Center for Career Services, Colgate University
Recruiting Program Guidelines & Policies
Colgate University’s Recruiting Program consists of on-campus, résumé collect, and off-campus recruiting consortia programs. These formal programs offer students the opportunity to connect with a wide variety of employers via our new dedicated recruiting web site called EASE [Electronic Applications for Students and Employers] at www.colgaterecruiting.com. We are delighted that you are interested in taking advantage of the numerous career opportunities that will be offered to you this year. Please print and keep this document in a safe place in order to refer back to from time to time.
While the Recruiting Program is a great way to interface with employers, it is important to remember that this is only one of the many resources and tools you should utilize in your job search. We offer many additional programs and services for students interested in career opportunities not represented by employers who conduct national and regional recruiting on college campuses. These include the job posting publications available in our career library, the eJobFinder weekly job posting e-mail sent to seniors in the spring, and the eJobLine monthly job search guide. Check our website (http://offices.colgate.edu/career) regularly for details on these resources. We encourage you to visit with a Career Services Advisor to determine how best to conduct your search.
Colgate’s Career Services Recruiting Program
On-Campus Recruiting
A wide variety of organizations will come to campus to recruit during the school year. Generally, a deadline for submitting a résumé, cover letter, and any other required documents is set several weeks before the organization comes to campus, allowing the company time to pre-select candidates to interview. Once the company chooses their candidates, selected students will be notified via e-mail and required to come in to our office and sign up for a specific interview time on a first-come, first-served basis.
Note: You only should apply, after thoroughly researching what the company/position entails, to those companies in which you have genuine interest. Interviewing with organizations is certainly a good experience, but interviewing just for practice takes advantage of recruiters and limits opportunities for other students who sincerely are interested in the position. Career Services offers mock interviews that allow you to practice and improve your skills.
Résumé Collect
Due to budget limitations, many organizations cannot come to campus to recruit seniors. Instead, recruiters will contact directly those students in whom they are interested to arrange either phone interviews or in-person interviews at their place of business. The application process is the same as for On-Campus Recruiting: you will submit résumés, cover letters, and any other required documents to the organization on or before the deadline date via our EASE recruiting website (www.colgaterecruiting.com).
Note: It is up to you to follow up on applications you submit to résumé collect organizations. An invitation for an office visit from a résumé collect organization should be acknowledged promptly, regardless of whether or not you plan to accept the opportunity. If a scheduled interview off campus needs to be changed or canceled, you should notify the organization far enough in advance to alleviate any undue hardship or expense.
Employer Information Sessions
These sessions allow recruiters to inform students about specific job descriptions, company information, interview and selection procedures, training programs, and other relevant data. The meetings will help you prepare for future interviews by targeting your skills, abilities, interests, and goals toward the career opportunities available with each organization. We strongly suggest that you attend the information session if you have been selected for an interview. However, we also encourage attendance by all students interested in that particular company or career field.
Off-Campus Recruiting Consortia
Our off-campus recruiting consortia programs offer students the opportunity to interview with employers at an off-campus location. These programs provide students with access to diverse career fields including advertising, publishing, broadcast and media, journalism, arts, teaching, and research.
Eastern College Career Day Northeast (Boston – November 2007); Capital Consortium (Washington, DC – February 2008); Eastern College Career Days Northeast (New York City – March 2008); Communications Consortium (Syracuse – April 2008); Teacher Recruitment Days (Cortland, NY – April 2008).
How to Keep Informed about the Recruiting Program
1. Our EASE recruiting website (www.colgaterecruiting.com) [go to Events to see opportunities]
2. Through the weekly EASE e-mail sent to all seniors
Additions to the schedule and updates are made often, so we recommend that you check our resources regularly.
REQUIREMENTS to Participate in the Recruiting Program
EVEN IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM LAST YEAR, YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING BULLET POINTS.
In order to participate in the Colgate University Recruiting Program at any point during the year, you must:
· Go to www.colgaterecruiting.com and complete your profile information (your username is your e-mail; password is your student I.D.);
· Attend one of the scheduled formal Recruiting Program Information Sessions offered at the beginning of the semester. There will be ongoing information sessions for this program offered throughout the semester.
· Upload your résumé to EASE to be critiqued and returned to you, then upload a revised version
· Read, understand, and click the ‘Agree’ button on the recruiting website, which acts as your ‘electronic signature’ and signifies your agreement to abide by the terms of the Recruiting Program Guidelines & Policies. Then print the document and keep it for future reference.
Once all of these requirements are met, you will be given full interactive access to all positions offered on our recruiting site. Students who do not meet these requirements will not be able to participate in résumé collect, on-campus interviews, consortia events, or any other recruiting program sponsored by the Center for Career Services.
Requirements to Participate in Off-Campus Recruiting Consortia
The same requirements are in effect for off-campus recruiting consortia as pertain to on-campus recruiting and résumé collect, outlined above.
