Policies & Guidelines 2016-2017
Policies & Guidelines 2016-2017
The policies below have been developed in the best interests of our students, faculty and our corporate recruiters. These policies and guidelines, when followed by both recruiting partners and Darden, provide for a fair recruiting process for all.
Interviewing Policies
Invitations
You may extend invitations to students who have applied for your job opportunity or who have been identified through our résumé book, clubs or personal contacts. Once you’ve chosen your preselects, the employer relations manager (ERM) will notify students of their status. At that point, no invitations can be retracted. If you identify additional candidates to interview, please contact your ERM to make arrangements.
Interview Eligibility
Only current Darden students who are eligible to use the Career Development Center may be interviewed in our facility. Any undergraduate or graduate students at the University of Virginia may not be interviewed during your on-Grounds schedule.
Bidding
At the beginning of each academic year, each student receives an equal number of bid points. Points are used to compete for the open slots on interview schedules. In order to ensure that companies do not overlook students who are truly interested and to provide the students equal opportunities, Darden requires that 25% of your schedule be open to our student bidding process. 75% of your schedule can be filled with students you have preselected to interview. Over the past several years, more than 80 companies have extended offers to students who bid for their interviews.
Alternates
We recommend that you provide multiple alternate invitations for each interview schedule. If your preselected candidates do not accept your invitation to interview or if they drop out due to conflicts, their slots will be filled by the alternates you have selected, by students who had bid for an interview slot or by students who have expressed interest in your company and have been placed on a wait list.
Canceling an Interview Schedule
On the Thursday prior to the week of your interviews, you will receive your interview schedule(s). Since schedules are subject to last-minute changes, interviewers should refer to the final schedule and updated résumés they receive when they arrive at Darden. If you must cancel an interview schedule after students have accepted your invitation to interview, you should notify your ERM and e-mail the students on your schedule.
Second-Round Interviews
On a space-available basis, we may be able to accommodate your second-round interview room needs. Using Darden for your second-round interviews ensures easy and convenient access for you and for students.
Class Attendance Policy
Students may not miss class or other academic commitments due to interviews, recruiting events or travel related to those events. Employers cannot require a student to interview at a time that conflicts with his or her individual academic schedule as a condition of his or her employment candidacy. Fifty percent of the final grades at Darden are based on class participation. As a result, class attendance is mandatory for students, and failure to attend class will result in a lower grade.
No first-round or second-round interviews for First Year students are to be scheduled during class hours of 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Career Development Center highly recommends that organizations schedule interviews, recruiting events or travel related to those events outside of class or exam periods. To avoid conflicts, it is suggested that you inform both the students and your ERM of second-round or final-round interview dates in advance of scheduling and provide at least one alternate date. For a list of potential call-back or Darden reading days, please consult the recruiting calendar.
Reimbursement Policies
Typically, employers will reimburse students for travel related expenses for second- and final- round interviews. Students will be advised to divide expenses among recruiting companies when more than one company is visited during their trip.
Work Authorization
When companies recruit on-Grounds or create a job posting, the CDC needs information on work authorization requirements in order to ensure that students understand any constraints placed on positions. Darden has a significant number of international students: if work authorization requirements are not specified, the open slots on interview schedules are automatically available to both domestic and international students.
Inclement Weather Policy
If the University of Virginia activates the inclement weather policy, classes may be delayed or cancelled, which will impact the day’s interview schedules. Regardless of weather conditions, if your recruiters are able to travel to Darden, the CDC will make every effort to conduct interviews on that day. If your recruiters are unable to travel to Darden, we will assist in making alternate arrangements, such as rescheduling interviews or setting up phone or virtual interviews at the same scheduled time and date.
If a student is unable to travel to campus due to weather, we ask that companies are willing to make alternate arrangements for that student, such as a virtual interview.
If your recruiters are traveling and find that they are unable to make it to Darden, please call the Career Development Center or your employer relations manager as soon as possible. We will help you reschedule your interviews and communicate any changes to the students on your schedule.
Offer Policies
Offer Consideration Time
Making an offer to a student represents a significant commitment by the employer and the student. To balance the needs of students and recruiters, we have established the following guidelines for offer consideration:
Second Year Offers
No initial employment interviews or job offers, whether held on- or off- Grounds, may occur prior to the first day of on-Grounds recruiting, which is 16 October, 2013 for Second Year students (with the exception being summer interns and students previously recruited, see below.)
Former summer interns are permitted to receive offers before the official start of Second Year recruiting. Former interns should not be prohibited from pursuing other opportunities and should be given until 31 December, or four weeks, whichever is later to consider full-time offers, unless an alternative time frame is agreed upon by both parties.
