Recruiting Guidelines & Policies

The career offices of The Claremont Colleges (Claremont Graduate University, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Keck Graduate Institute, Pitzer College, Pomona College, and Scripps College) has established the guidelines below to help facilitate the hiring process for all employers.

As members of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), we ask that all of our employers familiarize themselves with and honor the Principles for Ethical Professional Practice published by NACE.

Please contact our office at cdorecruiting@pomona.edu with any questions.

Employer Policies

You are invited to participate in our recruiting programs and fairs if you are an employer with actual or anticipated bona fide entry-level positions and career-related paid internships.

A bona fide position is defined as a career opportunity that is salaried (not 100% commission) and does not require the candidate to pay a fee for training or other job-related expenses. Graduate and professional school representatives may also schedule events to recruit Pomona and Claremont College students.

Privacy Policy

The Career Offices of The Claremont Colleges are committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information provided by students, alumni, and employers. Employment professionals must maintain the confidentiality of all student information released to them, regardless of the source, including personal documents, written records/reports, and computer databases. This means there should be no disclosure of student information to another organization without prior written consent of the student, unless necessitated by health and/or safety considerations, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Handshake’s commitment to all participants – schools, employers, students/alumni – is to maintain the confidentiality of all information collected in Handshake. Handshake will not sell, transmit, or disclose, in any fashion, this information to any other organization. Handshake is not affiliated with The Claremont Colleges, and therefore, cannot guarantee, nor does it otherwise accept responsibility for any portion of this statement that depends on Handshake’s representations and its compliance with those representations.

Non-Discrimination Policy

We require all employers to comply with all applicable state and federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring and in the workplace, which includes discrimination on basis of race, color, sex (gender or gender identity), sexual orientation, age, marital status, religion, disability, national origin, ethnic origin, or prior military service.

Third Party Recruiters, Employment Agencies and Search Firms

Third parties may participate in recruiting programs and fairs provided they follow our outlined policies and guidelines.

Home Offices

Due to liability and risk management issues, the college does not allow interns or job applicants into a home office or home training situation.

Course Credit and Signature Requests for Legal Documents 

Pomona College does not sign legal or employer documents as part of any course credit requirements, nor do we provide course credit for internships. Any legal documents signed by students are done so independently and at their own risk. In addition, the College assumes no responsibility for the legal validity or consequences of any such documents.  

Alcohol

We discourage employers from serving alcohol as part of the recruitment process. Our concern is for your liability and the safety and welfare of our students, especially when attending an off-site event that would require students to drive back to campus safely. Underage drinking is strictly forbidden.

Cannabis Industry Employers

Although cannabis is legal under certain conditions in the state of California, it is not legal under federal law. The Drug Free Schools and Communities Act 1989 (DFSCA) provides, “as a condition of receiving funds or any form of financial assistance under any Federal program, an institution of Higher Education must certify that it has adopted and implemented a program to prevent the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs or alcohol by students and employees.” Further, under the DFSCA, institutions of Higher Education must employ “standards of conduct that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students and employees on its property or as part of its activities.” If a college fails to comply, it could become ineligible for federal funding, including financial aid programs for students.

In order to ensure compliance with federal law, the Career Centers of The Claremont Colleges will not support the recruitment of students or alumni by cannabis-industry related employers. This includes, but is not limited to, posting internship or work opportunities, hosting company representatives on campus, promoting job shadow placements, and supporting internships for credit or non-credit.

Recruiting and Offer Guidelines

Handshake

Handshake is a web-based portal for publicizing bona fide full-time, part-time, seasonal, and short-term positions and other recruiting activities for small, medium, and large businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, on-campus employers, households, and individuals.

Employers are expected to be fully transparent when describing their organizations and posting information on Handshake. Job listings should have a start date, starting salary, and accurate position description of the responsibilities, expectations, and requirements.

Internships

Internships are usually six to eight weeks. Part time during the semester and can be up to 40 hours in the summer. Internships provide experience and experiential knowledge for the student.

Internships ideally will have an agreed upon schedule and a learning plan with assigned tasks and established deadlines. There should be an onboarding process as well as an orientation. It is important to have a mid-term evaluation and an exit interview to ensure maximum performance and learn how to improve the internship experience in the future.

Internships should comply with federal laws as well as NACE guidelines:

Consult with the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet and with NACE’s Criteria for an Internship to be Defined as an Internship to ensure your opportunity adheres to our policy.

Opportunities that provide all resources, equipment, and facilities are highly favored.

For unpaid internships, you may want to consult with us to see if you qualify for our Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP).

Second Round Interviews

Internships are usually six to eight weeks. Part time during the semester and can be up to 40 hours in the summer. Internships provide experience and experiential knowledge for the student.

Internships ideally will have an agreed upon schedule and a learning plan with assigned tasks and established deadlines. There should be an onboarding process as well as an orientation. It is important to have a mid-term evaluation and an exit interview to ensure maximum performance and learn how to improve the internship experience in the future.

Internships should comply with federal laws as well as NACE guidelines:

Consult with the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet and with NACE’s Criteria for an Internship to be Defined as an Internship to ensure your opportunity adheres to our policy.

Opportunities that provide all resources, equipment, and facilities are highly favored.

For unpaid internships, you may want to consult with us to see if you qualify for our Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP).

Offer Guidelines

Experience shows the best employment decisions for both students and employers are those that are made without pressure and with the greatest amount of information.

Students given sufficient time to attend career fairs, participate in on‐campus interviews, and/or complete the interviewing in which they are currently engaged are more likely to make good long‐term employment decisions and may be less likely to renege on job acceptances and in the long run, this will improve attrition rates.

Consistent with the guidelines of the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE), we ask that students be given at least 2 weeks to make an informed and responsible decision.

If you would like to make a full-time or return offer to a former summer intern, we request that you allow the student until November 15 to accept/decline the offer.

This will ensure that the student has the time necessary to explore alternatives and make an informed decision.

Exploding Offers

We ask that employers refrain from making “exploding offers” or rescinding bonus offers which put undue pressure on students to make decisions in a short-time frame or before they have completed the interviewing process.

Most students are not ready, nor should they be, to make a final decision before completing all their interviews. Regrettably, pressure to accept early makes it harder for us to enforce our policy against reneging.

Additional Information

Solomon Amendment

The Solomon Amendment, a federal law, mandates that educational institutions receiving federal funding (research grants, etc) must fulfill military recruitment requests for access to campus and for lists containing student recruiting information. This law allows personally identifiable student information to be released to recruiters that would have been denied them under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA – p1-16). Information available for release under this law is limited to name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, level of education, academic major, and degree received.