Recruitment Policies and Guidelines for Employers

All employment professionals participating in GSAS Compass recruiting programs are encouraged to adhere to the NACE Principles for Professional Practice. By posting a position for our students, participating in on-campus recruiting or career fairs, or conducting presentations on campus (virtually or in person), you agree to:

  • Ensure that job descriptions are accurate.
  • Use rational, job-related criteria when evaluating candidates.
  • Follow all local and federal laws regarding equal employment opportunity and minimum wages. Federal laws prohibit job discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, equal pay and disability, and New York City additionally prohibits discrimination based on gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, marital status, and partnership status.
  • All employers based in New York State with four or more employees are required to include a good faith salary range with the job posting. This applies to full-time jobs, part-time jobs, internships, and contract/freelance roles. Please consult New York’s pay transparency law for further information. GSAS Compass encourages all employers to consider sharing salary ranges with their candidates, regardless of location to advance pay parity. 

Failure to meet any or all of these expectations may jeopardize an employer’s ability to continue to recruit at the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. GSAS Compass reserves the right to make and change decisions regarding an employer’s participation in its recruiting programs at its discretion.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to ensuring that our students and alumni find satisfying careers in environments where their identities and abilities are valued and where they are free from discrimination. Therefore, we ask all employers who participate in information sessions or make a profile with GSAS Compass to include a statement about their organization’s specific initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion, and ensuring accessibility for individuals with disabilities. We also ask all employers to specify if they offer visa sponsorship for international students.

Interview Policies

We request that employers give students at least 72 hours’ notice prior to scheduling an interview. Furthermore, we ask that employers accommodate student requests for alternate dates for second-round interviews if they present a legitimate scheduling conflict.

Offer Deadlines

Employers are encouraged to accommodate reasonable student requests to extend offer deadlines. Students also should be given at least one week to consider a written offer. Sign-on bonuses should be honored whenever the student accepts the offer.

“Exploding Offers”

Exploding offers (i.e., requiring students to decide on a job offer within a specific, 24-to-48-hour deadline or else have the offer rescinded) are prohibited.

Rescinding or Deferring Employment

Employers needing to rescind or defer employment should carefully review the guidelines and recommendations outlined by NACE in their Position Statement on Rescinded and Deferred Employment Offers.

NACE recommends that employers who must revoke a commitment should do everything possible to avoid rescinding offers and should consider alternatives that do not require rescinding employment offers. These may include changes in job responsibilities, salary reduction and/or reduced workweeks, changes in job locale, delayed starting dates, and other reasonable options.

For candidates whose start dates are deferred, employers are urged to:

  • Provide services to aid the candidates in securing other employment
  • Provide financial assistance if the deferral will be longer than three months
  • Communicate with candidates as soon as possible
  • Contact GSAS Compass
  • Stay in communication with candidates and GSAS Compass regarding start dates

We expect all employers to treat candidates in an ethical manner. We reserve the right to deny access to on-campus recruiting to any employers who in our determination have not conducted their recruiting efforts ethically.

Safety

Employers will offer students a work environment that is welcoming and inclusive for all, and safe from environmental hazards.

Wages

Employers will pay wages to students as agreed upon and as stipulated by the New York State Department of Labor.

Unpaid Internships

Columbia University expects companies to compensate students appropriately for the work that they perform during an internship. In order to be respectful of the skills and training offered by graduate students and to allow all students access to learning opportunities, we strongly suggest that internships be paid.

In addition, we expect that all employers abide by the standards established by the Fair Labor Standards Act and accompanying regulations. The US Department of Labor outlines six criteria for unpaid internships. If any of these criteria are not met, the intern must be paid. Additionally, employers seeking interns to work in the State of New York must abide by the New York State Minimum Wage Act and Wage Orders.

Report Hiring Data

We ask that organizations who recruit GSAS students inform us of all offers extended to students, in order to ensure that we maintain accurate statistics regarding student employment. You can let us know by emailing [email protected].

Career Fair & Employer Presentation Cancellation Policy

Employers who do not appear at or cancel their attendance within a week of career fair or employer presentation may be barred from attending future career fairs or scheduling employer presentations for a period of time.

Confidentiality Policy

All materials received from our students—such as letters, résumés, transcripts, sent via email or hard copy—should be shared only with persons at your organization involved in the hiring process. Forwarding emails or other material from students to others inside or outside your organization is prohibited.

Discrimination & Harassment

Columbia University is committed to providing a working and learning environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. Consistent with this commitment and with applicable federal, state and local laws, it is the policy of the University as both an educational institution and an employer to prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment. Faculty, students, and staff who believe that they have experienced discrimination or harassment may seek redress through the University.

We recommend that all students, alumni, and employers engaged in activities with GSAS Compass review Columbia’s Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedure.

Connect with GSAS Compass Employer Relations 

To learn more about GSAS, our students, and Compass, please review our recruitment opportunities or contact: Nicole DeLeon, Assistant Director of Employer Engagement, at [email protected].