Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT

Career services and employment professionals are involved in an important process—helping students
choose and attain personally rewarding careers, and helping employers develop effective college
relations programs which contribute to effective candidate selections for their organizations. The impact of
this process upon individuals and organizations requires commitment by practitioners to principles for
professional conduct.

Career services and employment professionals are involved in this process in a partnership effort, with a
common goal of achieving the best match between the individual student and the employing organization.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE, formerly the College Placement Council,
Inc.), as the national professional association for career planning, placement, and recruitment, is also
concerned with this process. The concern led NACE to the development and adoption of the Principles
for Professional Conduct. The principles presented here are designed to provide practitioners with three
basic precepts for career planning, placement, and recruitment:

• Maintain an open and free selection of employment opportunities in an atmosphere
conducive to objective thought, where job candidates can choose optimum long-term
uses of their talents that are consistent with personal objectives and all relevant facts;
• Maintain a recruitment process that is fair and equitable to candidates and employing
organizations;
• Support informed and responsible decision making by candidates.
Adherence to the guidelines will support the collaborative effort of career planning, placement, and
recruitment professionals while reducing the potential for abuses. The guidelines also apply to new
technology or third-party recruiting relationships which may be substituted for the traditional personal
interaction among career services professionals, employer professionals, and students.

These principles are not all-inclusive; they are intended to serve as a framework within which the career
planning, placement, and recruitment processes should function, and as a foundation upon which
professionalism can be promoted.

As part of NACE's commitment to provide leadership in the ethics area and to facilitate the ongoing
dialogue on ethics-related issues, the NACE Principles for Professional Conduct Committee was
established. The committee, made up of practitioners, will provide advisory opinions to members on the
application of the Principles, act as an informational clearinghouse for various ethical issues, periodically
review and recommend changes to this document, and resolve problems which may arise.

It is important to keep in mind one final point. The Principles do not address certain professional
obligations to support state and regional associations, professional development programs, salary
surveys, and other demographic trend surveys. Obligations such as these are recognized as vital to the
continuing growth of our profession, but since they do not relate directly to the recruitment process, they
are not addressed specifically in this document. However, the National Association of Colleges and
Employers Board of Governors strongly encourages career services and employment professionals to
support and participate in these activities.

The Board of Directors
The National Association of Colleges and Employers

Principles for Career Service Professionals

1. Career services professionals, without imposing personal values or biases, will assist individuals in
   developing a career plan or making a career decision.
2. Career services professionals will know the career services field and the educational institution and
   students they represent, and will have appropriate counseling skills.
3. Career services professionals will provide students with information on a range of career opportunities
   and types of employing organizations. They will inform students of the means and resources to gain
   access to information which may influence their decisions about an employing organization. Career
   services professionals will also provide employing organizations with accurate information about the
   educational institution and its students and about the recruitment policies of the career services office.
4. Career services professionals will provide generally comparable services to all employers, regardless
   of whether the employers contribute services, gifts, or financial support to the educational institution or
   office and regardless of the level of such support.
5. Career services professionals will establish reasonable and fair guidelines for access to services by
   employers. When guidelines permit access to organizations recruiting on behalf of an employer and to
   international employers, the following principles will apply:
   1. Organizations providing recruiting services for a fee will be required to inform career services
      of the specific employer they represent and the specific jobs for which they are recruiting, and will
      permit verification of the information. Third-party recruiters that charge fees to students will not be
      permitted access to career services;
   2. Employers recruiting for work outside of the United States are expected to adhere to the equal
      employment opportunity (EEO) policy of the career services office. They will advise the career
      services office and the students of the realities of working in that country and of any cultural and
      foreign law differences.
6. Career services professionals will maintain EEO compliance and follow affirmative action principles in
   career services activities in a manner that includes the following:
   1. Referring all interested students for employment opportunities without regard to race, color,
      national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, and providing reasonable
      accommodations upon request;
   2. Notifying employing organizations of any selection procedures that appear to have an adverse
      impact based upon the student's race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual
      orientation, or disability;
   3. Assisting recruiters in accessing certain groups on campus to provide a more inclusive
      applicant pool;
   4. Informing all students about employment opportunities, with particular emphasis on those
      employment opportunities in occupational areas where certain groups of students are
      underrepresented;
   5. Developing awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences and the diversity of students,
      and providing responsive services;
   6. Responding to complaints of EEO noncompliance, working to resolve such complaints with the
      recruiter or employing organization, and, if necessary, referring such complaints to the
      appropriate campus department or agency.
7. Any disclosure of student information outside of the educational institution will be with prior consent of
   the student unless health and/or safety considerations necessitate the dissemination of such information.
   Career services professionals will exercise sound judgment and fairness in maintaining the confidentiality of student information, regardless of the source, including written records, reports, and computer data
   bases.
8. Only qualified personnel will evaluate or interpret tests of a career planning and placement nature.
   Students will be informed of the availability of testing, the purpose of such tests, and the disclosure
   policies regarding test results.
9. If the charging of fees for career services becomes necessary, such fees will be appropriate to the
   budgetary needs of the office and will not hinder student or employer access to services. Career services
   professionals are encouraged to counsel student and university organizations engaged in recruitment
   activities to follow this principle.
10. Career services professionals will advise students about their obligations in the recruitment process
    and establish mechanisms to encourage their compliance. Students' obligations include providing
    accurate information; adhering to schedules; accepting an offer of employment in good faith; notifying
    employers on a timely basis of an acceptance or nonacceptance and withdrawing from the recruiting
    process after accepting an offer of employment; interviewing only with employers for whom students are
    interested in working and whose eligibility requirements they meet; and requesting reimbursement of only
    reasonable and legitimate expenses incurred in the recruitment process.
11. Career services professionals will provide services to international students consistent with U.S.
    immigration laws; inform those students about these laws; represent the reality of the available job market
    in the United States; encourage pursuit of only those employment opportunities in the United States that
    meet the individual's work authorization; and encourage pursuit of eligible international employment
    opportunities.
12. Career services professionals will promote and encourage acceptance of these principles throughout
    their educational institution, and will respond to reports of noncompliance.

