Employer Policies

If you wish to recruit at Tufts, please review and abide by the following policies:

  • On-Campus/Virtual Interview Guidelines (Update for 2022 – 2023)
    Fall 2022 Update: We will be utilizing a hybrid programming model for Fall 2022. Employer engagement activities may be conducted virtually or in-person. Visit this page for complete guidelines.
  • Principles for Professional Conduct

    As stipulated in the National Association for Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) Principles for Professional Conduct, employment professionals will work within a framework of professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, and selection techniques.

  • Non-Discrimination Policy

    Tufts Career Center expects employers to not discriminate in employment, or in any of its educational programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, disability, sex or gender (including pregnancy, sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct including acts of sexual violence such as rape, sexual assault, stalking, sexual exploitation, sexual exploitation and coercion, relationship/intimate partner violence and domestic violence), gender identity and/or expression (including a transgender identity), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, genetic information, the intersection of these identities or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

    Non-Discrimination Statement – Office of Equal Opportunity (tufts.edu)

  • Confidentiality and Non-Solicitation Policy

    Organizations using Tufts Career Center’s services for recruiting purposes must keep student information and personal data confidential, regardless of its source. This includes information gathered in person, written documents, and computer databases such as Handshake. Information you gather on campus or from Handshake will be for the sole use of recruiting for open positions at your organization and cannot be shared outside your organization or used for any other reason, including marketing to students.

    Career Fairs are open only to organizations hiring for internships or jobs directly within their organizations. The Tufts Career Center reserves the right to accept or decline any career event registrants.

    The Tufts Career Center will not post unpaid jobs or internships that require students to advertise to, solicit and/or recruit other students on the Tufts Campus. This includes Campus Ambassador and Brand Ambassador positions.

    Vendors who want to sell or advertise products or services on campus can inquire about tabling in our Campus Center. Click here for more information and to request a table. Be sure to read both the Vendor Policies for off-campus vendors and companies and the Campus Center Tabling Policy. You may contact the Office for Campus Life at 617-627-3212 with any questions.

    All Employers planning to come to visit the Tufts campus must  adhere to all the COVID-19 requirements for visitors available here.

  • Posting Jobs & Internships

    The following kinds of positions can be posted on Handshake:

    • Internships & Co-ops
    • Jobs requiring a college degree that current students can begin after graduation
    • Jobs for more experienced alumni.

     

    We consider the NACE guidelines when deciding whether a position counts as an internship.

  • Part-Time Jobs for Current Students

    Part-time jobs for current students, both work study and non-work study, should be posted in Handshake. Visit the Student Employment website for more information about on and off-campus employment, including paperwork requirements and info about childcare employment.

  • Paid/Unpaid Internships

    We follow NACE’s guidelines on unpaid internships.

    Fair Labor Standards Act
    Employers posting internships in Tufts Handshake should review the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division guidelines on compensation. This DOL Fact Sheet provides information on whether workers are considered unpaid interns or paid employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It is expected that employers who post internships are in compliance with this criteria.

    Stipends
    When posting internships offering a stipend in Handshake, the stipend must equal at least minimum wage (when divided by the number of hours worked) in order to qualify the position as paid.

    Statement of insurance and liability coverage (updated 11/5/2021)
    For activities directly related to the approved internship, Tufts covers students registered for a Career Center Internship Credit with commercial general liability insurance coverage while working at the internship site. This insurance coverage extends only to actively enrolled Tufts University students earning Career Center Internship Credit for either the duration of their internship or from the beginning of the internship (upon receipt of completed registration form) until the end date submitted on the student’s registration form. Tufts students are not eligible for worker’s compensation insurance coverage through Tufts University.

  • Third-Party Agencies

    Including recruiting and staffing agencies and executive search firms
    We do not post jobs for third-party agencies unless:

    1. The name of the hiring organization is clearly stated in the job title or description OR
    2. The job is an internal position within the staffing agency

     

    Third-party agencies may only attend Tufts Career Fairs to recruit for internal positions in their organization. Students’ resumes may not be sent to any third-party agency’s clients.

  • Commission-Based Jobs

    Positions that include commission-based compensation must fully disclose the compensation structure in any job posting or at any virtual or on-campus recruiting event.

    With the exception of financial advisor and real estate positions, jobs offering only commission-based compensation may not be posted in the Handshake database.

  • Financial Investment
    We will not post any job or position that requires a financial investment on the part of our students or alumni.
  • Alcohol

    Alcohol should not be served as part of the recruiting process. This includes presentations on or off campus and company-sponsored events during the recruiting process.

  • Disclaimers

    The Tufts Career Center reserves the right to exclude or remove any employer from recruiting activities and to edit, delete, or refuse any employer profile or job posting at any time, including based on student feedback. The Career Center also reserves the right to report any allegations of misconduct to the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) or other relevant parties.

    The hosting of employer, job, and internship information in our Handshake database should not be considered an endorsement by the Career Center or Tufts University of the organizations posting the positions or the positions posted.

    We reserve the right to advertise your positions on social media sites such as the Tufts Career Center Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

    Tufts is not responsible for our students working off campus and has not screened them for their experience, integrity, working ability, or any other aspect of their performance as volunteers, interns or employees.  Tufts also does not screen any families, companies or others who may engage Tufts students as volunteers, interns or employees.  Both parties should be conducting their own due diligence.  Tufts is not responsible or liable for and will not provide any support (financial or otherwise) for any injuries, damages or conflicts that may arise from such positions or arrangements.  Tufts’ insurance does not provide any coverage for such positions or arrangements.

