Faculty & Staff

We welcome the opportunity to bring career information into your classroom for all or part of a class period.  Many faculty members and departments utilize the Career Center for presentations such as Compass, Orientation, University Success, and more!

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Career Center Services Overview
• Career Exploration
• What Can I Do with a Major in…?
• Resume and Cover Letter Writing
• Job Search Strategies
• Interview Strategies
• Professionalism
• Online Job Searching (Social Media and Job Boards)
• Networking
• Customized/Multiple Topic(s)

Presentation Request

Please provide us with your request(s) as far in advance as possible so we may prepare accordingly.

RECOMMEND AN EMPLOYER
We welcome your suggestions for expanding our employer database. Each semester we invite a variety of local, state and national companies, government agencies and non-profits, to use our services to recruit students. If you have contact information for a particular organization, please let us know and we will be delighted to let them know you made this referral.

BRING YOUR CLASS TO CAREER EVENTS
Bringing your class to some of our career fairs and events is a great way to engage with the Career Center. It is also a great way to get students to start thinking about their future, how they can connect information learned in class and degrees they will earn upon graduation with a future occupation. Visiting with a class provides a less intimidating way for students to experience a career event, even if they aren’t ready to make the next step. If you don’t have an entire class period to spare, stopping by with your class is also encouraged.

Event dates, times, locations and information such as a list of registered employers can be viewed in Handshake or on our site: Career Events

REQUEST AN EMPLOYER VISIT
Have you ever considered bringing an employer to class to discuss opportunities in the field or provide insight on a section topic? How about taking your class to visit a local employer and see what they really do? The Career Center is available to help you make those connections and facilitate an in-class or out-of-class experience that is sure to engage your students. Feel free to contact us for more details.

Accurate information on salaries, occupations and employment trends is important for many activities such as job searches, product or service development, and promotion.

• Economic & Employment Projections – U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the most current projections on where future job growth is expected by industry and occupation and the likely composition of the work force pursuing those jobs.
• The Occupational Information Network (O’Net) – maintained by the USDOL, this site allows you to find jobs that fit your interest, skills and experience, explore career profiles from the latest labor market data, search for occupations that use your skills, view specific details about occupations and identify related occupations.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook – The OOH, from the USDOL, gives you detailed information on hundreds of occupations. Each listing addresses the training and education needed, earnings, expected job prospects, what workers do on the job and working conditions. In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State and more.

There are many ways to craft a recommendation letter; however, it must reflect your perceptions and experiences with the candidate. Visit the Reference Letters Section of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) website for suggestions on how to write reference letters for students.

Referrals in the Employment Process
You play a direct role in the employment process for new graduates. Ideally, your role and that of the Career Center are complementary. Occasionally, however, helping students in their job searches can result in unanticipated illegal or unethical actions. Since you may be in contact with employers who wish to recruit your students, please review the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) Faculty Guide Ethical & Legal Standards for Student Hiring.

If the career center or faculty prescreen candidates, they are, in effect, acting as an employment agency, and the relevant laws that apply to an agency would apply to the career center or faculty member. In this regard, federal, and most state, antidiscrimination laws prohibit discrimination in “referral practices.” In this regard, an employment agency may not discriminate in classifications or referrals for employment; circulate any discriminatory statement, advertisement, or publication; or use discriminatory application forms or inquiries made in connection with prospective employment. Further, if an employment agency advances an employer’s discriminatory practices, both the employer and the agency may be held liable for discrimination. As such, if a career center prescreens candidates in a discriminatory manner, it may be exposed to potential liability.

With regard to faculty, although federal antidiscrimination provisions typically apply only to “employers,” many states have adopted similar provisions that encompass individual employees and third parties. These state law provisions often make it unlawful for any individual or entity to “aid or abet” discriminatory employment practices. Additionally, educational institutions that accept federal funding may run afoul of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and/or the equal protection clause by implementing or endorsing discriminatory prescreening practices.

Once career services staff or a faculty member participate in the selection or referral process, they may have to justify the criteria upon which the screening was based, just like an employer or an employment agency. Problems occur when the criteria are facially discriminatory or have a discriminatory impact, such as when a career services office is asked to refer only minority students or a faculty member is asked to refer just female candidates. A career services staff member or faculty member could not defend the action by saying the employer “told me to do it.” As noted above, the career center staff or faculty member may be liable for implementing the discriminatory practices of the employer.

As such, the less directly involved the career services staff and faculty are in making choices for employers, the less likely the staff and educational institution will become embroiled in administrative claims and litigation if a student believes that he or she was discriminated against as a result of not being selected to interview. In the event that a career center (or faculty member) decides to engage in screening or referral practices, it must ensure that the requests made by the employer are not discriminatory and are based upon legitimate business needs.

Information from the National Association of Colleges and Employers