Principles for Employment Professionals

1. Employment professionals will refrain from any practice that improperly influences and affects job
   acceptances. Such practices may include undue time pressure for acceptance of employment offers and
   encouragement of revocation of another employment offer. Employment professionals will strive to
   communicate decisions to candidates within the agreed-upon time frame.
2. Employment professionals will know the recruitment and career development field as well as the
   industry and the employing organization that they represent, and work within a framework of
   professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, and selection techniques.
3. Employment professionals will supply accurate information on their organization and employment
   opportunities. Employing organizations are responsible for information supplied and commitments made
   by their representatives. If conditions change and require the employing organization to revoke its
   commitment, the employing organization will pursue a course of action for the affected candidate that is
   fair and equitable.
4. Neither employment professionals nor their organizations will expect, or seek to extract, special favors
   or treatment which would influence the recruitment process as a result of support, or the level of support,
   to the educational institution or career services office in the form of contributed services, gifts, or other
   financial support.
5. Serving alcohol should not be part of the recruitment process on or off campus. This includes
   receptions, dinners, company tours, etc.
6. Employment professionals will maintain equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance and follow
   affirmative action principles in recruiting activities in a manner that includes the following:
   1. Recruiting, interviewing, and hiring individuals without regard to race, color, national origin,
      religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, and providing reasonable accommodations
      upon request;
   2. Reviewing selection criteria for adverse impact based upon the student's race, color, national
      origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability;
   3. Avoiding use of inquiries that are considered unacceptable by EEO standards during the
      recruiting process;
   4. Developing a sensitivity to, and awareness of, cultural differences and the diversity of the work
      force;
   5. Informing campus constituencies of special activities that have been developed to achieve the
      employer's affirmative action goals;
   6. Investigating complaints forwarded by the career services office regarding EEO noncompliance
      and seeking resolution of such complaints.
7. Employment professionals will maintain the confidentiality of student information, regardless of the
   source, including personal knowledge, written records/reports, and computer data bases. There will be no
   disclosure of student information to another organization without the prior written consent of the student,
   unless necessitated by health and/or safety considerations.
8. Those engaged in administering, evaluating, and interpreting assessment tools, tests, and technology
   used in selection will be trained and qualified to do so. Employment professionals must advise the career
   services office of any test conducted on campus and eliminate such a test if it violates campus policies.
   Employment professionals must advise students in a timely fashion of the type and purpose of any test
   that students will be required to take as part of the recruitment process and to whom the test results will
   be disclosed. All tests will be reviewed by the employing organization for disparate impact and job relatedness.
9. When using organizations that provide recruiting services for a fee, employment professionals will
   respond to inquiries by the career services office regarding this relationship and the positions the
   organization was contracted to fill. This principle applies equally to any other form of recruiting that is
   used as a substitute for the traditional employer/student interaction.
10. When employment professionals conduct recruitment activities through student associations or
    academic departments, such activities will be conducted in accordance with the policies of the career
    services office.
11. Employment professionals will cooperate with the policies and procedures of the career services
    office, including certification of EEO compliance or exempt status under the Immigration Reform and
    Control Act, and will honor scheduling arrangements and recruitment commitments.
12. Employment professionals recruiting for international operations will do so according to EEO
    standards. Employment professionals will advise the career services office and students of the realities of
    working in that country and of any cultural or foreign law differences.
13. Employment professionals will educate and encourage acceptance of these principles throughout
    their employing institution and by third parties representing their employing organization on campus, and
    will respond to reports of noncompliance.

Principles for Third Party Recruiters

Preface: These standards are designed to provide guidance to third-party recruiters who recruit college
graduates through the college recruitment process. These standards are not to be construed as requiring
or encouraging, or prohibiting or discouraging, use of third-party recruiters by college or employer
professionals.

