Introduction / Expectations

The Career Development Center (CAREER CENTER) invites you to partner with us to provide experiential and career opportunities for UIS students and alumni. Eligibility for services is limited to legitimate employers representing large and small businesses, government entities, and non-profit organizations that offer full-time, part-time, seasonal employment and/or internship and externships, and agree to comply with the Career Center Recruitment Policies and Procedures. In return, employers will receive most services at no cost. To participate in recruitment services offered by the Career Center, Employment Professionals and Third-Party Recruiters (including Employment Agencies, Search Firms, Staffing Services, Temporary Agencies, Online Job Board Services, Contract Recruiters, etc.) must abide by Principles for Ethical Professional Practice established by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and guidelines set forth by the UIS Career Center. 

Employers are expected to maintain a positive, collaborative working relationship with Career Center staff. That includes cooperation with Career Center policies and procedures, meeting necessary deadlines to ensure smooth operation of on-campus interview visits, providing job / company information and data requested, providing hire data as requested, complying with the legal obligations of recruiters, and maintaining the confidentiality of student data. Employers who violate this agreement may lose access to Career Center services for five years.

All employer representatives are expected to support Career Center policies in all interactions with students. Additionally, the Career Center welcomes employer feedback and input on these policies at any time. Employers who are unable to comply with these policies may wish to utilize other recruiting resources, such as newspaper advertisements or commercial job boards.

Service Guidelines

1. Employment professionals will educate and encourage acceptance of these policies throughout their employing institution and by third parties representing their employing organization on campus and will respond to reports of noncompliance.
2. Career Center reserves the right to refuse service to any employer who violates any applicable laws or regulations, the NACE Principles for Ethical Professional Practice, or any university, campus or Career Center policies or procedures.

3. Career Center works with Third Parties, as defined in the Third-Party Recruiter Agreement below.

4. Career Center reserves the right to refuse service to any employer if a review of the specific opportunity or nature/status of the company suggests that it is inappropriate for our service population; if students are injured or exposed to unsafe working conditions; if the employer discriminates; if Career Center receives student complaints about discrimination, harassment, threats, unsafe working conditions, or any other questionable circumstance; or if the university determines that the opportunity is incompatible with the University’s goals, mission, interests and obligations.
5. Career Center may provide service to employers that require a candidate to pay a fee upfront or purchase products as long as the employer fully discloses in writing within the job posting/description and in all recruitment activities information about the cost obligation.
6. Career Center does not recommend or select candidates for employers.
7. Your account as an employer provides you with a limited, terminable right to access and use the Career Center job search site only for your internal business use to seek candidates for employment and scheduling interviews. Third-Party Recruiters must reveal the identity of the employer represented and the nature of the relationship between the agency and the employer, and permit Career Center to verify this information by contacting the named client.
8. Employment professionals will honor scheduling arrangements and recruitment commitments.

