Employer Policies & Guidelines

Columbia Engineering Graduate Career Placement (GCP) is happy to partner with you to support all of your hiring needs. Should you have any questions, or need assistance, contact us at [email protected].

For employers recruiting both undergraduate and graduate students, our policies for graduate student recruitment are in alignment with the Center for Career Education policies for undergraduate recruitment.

By engaging in GCP recruiting efforts, you agree to abide by the following policies and guidelines. Failure to adhere to any GCP recruiting policy may restrict an employer from participating in future recruitment opportunities. The GCP team reserves the right to make decisions about an employer's participation in recruitment practices at any point.

Columbia Engineering is committed to practicing the Principles for Ethical Professional Practice outlined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). All employers and hiring professionals seeking to partner with us are required to work within the same professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, and selection techniques.

One of the most effective ways to engage our students is to meet them. We have many different avenues, including information sessions, career talks, career fairs, office hours, industry round tables and showcases, panels, office visits, and on-campus interviews. All of these events can be hosted in-person or virtually.

To achieve the best possible attendance, we recommend you get in touch with us in advance of your recruiting season to discuss your goals. Our Career Placement Officers will work with you to identify a strategy that best matches your specific needs.

We ask our employers to give students a minimum of 72 hours’ notice when scheduling interviews. Employers must accommodate student requests to reschedule for legitimate reasons such as class, work, or a previously scheduled interview. The same standard is applied to offers for second and future round interviews.

For interview events conducted on-campus, only current students from Columbia Engineering will be invited to attend (unless there is a previously established agreement with another school at Columbia University).

Students must be given a minimum of two weeks to accept any offer from the date the written offer is received or until the deadlines below, whichever is later.

  • Full-Time and internship offers as a result of Fall 2023 on-campus recruiting: October 20, 2023
  • Full-Time and internship return offers as a result of Spring 2023 or Summer 2023 internships: October 20, 2023
  • Full-Time and internship offers as a result of Spring 2024 on-campus recruiting: February 16, 2024
  • Full-Time and internship return offers as a result of Spring 2024 or Summer 2024 internships: October 18, 2024

Exploding offers (e.g. an offer with a deadline of 24-48 hours to accept before the offer is rescinded) are prohibited. Any sign-on bonus should be honored, provided that a student accepts their offer within the established deadlines outlined above.

All Columbia University students should be compensated appropriately for the work they perform during an internship. We strongly encourage that internships are paid to respect the qualifications of Columbia Engineering graduate students and also allow access to those students who may be unable to afford to pursue unpaid internships.

We expect all employers to abide by the standards established by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which includes specific guidelines regarding unpaid internships outlined by the US Department of Labor. If any of these criteria are not met, the intern must be paid. For employers seeking interns to work in the State of New York, attention must also be paid to the requirements set forth by the New York State Minimum Wage Act and Wage Orders.

Academic credit should not be given in place of compensation. We recommend that any unpaid internships require a maximum of 8-10 hours of work each week.

We ask employers to pay careful attention to the policies outlined above before posting any unpaid internship. If you require assistance, please contact us.

Third-party agencies and recruiters may be granted permission to post jobs on Columbia Engineering Career Connect, provided that it is clearly stated that they are recruiting for a third-party client. We reserve the right to make decisions regarding the legitimacy of any posting before it is published to students.

Third-party recruiters are not given access to Columbia Engineering's career placement events or to our resume books. Students and alumni are not to be charged any fee for the services provided by the recruiter.

In rare cases, Columbia Engineering may choose to publish job postings that require a small fee (for example, civil service examinations with fees). We will not post positions that require a significant fee to be paid prior to employment (for example, tuition-based work abroad programs, programs with significant required training fees that candidates must pay, etc.).

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

The NACE guidelines suggest employers adopt a two-part approach to employment offers under consideration for revocation: the first emphasizes the need for a commitment to high standards in recruiting while the second offers a reasoned approach to dealing with rescinded and deferred offers.

NACE recommends that before an employer revokes a commitment they do everything possible to avoid rescinding an offer and consider alternatives. 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 to candidates as soon as possible.
  • Contact Columbia Engineering Graduate Career Placement (GCP).
  • Stay in communication with candidates and GCP 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 we determine have not conducted their recruiting efforts ethically.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are core values held by all the Career Centers at Columbia University. As such, we are committed to upholding the commitment to anti-racism as outlined by the Columbia Engineering DEI Commission. As a coalition of career services professionals, we strive to uphold these values and principles in the execution of our work, with employers and with students, recognizing the role that access to careers, internships, and employment play in social mobility and dismantling historic systems of exclusion and racism.

We ask that all employers abide by anti-discrimination and harassment policies and practices in recruitment processes of all Columbia students as outlined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers; and by Columbia University’s own policy. We will continue to advocate for inclusion and equity in workforce recruitment and development. We encourage employer partners to integrate and forge more inclusive workplace practices so that Columbia students experience belonging and inclusion during internships, practicums, fieldwork, and other experiential learning opportunities and in full-time jobs beyond Columbia.

Through Columbia’s Career Centers, students will find career programs and resources tailored to the needs of all students, including the unique needs of historically underrepresented groups in U.S. higher education. We strive for many of these programs to be developed in collaboration with student groups, alumni organizations, and employer partners who share our values.

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 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 employers, students, alumni, and vendors engaged in activities with the Columbia Engineering Graduate Career Placement review the Columbia Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedure.

If a student or staff member engaged in an activity sponsored by Columbia Engineering Graduate Career Placement (including but not limited to job listings, workshops, panels, advising sessions, employer presentations, career fairs, interviews, mentoring, internships, off-campus recruiting, and employment) believes that the Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedure may have been violated, they are urged to contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, a member of the Columbia University Panel on Discrimination and Sexual Harassment, or the Graduate Career Placement team. If the conduct complained of involves a person or persons within the Columbia community, the actions provided for under the Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedure may apply. If the conduct complained of involves, in addition to a member of the Columbia community, a party or parties outside the Columbia community, the GCP team may conduct an inquiry. In the event we determine that the complained- of conduct occurred or the outside party chooses not to participate in the inquiry, we may act to sever the relationship between the GCP Team and/or Columbia University and the outside party or organization.

Updated 6/28/2023