1. Definition of third-party recruiter:
   1. Third-party recruiters are agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for
      temporary, part-time or full-time employment opportunities other than for their own needs. This
      includes entities that refer or recruit for profit or not for profit, and it includes agencies that collect
      student information to be disclosed to employers for purposes of recruitment and employment;
   2. Third-party recruiting organizations charge for services using one of the following fee
      structures:
      1. Applicant paid fee—The applicant pays the third-party recruiter a fee based upon the
         applicant's starting salary once the applicant is placed with an employer.
      2. Employer paid fee—
         1. Retainer—The employer pays a flat fee to the third-party recruiter for services
            performed in the recruiting of individuals to work for the employer.
         2. Contingency fee—The employer pays to the third-party recruiter a percentage
            of the applicant's starting salary once the applicant is hired by the employer
   3. The above definition includes, but is not limited to, the following entities
      regardless of the fee structure used by the entity to charge for services:
      1. Employment Agencies—Organizations that list positions for a
         number of client organizations and receive payment when a
         referred candidate is hired. The fee for listing a position is paid
         either by the firm listing the opening (fee paid) or by the
         candidate who is hired.
      2. Search Firms—Organizations that contract with clients to find
         and screen qualified persons to fill specific positions. The fees
         for this service are paid by the clients.
      3. Contract Recruiter—Organizations that contract with an
         employer to act as the employer's agent in the recruiting and
         employment function.
      4. Resume Referral Firms—Organizations that collect data on
         job seekers which is sent to prospective employers. Fees exist
         for the employer, job seeker, or both.
   4. Temporary Agencies—Temporary agencies are employers, not third-party
      recruiters, and will be expected to comply with the professional conduct
      principles set forth for employer professionals. These are organizations that
      contract to provide individuals qualified to perform specific tasks or complete
      specific projects for a client organization. Individuals perform work at the client
      organization, but are employed and paid by the agency.
2. Third-party recruiters will be versed in the recruitment field and work within a framework of
   professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, and selection techniques.
3. Third-party recruiters will follow EEO standards in recruiting activities in a manner that includes the
   following:
   1. Referring qualified students to employers without regard to the student's race, color, national
      origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability;
   2. Reviewing selection criteria for adverse impact and screening students based upon job-related
      criteria only, not based upon the student's race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender,
      sexual orientation, or disability;
   3. Refusing, in the case of resume referral entities, to permit employers to screen and select
      resumes based upon the student's race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual
      orientation, or disability;
   4. Avoiding use of inquiries that are considered unacceptable by EEO standards during the
      recruiting process;
   5. Affirming an awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences and the diversity of the work
      force;
   6. Investigating complaints forwarded by the career services office or the employer client
      regarding EEO noncompliance and seeking resolution of such complaints.
4. Third-party recruiters that directly charge students for services are not following accepted professional
   practices and will not be permitted on-campus recruiting privileges.
5. Third-party recruiters will disclose the following information to students and career services
   practitioners:
   1. The client, or clients, that the third-party recruiter is representing and to whom the student's
      credentials will be disclosed. Career services will be permitted to verify this information by
      contacting the named client or clients. In the case of a resume referral entity, a list of clients that
      use the services of the entity must be made available.
   2. The types of positions for which the third-party recruiter is recruiting. Resume referral firms do
      not have to disclose this information.
6. Third-party recruiters will not disclose to any employer, including the client-employer, any student
   information without obtaining prior written consent from the student. Under no circumstances can student
   information be disclosed for other than recruiting purposes nor can it be sold or provided to other entities.
7. Third-party recruiters attending career fairs will represent employers who have authorized them and will
   disclose to career services the names of the represented employers.
   

Advisory Opinions

A NACE member/regional association may request an advisory opinion regarding an interpretation of the
Principles document at any time. The advisory opinion will apply to the situation as explained and will not
be considered precedent for a subsequent complaint brought to NACE.

• The member/association will prepare a written statement detailing the conduct in
  question. Statements will include the section, or sections, of the Principles to be
  interpreted relative to the conduct in question.
• The information will be reviewed by the NACE Principles for Professional Conduct
  Committee and a response given to the member/association.

Problem Solving Procedures

Questionable practices or problems involving recruiters and career services practitioners will be resolved
between the parties as quickly as possible. NACE recommends the following:

• Discuss the incident with all parties involved in the situation. Determine the specifics of
the problem.
• Attempt to resolve the incident among the affected parties.
• Refer unresolved concerns to the supervisors of the involved individuals or to other
appropriate officials.
• If informal resolution is not successful, the parties are encouraged to use the regional
association's problem-solving mechanism.

If the problem remains unresolved, complaints or requests for advisory opinions may be presented to the
NACE Principles for Professional Conduct Committee for ultimate determination by the NACE Board of
Governors. Remedies for violations can include written warning, probation, suspension, and expulsion
from NACE membership. For specific details for filing and processing complaints or for requesting an
advisory opinion, contact:

Marilyn Mackes
Executive Director
National Association of Colleges and Employers
62 Highland Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18017
610/868-1421
800/544-5272

Copyright Notice: NACE members have the permission of the National Association of Colleges and
Employers, copyright holder, to download and photocopy the Principles for internal purposes.
Photocopies must include this copyright notice. Those who do not hold membership, or who wish to use
the document for other purposes, should contact Claudia Allen, callen@naceweb.org, 800/544-5272, ext.
129. Electronic reproduction is prohibited.