Recruitment Policies

Equal Employment Opportunities

Employers recruiting on campus must maintain EEO compliance and follow affirmative action principles in recruitment activities.  Employers should consider all interested students for employment opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.

We reserve the right to refuse service to employers at the discretion of the Career Development Center staff due to any objectionable activities, including, but not limited to: 

• requiring personal information at the time of application, such as bank and social security numbers
• misrepresentation, whether defined by dishonest information or absence of information;
• fraud
• harassment of students, alumni, or staff
• breach of confidentiality as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• failure to adhere to CES, CDC, and/or OCM employer guidelines
• any violation of Rutgers University rules and regulations
• any violation of local, state, or federal laws

The Handshake system is our web-based portal used for publicizing all full-time, part-time, seasonal, and short-term positions as well as other recruiting activities for small and large businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and on-campus employers.

All recruiting organizations or individuals are expected to accurately describe their organizations, positions, and position requirements when posting their information on Handshake or when representing their firms and opportunities at any campus recruiting events.

Companies and/or job postings requiring donations, application and/or background check fees, fundraising, investments, training payment, participation, or offering items or services for sale will not be provided recruitment services.

By registering through Handshake all employers agree to abide by the  Career Center’s policy on recruitment outlined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
NACE Principles and Practices (PDF)

The U.S. Dept. of Labor, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  sets the minimum wage and criteria for determining whether an internship requires compensation in a for-profit organization.
Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act  (PDF)

The Career Development Center reserves the right to decline any internship, job posting, recruiting event, or company that is not compliant with the WP Career Development Center's policies, the NACE Principles, or State/Federal law.

Job Posting Guidelines & Restrictions 

Commission-Only Employment

Employers offering commission-based employment must fully disclose the compensation structure in any job posting or at any on-campus recruiting event. These positions will be service-eligible on a case-by-case basis.

Upfront Product Purchase

Employers and individuals offering employment/entrepreneurial opportunities with compensation packages requiring prospective employees to purchase products or services upfront are not permitted to recruit on campus.

Pyramid” or "Multi-Level" Employers

Employers/individuals offering employment/entrepreneurial opportunities based on a "pyramid" or "multi-level" networking structure requiring or encouraging the recruitment of others who others recruit to sell products and services will not be permitted to recruit on campus. 

Babysitting or other In-Home Employment

We do not post babysitting jobs or other positions where an employee will work out of someone else's dwelling (house, apartment, condo, etc).

The Career Development Center defines third-party recruiters as agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities for other organizations rather than for internal positions.

Third-party recruiters may utilize Handshake, participate in on-campus recruiting, and attend select career fairs. They will be required to verify in advance whether they are recruiting for their own organizations or for their clients.

Third-party firms who are recruiting for positions within their own organizations must differentiate those opportunities from their client engagements. Positions posted in Handshake by third-party employers must be individual, specific, and for an active opportunity.

Third-party recruiters representing client organizations must:

• Verify that they charge no fees of any kind to student or alumni applicants;
• Third-party recruiters operate in congruence with the university policy of Equal
  Opportunity/Affirmative Action and do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion,
  sex, handicap, or national origin. An employer or agency using the services of the Career
  Development Center understands that compliance with all related federal and state statutes
  and regulations is required for the initiation or continuance of services.
• Identify themselves as a third-party recruiter in their employer profile and all client job announcements;
• Provide to Career Center in advance a list of the employer clients for whom they are recruiting, and, if requested after review, provide a copy of the retainer(s) signed by their employer client(s) authorizing them to act as their sole campus representatives;
• Provide accurate position descriptions and include specific client names in all jobs posted on Handshake.
• Only release candidate information provided to the identified employer in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Re-disclosure of candidate information to any other parties is not permitted.

Third-Party Recruiter Services:

• The Career Development Center will promote the job and pertinent information through normal
  channels which may include the website, posting on bulletin boards, referral to faculty and/or staff,
  and/or direct referral to candidates. The third-party recruiters will be listed as the contact and
  identified as an employment agency.
• If a third-party recruiter wishes to interview candidates on campus, or attend career fairs, that recruiter
  will agree to abide by the above policies and to identify the represented employer(s) to both the Career
  Development Center and potential university interviewees. Third-party recruiters who elect to
  interview on campus should understand that the candidate information provided by the Career
  Development Center will be used exclusively for the employer(s) so identified.

Review University Third Party Recruiter Policy

For further details, please refer to NACE’s Principles for Third-Party Recruiters and Handshake’s third-party recruiter guidelines.

Unpaid-Internship Guidelines

Employers should satisfy the criteria for acceptable unpaid internships established by the United States Department of Labor (DOL).

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires for-profit private sector employers to pay all employees at the rate of not less than current minimum wage. Employers and organizations seeking to post unpaid internships in Handshake must apply the following six criteria when making the determination not to compensate interns:

1. The internship, even though it includes the actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment.
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern.
3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff.
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded.
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship.
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

Sources: Department of Labor, FLSA Fact Sheet #71 (PDF); NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers), Position Statement on U.S. Internships

Compensation & Fees 

• Employers offering paid positions must pay at least the New Jersey State minimum wage or the applicable local minimum wage if higher (calculated over any time scale such as hourly, weekly, semi-monthly, monthly or annually). 
• Cryptocurrency, bitcoin, tokens, fiat or equity are not acceptable forms of payment.
• Commission Sales Positions: If no initial base salary is provided, the form of remuneration should be clearly stated in the employer's job descriptions and at the time of the initial interviews. 
• Postings that request donations, fundraising, application fees, or investments cannot be listed on Handshake.

Employers recruiting interns must abide by all policies including the criteria set forth by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). 

1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework. 
5. There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
6. There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.  
7. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals. 

Internships with for-profit companies should be paid at least minimum wage. For-profit companies offering unpaid, stipend, and/or internships that require credit must uphold the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act Internship Fact Sheet #71 (link is external/in resources) 7-factor "primary beneficiary test".

Academic Credit

For all internships considered for credit-bearing purposes at William Paterson University, it is the student’s responsibility to contact their academic department's internship coordinator and complete their internal university application for internship credit approval.  All internship duties, learning outcomes, or goals need to be vetted by their respective academic departments before a student can receive academic credit for an internship experience.