Students who have participated in a company’s recruiting events in the past may be interviewed for full-time opportunities prior to the first day of on-Grounds recruiting.
In order to enable all students to make a fully informed and comprehensive decision, Second Year students should be given until 31 December, or four weeks, whichever is later, to consider an offer, unless an alternative time frame is agreed upon by both parties.
First Year Offers
No initial employment interviews or job offers, whether held on- or off- Grounds, may occur prior to the first day of on-Grounds recruiting, which is 3 January, 2017 for First Year students.
First Year students should be given until 10 February, or four weeks, whichever is later to consider an offer, unless an alternative time frame is agreed upon by both parties.
Fellowships or scholarships that include the offer of a summer internship should be left open until 10 February.
The timelines presented above do not preclude longer periods for considering an offer. It is important that both the employer and student keep an open line of communication throughout the interview and job offer process. We request that companies inform students of their status within one week of their interviews. We also ask that you update your employer relations manager with second round candidate selections and all extended offer information.
All students must receive an offer letter. The beginning of the offer period coincides with the date of the offer letter.
Exploding Offers
Extending an exploding offer, defined as giving a candidate an unreasonably short time to accept an offer before it is revoked, is prohibited. In addition, if a student is taking an unreasonably long time to respond to an offer, please contact our office so we may address the issue with the student.
Withdrawing an Offer
If an employer must withdraw an offer, the employer should contact Chequeta Allen, assistant dean for career development, immediately at +1-434-297-7971. This is a serious matter that can significantly harm an employer’s reputation and subsequent ability to recruit students. Similarly, if a student reneges on an acceptance of employment, the employer should notify the assistant dean of career development, who will thoroughly review the situation and take appropriate action. The Darden faculty and administration consider reneging on an accepted offer to be unethical behavior.
Exceptions to Recruiting Policies
International Recruiters
Due to travel constraints, companies based outside of the United States, Canada or Mexico may interview and make offers to First or Second Year students outside of our regular recruiting calendar.
Affinity Group Conferences
Due to the popularity of various affinity group conferences, such as National Black MBA Conference and National Association of Hispanic MBAs, many of our students will have the opportunity to meet and interview with recruiters outside of our designated recruiting period. It is strongly encouraged that all companies keep full-time offers available until 31 December, and all internship offers open until 3 February.
Ramifications of Failing to Follow Darden's Policies
In an effort to balance the needs of students and recruiters, the CDC has established a full disclosure policy with respect to adverse actions taken by employers, such as requesting interviews during class time or withdrawing an accepted offer. Our objective is to provide information that may be relevant to students when they are making recruiting and/or employment decisions. In adopting this policy, the CDC has decided against any sanctions, recognizing that penalizing employers stands to hurt alumni who are employed by these firms and reduce potentially valuable employment opportunities for current and future students.
This policy is consistent with Darden’s efforts to support our students in their job searches. When students are informed that a firm did not honor our policies, the students can take that information and incorporate it into their decision-making process.
The CDC’s policy is to communicate with the employer about the student’s report of adverse actions, assess the facts from both perspectives and attempt to resolve the actual case of adverse action. When adverse actions are reported to the CDC, Darden tries to work with employers and students to reach a mutually satisfactory solution. The CDC also asks that companies that may take an adverse action to inform Darden first to minimize the consequences for our students. Such actions have served to create goodwill between both parties. If an adverse action goes unresolved, the CDC will post the unresolved adverse action on the internal website for three years. Furthermore, we request that employers notify the CDC of any students who have accepted more than one job offer or are continuing to search for positions after accepting an offer. Such behavior is considered in violation of Darden’s honor code.
University of Virginia and Darden School of Business Policies
Grade Disclosure
Darden’s grading process does not incorporate a class ranking or grade point average. If you require transcripts, please notify the student in advance, so he or she can authorize a release by the registrar.
Nondiscrimination
Darden makes its facilities and services available only to employers who do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, military service or disability. Any employer who makes use of UVa’s Career Development Center facilities to interview students agrees to meet in good faith with any student who has been scheduled for an interview and who meets the employer’s legitimate employment qualifications.
Policy on Discriminatory Harassment
The University of Virginia 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 UVa, as both an educational institution and an employer, to prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment and to provide faculty, students and staff who believe that they may be the victims of either, with mechanisms for seeking redress. We recommend that all students, alumni, vendors and employers who are engaged in activities with the Career Development Center review University of Virginia Policy on Discriminatory Harassment.
Family Educational Rights & Privacy
Please read the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to understand these important regulations and guidelines.