Job Postings & Recruitment Activities

1. Job postings must be actual, current openings for internships, cooperative education assignments, and/or traditional, W-2 or 1099 full-time or part-time employees.
2. Employers’ job postings or e-mails must contain sufficient detail to convey clearly to the user the nature and basic requirements of the job opportunity.
3. Career Center may review the employer’s web site, company publications, and each job description (whether a job listing or for an on-campus interview) for appropriateness.
4. Career Center reserves the right to insert alerts in any posted information for those employers who do not ensure that students and alumni are able to make informed decisions.
5. Employer job postings or recruiting/marketing materials intended for public display at Career Center-sponsored events or email-communications may not contain anything that is obscene, libelous, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful or sexually explicit.
6. Employers may not use job postings or e-mails to post advertisements or solicitations for employment in the pornography industry. Pyramid schemes postings are also forbidden.
7. Employers may not use job postings or e-mails to post false, inaccurate, or misleading information.
8. Cancellations: Employers who cancel interview schedules once the student sign-up window has opened are responsible for e-mailing students that received an interview invitation with notification of cancellation.
9. Space and Scheduling: Career Center will make every effort to customize interview schedules and space requests to accommodate recruiters’ needs.
10. Missed deadlines: Career Center will make repeated efforts to contact employers who miss on-campus recruiting deadlines. However, should the employer fail to acknowledge reminder calls or emails, Career Center reserves the right to determine whether to change the schedule from pre-select to qualified open or to cancel the interview schedule.
11. Schedule Timing: Employers should consider travel implications before interview schedules are finalized—or at least before student sign-up begins—to minimize conflicts on the interview date. Career Center will gladly accommodate employers’ schedule preferences when stated in advance. Please note that all interviews (and tests) should be planned to conclude by close of business at 5:00 PM.
12. Intern Housing: Co-op and intern employers should clearly specify the nature of any housing or relocation assistance in their interview information and company profile. Career Center reserves the right to insert alerts in any posted information for those employers who do not provide assistance to ensure that students are able to make informed decisions.
13. Alcohol: Serving alcohol should not be a part of the recruitment process. All activities, including, but not limited to informational meetings and presentations, should be alcohol free. 
14. Compensation: Employers offering “straight commission” or “salary draw” positions may request to use our services (posting jobs, on campus recruiting, and attend job fairs). However, the terms “straight commission” or “draw” must be explicitly stated in the job posting, so students are aware and can make informed decisions. Note: A draw against future earnings does not constitute a salary.
15. Influence: Employment professionals will refrain from any practice that improperly influences and affects job acceptance. Such practices may include undue time pressure for acceptance of employment offers and encouragement of revocation of another employment offer. Employment professionals will strive to communicate decisions to candidates within the agreed-upon time frame.
16. Information: Employment professionals will supply accurate information on their organization and employment opportunities. Employing organizations are responsible for information supplied and commitments made by their representatives. If conditions change and require the employing organization to revoke its commitment, the employing organization will pursue a course of action for the affected candidate that is fair and equitable.
17. Testing: Those employment professionals engaged in administering, evaluating, and interpreting assessment tools, tests, and technology used in selection and recruitment will be trained and qualified to do so.
18. Student Clubs/Academic Departments: When employment professionals conduct recruitment activities through student clubs/associations or academic departments, such activities will be conducted in accordance with the policies of the Career Center.
19. International Employers: Employment professionals recruiting for international operations will do so according to EEO and U.S. labor law standards. Employment professionals will advise the Career Center and students of the realities of working abroad and of any cultural or employment law differences.

Resume Access

1. Career Center will not forward resumes or allow resume book access to unincorporated or unregistered businesses.
2. Career Center will use discretion when requests are made to send resumes to a recruiter’s personal email account.
3. Career Center will not provide resume book access to military recruiters, although military recruiters are welcome to utilize our job listings service and on-campus recruitment services.
4. Career Center does not send resumes or give any employer passwords to corporate “student ambassadors” or “student campus recruiters.” It is a violation of professional standards to provide a student’s resume to a fellow student for review and decision-making.
5. Third-Party Recruiters may be granted access to resume books upon request but must reveal the identity of the employer being represented and the nature of the relationship between the agency and the employer, and permit Career Center to verify this information by contacting the named client.

Transcripts

1. Career Center strongly discourages employers from requesting that students provide official transcripts at the initial interview. The fee for processing official transcript requests can present a financial burden to students who actively participate in interviewing. Employers who simply want to see courses completed can do so by requesting an “unofficial” transcript (degree audit or “advising report”) which students can download from their University Registrar’s account at no charge.

Student Privacy Issues

1. Photos or videos should not be used as part of the selection process. Exceptions will be made for use of video conference facilities on-campus for those employers unable to conduct on–campus interviews.
2. Social security numbers should not be utilized during the recruitment process.

