Recruiting Guidelines and Expectations for Students and Employers
The Duke Career Center has recruiting guidelines and expectations to guide the behavior and actions and uphold the professionalism of students, employers, and others who engage in our programs and services. Students are also expected to uphold all of the standards outlined by the Duke Community Standard.
We strongly recommend you become familiar with the guidelines and expectations for both students and employers. Let us know if you have any questions by emailing careeremployer@duke.edu.
Internship & Job Postings in Handshake
A job or internship posting in Handshake does not reflect the endorsement of the organization or role by Duke University or the Duke University Career Center. It is the responsibility of students to perform due diligence in researching employers when applying for internships/jobs and to thoroughly research the facts and reputation of the organization to which they are applying. Students should be prudent and use common sense and caution when applying for or accepting any position. If you are ever concerned about the validity of an organization or a role, please reach out to us at careeremployer@duke.edu.
Please be aware that organizations and individuals may present themselves as legitimate employers as part of a scam to elicit personal information and defraud their victims. We recommend familiarizing yourself with some of the red flags to consider during your search. Please reach out to our staff if you think you have come across a fraudulent employer.
Engaging with Employers
Prior to beginning your internship and/or full-time job search and engaging with employers, we strongly encourage students to meet with a career advisor. It is expected that you fully research companies, identify the internship/job opportunities of interest, and attend recruiting events to learn more about the industry, organization, and role. Our career advisors can help you prepare for this process. You can find more information about connecting with our career advisors here.
Please also note that it is important (whether you are engaging with Duke alumni or another representative of an organization) to be respectful and timely in your outreach, follow up with employers, and give adequate time for them to respond back to you.
Reneging on Job or Internship Offers
Reneging refers to someone accepting a job or internship offer and then declining the offer later for another opportunity. Once you accept a job or internship offer (verbally or in writing) whether via our recruiting program or in your independent search, you are expected to withdraw completely from all remaining search and interview processes. Reneging is inconsiderate and unprofessional and jeopardizes Duke’s reputation as well as your own in the employment community. Reneging may also negatively impact other students’ opportunities with that company.
When considering offers, take the time you need to think about your options (gather any needed information about the company, role, etc.), thank them for the offer, communicate with the appropriate individuals about your process and other considerations, ask for an offer extension if you need additional time, and make wise decisions that you can commit to. We strongly advise you to meet with a career advisor if you are considering an offer or if you are considering reneging on an offer already accepted. You can contact us at careerstudent@duke.edu if you have questions or you can schedule an appointment via Handshake with a career advisor. If you happen to renege on an offer, we will follow up to learn more about your decision and provide guidance. Please understand that your decision impacts Duke’s relationship with the organization and your professional reputation.
We recommend that you become familiar with the recruiting guidelines and expectations for employers who are recruiting at Duke (below).
No Show Policy for Interviews and Events
Interviews No Show:
This policy applies to interviews (either virtual or in person) when a student does not appear for a scheduled interview and/or when a student cancels an interview with less than 24-hour notice.
- The student will be contacted by a Career Center staff member to schedule a conversation about the interview cancellation and discuss any next step(s).
Events No Show:
Please note that when you sign up to engage with employers at Career Center events and fairs, you are expected to honor your commitment and show up to the scheduled event/fair time. If you do not show up, it wastes employers’ time, takes the opportunity away from another student, and may negatively impact the company’s future engagement and recruiting with Duke and other Duke students.
It is important to honor the appointments and commitments that you make with employers. If you need to cancel, please do so at least 24 hours in advance (the exceptions would be in the case of an emergency or illness).
Misrepresentation
Falsifying data such as your GPA, dates of graduation, major/minor, work experience, eligibility to work in the United States or other information is unethical and in violation of the Duke Community Standard. If you falsify documents or misrepresent yourself to any employer, whether via our recruiting program or in your independent job search, the Career Center has the right to rescind your privileges to use our services. You may also be subject to disciplinary action through the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards (OSCCS).
Employers have the right to withdraw an offer or terminate your employment for misrepresentation.
Internships
Duke Internship Credit Policy
Direct academic credit cannot be given solely for an internship experience unless required as part of one’s academic program. However, students may seek support from a faculty member within an academic department or program for an independent study course that would include learning derived from the internship.
Independent Study Credit for Internships
Duke encourages and supports internships that entail independent or directed study in which a student collaborates with a faculty member to distill from an internship a certifiable academic experience that qualifies for course credit within the faculty member’s department or program. The faculty member is the sole judge of the work necessary to meet these course requirements. Students will normally find appropriate faculty members for such collaboration within their major department, most often with a faculty member with whom they have already done coursework or a faculty member who has an interest in the topic to be considered. It is also possible to identify and solicit faculty members in non-major fields. The sole criterion is that the faculty member finds the independent study or directed study to be sound academically and that the faculty member is willing to work with the student to achieve the goals of the course they design. This arrangement has been successful for some students.
