to make a decision on the offer. If the offer is made very late during the spring recruiting season and/or the job or internship will begin soon, this recommended timeline may need to be adjusted.
Early Offers (One year in advance of job/internship for 2026): We recommend that employers extending offers for internships and/or full-time jobs beginning the following summer give students until August 31 to decide on the offer.
- Example 1) Offer in Spring 2024 for internship/job starting in Summer 2025 – give students until August 31, 2024 to make a decision.
- Example 2) Offer in Spring 2025 for internship/job starting in Summer 2026 – give students until August 31, 2025, to decide.
Please note that extending early offers for sophomore students (over a year in advance of the internship) goes against our offer recommendation timelines. If you make an early offer to a Duke sophomore and that student chooses to renege on your early offer, our office will not hold the student responsible for their decision. We expect our employer partners to make reasonable offer timelines and give our students the adequate amount of time to decide on an offer.
More information on this topic can be found on the NACE Website:
In consultation with recommendations from our professional organization, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), we have established the following employer guidelines for the upcoming recruiting season. The Duke University Career Center expects that student candidates for jobs and internship opportunities receive adequate time to evaluate offers in order to make informed decisions regarding their careers and employment. The following guidelines aim to balance the recruiting needs of employers and to provide our students with adequate time to make informed decisions about job and internship offers. We also believe these guidelines help mitigate instances of students reneging on offers.
We recommend that all employers who utilize and benefit from Career Center resources** agree to the guidelines outlined in this document.
**Career Center resources (either in person or virtual/online) are defined as: all internship and job opportunities and interviews, events, and fairs facilitated through the Career Center and/or Duke Handshake.
A job or internship posting in Handshake does not reflect the endorsement of the company or role by Duke University or the Duke University Career Center. We follow NACE guidelines on unpaid internships.
Please note that volunteer opportunities may not be posted/will not be approved in Handshake.
Financial Investment
We will not post any job or position that requires a financial investment from our students or alumni. Your postings should not require any employment fees or purchase requirements (examples include: opportunities that require the purchase of supplies or training kits, fee-based placements or training, etc.).
Fair Labor Standards Act
Employers posting internships in Duke Handshake should review the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division guidelines on compensation. This DOL Fact Sheet provides information on whether workers are considered unpaid interns or paid employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It is expected that employers who post internships are in compliance with these criteria.
Stipends
When posting internships offering a stipend in Handshake, the stipend must equal at least minimum wage (when divided by the number of hours worked) to qualify the position as paid.
Academic Credit as a Component of Unpaid Internships
Please be aware that the decision to award academic credit is made between students and their academic departments, and most schools/departments at Duke University do not offer academic credit for internships. Academic credit should not replace compensation for work performed during an internship.
Third-party recruiters who wish to post opportunities within the Duke University Career Center job database, Handshake, must agree to the following terms and conditions:
- The third-party recruiter must agree to disclose the name of the employer, as well as the position description. The client’s name must appear in the title of the position.
- Students and alumni will not be charged a fee for the third-party recruiter’s services.
- The third-party recruiter can be listed as the contact for student/alumni cover letters and resumes.
- If a Duke student or alumnus is NOT selected for the specific position listed in Duke Handshake that resume will NOT be put into the recruiter’s general pool of candidates without the written consent of the individual.
This agreement will remain in effect for all positions posted through the third-party recruiter. We reserve the right to refuse or remove any postings that do not adhere to our terms and conditions. Any violation of these terms will result in the loss of access to Duke Handshake.
In support of Duke Sustainability, employers should refrain from bringing large quantities of giveaway items to distribute to students attending their student engagement events, office hours or other recruiting events.
This includes logo merchandise and company products and applies to any employer conducting school-facilitated recruiting on the Duke campus or at a nearby location. As an alternative, a company may bring a few products to display or conduct a raffle-style giveaway for a few attendees.
We recognize many recruiters view these giveaways as visible ways to demonstrate commitment to Duke recruiting and to showcase the company and its products. Yet packaging, shipping, and distribution – which are necessary to make the giveaways possible – consume natural resources and create waste when extra products are left after the event. Sustainable Duke has created a SWAG at Duke guide if you want to learn more.
You will be responsible to take any remaining giveaways with you when you depart campus. The Career Center will not be responsible for distributing remaining items and may ship back materials left behind at the expense of the employer.
Student Engagement Events
Employers may collaborate with Duke student groups and organizations when hosting student engagement events either virtually or on campus. We ask that our employer partners do not use student groups solely for the purpose of reserving event or classroom space on campus.
Our Employer Relations team will provide you information about reserving space on campus for your student engagement event after approving your request in Handshake. If you have questions, please reach out to us at careeremployer@duke.edu.
Interviews
In compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, interviews must be made available to all interested students who meet the permanent work authorization requirements for other than practical training purposes, regardless of their citizenship. If United States citizenship is required by your company, please indicate this requirement in the job description of any position for which you are recruiting.
Please see the US Department of Justice “Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers” for more information and guidelines.
Alcohol
The Duke University Career Center adheres to the NACE policy, which states that serving alcohol should not be a part of the recruitment process. Therefore, all recruiting activities, including all student engagement events, will be alcohol-free.
Marijuana and Cannabis
The Duke University Career Center will not approve job or internship postings or recruiting activities involved with the use, production, testing or distribution of recreational or medical marijuana or CBD. As the use of marijuana is illegal at the federal level, we comply with federal law.
Corporate Activities and Solicitation
Duke University prohibits any commercial selling or solicitation on campus that is not sponsored or sanctioned by the university. The Career Center requests that organizations do not utilize student groups or student contacts to facilitate such commercial endeavors.
Guerrilla Marketing
If an employer hires a third-party guerrilla marketing company to run marketing campaigns on campus, the employer must check with the Duke Career Center to be sure that the nontraditional channels fall within the Duke University policies.
Campus and Brand Ambassador Roles
The Duke Career Center will not post jobs or internships that require students to advertise to, solicit, and/or recruit other students on the Duke campus. This includes Campus Ambassador and Brand Ambassador positions.
The Duke University Career Center follows the direction of the university for inclement weather. When Duke University is closed, the Career Center is closed and all events are canceled. The Employer Relations team will work with employers on the best strategy to reschedule canceled events.
Please visit emergency.duke.edu for the most up-to-date information.
In the event of an emergency impacting Duke’s campus, visitors can find information at https://emergency.duke.edu/ or be notified through or the LiveSafe mobile app.
Duke LiveSafe is a free mobile app that offers real-time, two-way communication between Duke community members and the Duke University Police Department. In addition to being able to text the Duke University Police Department and submit anonymous tips, LiveSafe has a SafeWalk feature and provides access to emergency resources.
For severe weather emergencies, recorded information will be available at 919-684-INFO (4636), Duke’s emergency and severe weather line.
For more information, visit the Emergency Management website.
The Duke Career Center reserves the right to exclude any employer from recruiting activities and to edit, delete or refuse any employer profile or job posting at any time.
The hosting of employer, job and internship information in our Handshake database should not be considered an expressed or implied endorsement by the Career Center or Duke University of the organizations posting the positions or the positions posted.
The views, information or opinions expressed by employers participating in career events are solely those of the employer(s) involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Career Center or Duke University.
We reserve the right to advertise your positions on our Duke Career Hub website and social media sites such as the Duke Career Center Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts.