Legal Notes for Employers

1. Employers agree to screen and hire solely on qualifications for the position and comply with all applicable federal, state and local employment laws including certification of EEO compliance or exempt status under the Immigration Reform and Control Act. This includes recruiting, interviewing, and hiring individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, military service, veteran status, or disability and providing reasonable accommodations upon request. Find more information on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website.
2. Recruiters must treat all student information, including resumes, transcripts, written records/reports, personal knowledge, and information obtained from computer/web-based databases as confidential. All interviewers should be trained to ask only those questions that are legal and appropriate. There will be no disclosure of student information to another organization without the prior written consent of the student, unless necessitated by health and/or safety considerations.
3. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires signed written consent from a student prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records by an educational institution. For more information visit the UIS Student Record Policy.
4. Employers should know that re-disclosure of student information is prohibited. In other words, employers who receive students’ resumes and educational information may use it only for the original purpose for which disclosure was granted. Thus, employers may not transmit (or re-disclose) student information to any other employer or third party, nor to others within the employing organization for any purpose other than employment purposes. If an organization improperly re-discloses student records, Federal law prohibits that party from obtaining student records for a period of at least five years.
5. Unpaid Internships may be posted at the discretion of the Career Center. In accordance with the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers can hire an intern without paying the intern for the work they complete only if the intern is considered a “learner/trainer.” All the following criteria must be met in order to be considered a “learner/trainer” and for an employer to be exempt of paying the intern at least minimum wage:
   1. The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school;
   2. The training is for the benefit of the trainees or students;
   3. The trainees or students do not displace regular employees, but work under close supervision;
   4. The employer that provides the training receives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees or students and, on occasion, his operations may even be impeded;
   5. The trainees or students are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and
   6. The employer and the trainees or students understand that the trainees or students are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

For more information, visit the United States Department of Labor website.

For general internship guidelines, the Career Center follows the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) guidelines.

Criteria for an Experience to Be Defined as an Internship

To ensure that an experience, whether it is a traditional internship or one conducted remotely or virtually, is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship by the NACE definition, all the following criteria must be met:

1. A learning experience with a real-world opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or replace the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.

2. Learned skills and knowledge that are transferable to other employment settings.

3. A defined beginning and end that is mutually agreed upon and consistent with institutional sponsor guidelines and schedules.

4. A position description with clear responsibilities and required/desired qualifications.

5. Clearly defined learning objectives/goals supportive of the student’s academic program goals and institutional requirements. 

6. Direct supervision by a professional(s) with relevant expertise and educational and/or professional experience who provides productive feedback, guidance, and the resources and equipment necessary to successfully complete the assignment.

Third-Party Recruiter Agreement

Definition of a Third-Party Recruiter:

1. Entities that refer or recruit for profit or not for profit.
2. Charge for services (applicant paid fee, employer paid fee, retainer, contingency fee, fee for service).
3. Employment agencies, search firms, contract recruiters, online job posting or resume referral services.
4. Temporary agencies or staffing services.
5. Outsourcing contractors or leasing agencies.

 Third-Party Recruiters agree to:

1. Charge no fees to the candidate.
2. Reveal the identity of the employer being represented and the nature of the relationship between the agency and the employer, and permit Career Center to verify this information by contacting the named client.
3. Provide a position description for valid openings.
4. In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), release candidate information provided by the university exclusively and only to the identified employer. Re-disclosure of candidate information is not permitted.
5. Comply with all federal and state Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws (Title VI and IX, and ADA).

For more information on and detailed principles for third-party recruiters, visit the NACE website.

If violation of any of these policies and/or guidelines occurs, Career Center will terminate professional relationship and services will no longer be rendered.

By registering your company or organization with us, you agree to accept and comply with the policies and procedures of the University of Illinois Springfield Career Development Center regarding employer recruitment activities. The Career Center reserves the right to refuse services to any company or organization whose business we believe is of a nature that is not appropriate for the UIS student body.

Revised May 2026