Required or Recommended Internships
Duke encourages and supports internships that are required or recommended components of disciplinary curricula. Departments and programs establish their own criteria for such internships and the academic credit that may be earned for participation. Recognizing the value of this kind of experience, the university attempts to facilitate student participation in these internships.
Trinity College and Pratt School of Engineering Policies
For complete information on the university policy on internships and credit, please see Trinity Academic Policies & Procedures: Credit for Internships. For general information about Pratt School of Engineering Policies & Procedures, and information about internships (Duke Engineering does not offer credit for internships).
Additional Information
For additional questions and assistance regarding credit for internships, please contact Leigh Ann Muth-Waring, leighann.waring@duke.edu.
Career Advising Appointments
We hope you will take advantage of the full range of services we provide at the Career Center, beginning in your first year at Duke all the way through the first year after you graduate. Please read and be aware of the following information and policies regarding our services:
Advising Appointment Cancellation
If you need to cancel a scheduled appointment, please cancel your appointment in Handshake or contact the Career Center via email at careerstudent@duke.edu 24-hours prior to your appointment time or as soon as possible if illness is the cause. When you miss an appointment without contacting the office, a notation is made in your record and repeated no-shows will jeopardize your ability to schedule future appointments.
Tardiness
To minimize disruption for fellow students, if you arrive late, your appointment will be reduced by the number of minutes you arrive late. If you are more than 15-minutes late, you will be recorded as a no-show in your record.
Duke Career Center Confidentiality Policy
Most information shared in career advising appointments remains confidential. In specific circumstances, the Career Center may be required to break confidentiality to protect you or identified others from harm. Duke Career Center staff protects the privacy and security of student records as governed by FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act). FERPA protects education records but permits communication with parents and university personnel in connection with a health or safety emergency.
The exceptions to maintaining confidentiality include:
- Compliance with the Duke University Student Sexual Misconduct Policy (Title IX) which states that with the exception of these confidential resources (Student Health, Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS), Women’s Center, Clergy who are acting as such in their professional role at Duke and Ombudsperson, all employees (Faculty and Staff) who become aware of conduct that might fall under this policy are expected to notify the Office of Student Conduct with the names of the parties involved and the details of the report.
- Career Center determines there is a clear, imminent threat to your health and/or safety or the health and safety of others.
- Career Center staff may be in contact with and/or may disclose information obtained through appointments with other university personnel who have a legitimate educational interest.
Please contact the Career Center with questions regarding this policy.
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.
Offer Guidelines for Employers of Duke Students (Summer 2024 – Spring 2025)
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.
General Guidelines: 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 strictly prohibit exploding offers and ask that employers refrain from any inappropriate actions that may influence job and internship offer acceptances. An example of this includes encouraging a student to renege on an already accepted offer from another company.
We understand that these 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.
Return Internship Offers (extended from Summer 2024 internships) | |
Give students until November 1 or two weeks after offer is extended (whichever is later) to make a decision | |
Return Full-Time Offers (extended from Summer 2024 internships) | |
Give students until November 1 or two weeks after offer is extended (whichever is later) to make a decision | |
Fall 2024 Semester Offers and Spring 2025 Semester Offers | |
Internship and Full-Time Offers: Give students at least two weeks to make a decision | |
Early Offers (One year in advance of job/internship for 2026) | |
Internships and Full-Time Offers: Give students until August 31, 2025 to make a decision 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. |
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. Please provide flexibility if a student requests a reasonable offer extension.
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. Please provide flexibility if a student requests a reasonable offer extension.
Fall 2024 Semester Offers: 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. Please provide flexibility if a student requests a reasonable offer extension.
Spring 2025 Semester Offers: 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. Please provide flexibility if a student requests a reasonable offer extension.
Early Offers: 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 provide flexibility if a student requests a reasonable offer extension. 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:
Setting reasonable timelines for job offers
Principles for ethical professional practice
No Exploding Offers: We expect employers to honor all offers made to students. Exploding offers are prohibited and refer to any condition that places undue pressure on the student to accept early. 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 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.
- We will provide a signing bonus if you accept the offer within 24-48 hours.
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.
Other Policies and Statements
Disclaimers
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.
Nondiscrimination Policy
Duke University is committed to ensuring an environment free of prohibited discrimination, and our policies encourage an inclusive community that respects and values all of its members.
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.
Alcohol Policy
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.
Corporate Activities and Solicitation Policy
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 Policy
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.
Internships
Paid/Unpaid Internships: We follow NACE guidelines on unpaid internships.
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.
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.
Job and Internship Postings
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. Please note that volunteer opportunities may not be posted/will not be approved in Handshake.
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.
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.).
Marijuana and Cannabis Policy
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.
Third-Party Recruiting Policy
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.
Sustainability
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.
Inclement Weather Policy
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.
If you have questions regarding employer policies (or procedures not addressed here), contact us at careeremployer@duke.edu.