  • Offers

    Offer Guidelines for Employers of Tufts University Students

    These offer guidelines have been developed utilizing the recommendations from our professional organization, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The Tufts University Career Center strongly believes that student candidates for both jobs and internships deserve adequate time to evaluate offers and to be empowered to make informed decisions regarding their future careers and employment.

    While these offer windows are longer than those for some industry-specific hires, we believe they provide a good balance between fulfilling the recruitment needs of our employer partners while also providing students with an appropriate timeframe for making decisions around job and internship offers.

    These policies will also help to minimize instances of reneging on an offer (an event that negatively impacts both the student and employer, and one that we highly discourage).  This situation most often occurs when students feel time-pressured to accept an offer within a very short window of time (i.e. less than 2 weeks). Ultimately, our goal is that the recruiting experience is positive for both the employers and students and the outcome is ultimately a successful hire and an offer is accepted.

    General Guidelines: We ask that employers strive to communicate decisions to candidates within a reasonable time frame and should refrain from any practice that improperly influences and affects job acceptances (i.e. encouraging a student to renege on an accepted offer from another organization).

    Fall Semester Offers: If employers make offers to candidates during the fall recruiting cycle, we recommend that they give candidates at least one month to make a decision. You may consider providing even more time if an offer is made very early in the semester (i.e. 6-8 weeks if an offer is made in September).

    Spring Semester Offers: For offers made during the spring, we recommend providing candidates with at least one month to make a decision. This is subject to some common-sense variation, of course (i.e. if the offer is made very late in the spring and the internship would begin soon).

    Conversion of Interns to Offers: If employers make full-time offers to their intern/s at the end of the summer, we recommend that they give interns until November 1 to make a decision. This allows candidates to return to school, settle in, and participate in fall on-campus recruiting, should they choose.

    Early offers: If employers make offers in the spring for an internship or FTE role beginning the following summer (e.g. offer in Spring 2019 for internship starting in Summer 2020), we recommend that they give students until August 31st to make a decision.

    As with all guidelines, these are not universally applicable to every employer, and we ask that employers use common sense when evaluating offer timelines. The Employer Relations team at Tufts is always happy to help and to discuss questions you might have around these offer guidelines.

    Some factors that employers should consider when determining offer deadlines:

    • Housing — Does the student have enough time to research housing costs and availability?
    • Proximity to graduation — Does the student have time to explore a wide range of options in advance of graduation?
    • Time to make offers to other students if initial offers are not accepted — Will the student pool be sharply decreased by a delay?
    • Prior experience with candidate — Does the student believe a prior internship will lead to a job offer?
    • Impact of technology — How quickly can offers be extended along with offer details, such as salary, benefits, and bonuses?

    More information on this topic can be found on the NACE Website: 

     

  • Rescinding or Deferring Employment

    Employers should carefully review and follow the recommendations made by NACE in the Position Statement on Rescinded and Deferred Employment Offers. The statement includes a review laws regulating employment, relevant ethical issues, and makes recommendations for resolving individual situations fairly. To protect your recruiting relationship with Tufts, we ask that you notify our Employer Relations team immediately in the event of having to rescind or defer employment.

  • University Closings

    On-campus interviews and info sessions only occur when Tufts University is open. In the event that the Medford campus is closed due to inclement weather or other reason, this information will be displayed on the main page of the Tufts website.

    If a closing affects your visit to campus, the Recruiting Coordinator will contact you as soon as possible to notify you and make alternate arrangements or reschedule.

  • COVID Disclaimer

    Tufts University is pleased to offer off-campus in-person and virtual internship opportunities to students interested in exploring professional outlets for their skills and disciplines of study.  In the current public health environment, where there is an ongoing risk of transmission of COVID-19, the University is committed to prioritizing the health and safety of the greater Tufts community, as well as the general public.  This commitment extends to students who choose to participate in off-campus internships and to all individuals they may encounter for the duration of the internship experience.

    Tufts encourages students to discuss shared expectations with a potential internship site before they begin their internships, to confirm if they will be working remote, in-person or hybrid, and to understand the COVID protocols for each opportunity they chose to pursue, including the following:

    • Tufts expects internship sites to follow all available public health guidance and protocols from state and health authorities and to take appropriate precautions to prioritize the health and safety of all participants, including by implementing infection-control measures such as requiring face coverings and social distancing in all internship locations where students might be placed.
    • Tufts expects students to follow the University’s policies and guidelines around infection control and, where appropriate, to comply with additional precautions that may apply at the internship site.

    Tufts does not control or operate external placement sites and cannot advise students or employers on state or federally mandated COVID protocols.  However, if students have concerns regarding their health, they are encouraged to use resources available through Tufts COVID webpage:  https://coronavirus.tufts.edu.

  • Recruiting Alumni

    If you are interested in hiring Tufts alum, you may post positions for alumni in the Handshake database. If you are collecting current students resumes for the same position connected to a resume drop or on-campus interviews, you will need to set up separate application instructions that route applications from alumni to you or your office.