Additionally, candidates must attend the mandatory information session to qualify for that particular consortium event.
Students who do not meet these requirements will not be able to participate in off-campus recruiting consortia or any other recruiting program sponsored by the Center for Career Services.
Applying to On-Campus Recruiting and Résumé Collect Positions:
Résumés
A résumé must be submitted via the EASE site for each organization, along with any other materials required by the employer. Remember, you can save your résumé on the recruiting website.
Cover Letters
Letters of application, or cover letters, often are required by employers and always are encouraged. Do your research and target your letters to the specific job description provided by each company/organization. You should have your cover letters critiqued at Career Services before submitting them. Cover letters also can be saved on the recruiting website.
Other Required Items
Employers may require writing samples, transcripts, or other documents as part of the application process. Obtain an unofficial transcript from the Registrar through the Portal. Please make sure you read the job posting thoroughly and submit the required documents. Failure to do so will result in an incomplete application and may remove you from consideration for the position.
Deadlines
All deadlines for submission of résumés, cover letters, and other application materials are firm. Materials are to be submitted by students via www.colgaterecruiting.com by 11:59 pm on the day posted, no exceptions. After that time, the site will block further submissions. Organizations pre-screen candidates and our résumé deadline is not flexible.
How to Succeed in the Job Search Process
Perfect Your Documents
Your résumé and cover letter are your marketing tools to sell employers on your qualifications and to convince them to hire you (or at least grant you an interview). Given the importance of those two documents, we strongly suggest that you spend time perfecting your résumé and carefully composing cover letters for each position to which you are applying. Career Services has a number of resources to help you, including writing guides as well as Peer Advisors and Career Advisors to critique your work.
Researching Organizations
Always conduct research before you apply for a position and additional research before you interview with an organization. When researching companies and organizations, we encourage you to go beyond the resources in our career library utilize periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune and other trade-related publications, along with the Internet, for the most current information available. Valuable knowledge also can be gleaned from alumni/ae who work at the company. If you are interested in obtaining a list of alumni/ae with whom to conduct informational interviews, please make an appointment to meet with a Career Advisor well in advance of your interview.
Interview Preparation
Although not required, mock interviews are strongly encouraged prior to “live” interviews with recruiting organizations. If you take the time to review your strengths, weaknesses, career goals, and specific qualifications, you will be better prepared for the meeting with the recruiter.
Interview Follow Up
Always ask for the interviewer’s business card and promptly follow up each interview with a letter of thanks. Indicate your appreciation to the interviewer for taking the time to review your credentials and to consider you as a candidate for a position. If applicable, reaffirm your interest in the organization and the position for which you have interviewed.
Policies
A. Discrimination Policy
All organizations who recruit on campus are made aware of our University policy on equal opportunity employment. The policy states: “Colgate University subscribes to all state and federal regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, physical handicap, age, marital status, sexual orientation or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era. Colgate’s nondiscrimination policy complies with all current statutes and applies to admission, employment and access to all programs, services and other activities offered by the University.”
B. Cancellation of Interviews
Once you commit yourself to an organization for consideration we strongly suggest following through with your application. For cancellations we require you speak with Career Services (no e-mails or voicemails) at least 48 hours in advance of your interview DATE. Health-related cancellations must be documented by the University Health Center, a personal physician, Counseling Services, or other health-related practitioner. Any student who cancels a scheduled interview will be required to write a letter of explanation to the organization.
C. No Show Policy
By not showing up for your pre-arranged interview, you have demonstrated unprofessional behavior. You also have taken a valuable interview slot away from another Colgate student who could have been interviewed in your place. Any student who is a “no show” for an interview will be required to write a letter of apology to the organization (submit a copy to Career Services) and make an appointment with the Director of Recruiting & Employer Relations. You also will be suspended from the Recruiting Program for two weeks (EASE status demoted to “browse”), and will forfeit any interviews you may have upcoming during that period.
D. Always Present Your Credentials Accurately
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. These examples of unprofessional behavior may be grounds for dismissal if a student begins employment with the organization under false pretenses. Be accurate, and do not “round off” GPAs.
E. Accepting Job Offers
If you feel pressured to make a decision, or are uncomfortable with the interview process, please notify Career Services immediately to discuss your situation and options.
Once you accept a position verbally and/or in writing, you need to honor this commitment. Continuing to interview after accepting an offer, or reneging on an accepted offer, is unethical. If you encounter a problem after accepting an offer, the circumstances should be discussed with one of the Career Advisors. Students should confirm accepted offers in writing and request that organizations confirm their offers in writing as well.
F. Acknowledgement of Recruiting Program
Guidelines & Policies
Students are required to read the
Guidelines & Policies document and acknowledge their understanding of the terms
contained in these guidelines by box on the EASE recruiting website. This is
your ‘electronic signature’ signifying that you agree to abide by the terms set
forth. Then print the document and keep it for future reference.