Employer Resources

Handshake

  • It is strongly encouraged that a member of your organization enter all job, event, registration, interview, etc. information to ensure that all activity is correctly tracked and connected to your organization’s Handshake profile.
    • The Vanderbilt University (VU) Career Center team can support where it is technologically difficult or creates a barrier for our students to engage in your organization’s opportunities.
  • To promote an opportunity to Vanderbilt students, the job must be posted in Handshake and attached to your organization’s profile. This will minimize the opportunity for user error on the VU Career Center when sharing the role, event, etc. via the system.
    • This includes information posted by Alumni-owned organizations.

Extending Offers

Employers should provide students sufficient time to complete their employment searches and make informed decisions. The dates below allow students time to participate in the first few weeks of on-campus interviewing and make sound decisions resulting in a more committed hire from you. Any offer that does not allow a candidate enough time to accept or decline and/or has special incentives attached, i.e. exploding offers are prohibited.

Summer & Fall Recruiting: October 15 or two weeks from the date of the offer, whichever is later.

Spring Recruiting: April 15 or two weeks from date of the offer, whichever is later. 

Hosting Events at Vanderbilt

  • Event Space Requests – Career Center Collaboration
    • All event requests must be submitted on Handshake at least four (4) weeks in advance of the event in a larger event space in the Student Life Center, Sarratt/Rand Student Center, or Alumni Hall. *
      • Please note that submitting events within these timeframes does not guarantee that the space requested will be available.
    • Events within the following categories must be requested at least two (2) weeks in advance to allow the VU Career Center team time to secure space within the Career Center office or adjacent building(s): coffee chats, office hours, on-campus interviews, and tabling.
    • Once an event is submitted in Handshake, it can take up to five (5) business days to approve as we oftentimes work with external departments to secure space for recruiting and networking events.
  • Event Space Requests – Student Organization Collaboration
    • For events hosted in collaboration with Student Organizations:
      • The student organizations on campus are responsible for reserving space on behalf of a visiting organization.
      • Please add the event to Handshake (with a note about the event location) at least two weeks prior to the event so that it can be properly marketed and tracked for engagement purposes.
    • Event Attendance Data
      • If your organization is hosting an event on-campus, the VU Career Center will provide a check-in tracking option. However, your organization may utilize your own check-in process if preferred. We ask that you provide the student attendance information to our team within 3 business days of the event's conclusion for data tracking purposes.
      • The VU Career Center cannot update attendance for virtual events.
        • When creating a virtual event in Handshake, we encourage all employers to provide the virtual platform link (Zoom, Teams, WebEx, Google, Etc.) only when asked to input, instead of adding it to the event description. To accurately capture student event attendance, direct students to check in via Handshake.
      • Off-Campus or Virtual Events
        • The VU Career Center cannot make any logistical edits to your event in Handshake (date, time, location), if it is not hosted on Vanderbilt’s campus.
        • The VU Career Center will not approve in-person events that are not located in Nashville during the academic year.
      • Event Marketing in Handshake
        • If your organization posts an event that shall be shared or promoted to multiple schools, the VU Career Center is not responsible for providing marketing support.
        • If your organization posts an event that is listed as in-person but is not hosted on Vanderbilt’s Campus and is not coordinated by our team, the VU Career Center is not responsible for providing marketing support.
        • If you would like to learn about how events that are directly targeted for the Vanderbilt talent audience are promoted, please contact the External Partner Engagement team at recruiting@vanderbilt.edu for more information.

Non-Discrimination Policy

The Career Center’s policy is to promote employment of its students and graduates with no discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, military services, sexual orientation, or disability. The Center facilities are available only to those employers whose practices are consistent with this policy, as well as all applicable laws and regulations governing employment discrimination.

Third-Party Employer Engagement

  • Third-party employers may not blindly post opportunities on Handshake without identifying the organization they are supporting.
  • Third-party employers may only attend on-campus recruitment opportunities for the purpose of recruiting directly for their organization and not representing an alternate organization. (For example, staffing agencies may recruit employees that will serve as recruiters or team members directly for your organization, but not for positions at organizations your firm/agency represents.)

Disclosure of Student Work Authorization Status

The VU Career Center is committed to upholding student privacy and compliance with federal and institutional guidelines regarding work authorization status. As such, the Career Center does not disclose any student’s work authorization status to employers.

Employers seeking to verify work authorization should engage directly with candidates during the hiring process and follow appropriate legal procedures. The VU Career Center expects all employers engaging with our students to adhere to fair hiring practices.

Third-Party Employer Engagement

  • Third-party employers may not blindly post opportunities on Handshake without identifying the organization they are supporting.
  • Third-party employers may only attend on-campus recruitment opportunities for the purpose of recruiting directly for their organization and not representing an alternate organization. (For example, staffing agencies may recruit employees that will serve as recruiters or team members directly for your organization, but not for positions at organizations your firm/agency represents.)

Internships

Vanderbilt University considers internships to be valuable educational opportunities for its students. To enhance their career preparation and real-world experience, interns should be given training, guidance, and regular evaluations. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has developed a six-factor test for determining whether workers at “for-profit” companies are to be considered “interns” or “employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Resume Book Policy

The VU Career Center does not compile or distribute resume books to employers*.

Instead, we encourage employers to connect with candidates through Handshake, recruiting events, and other engagement opportunities. This approach ensures that students retain control over their job search while enabling employers to identify talent in a more meaningful and interactive way.

*There may be specific cases in which a resume book of event attendees is compiled and shared, but students will be notified ahead of distribution.

For questions about recruitment opportunities, please contact recruiting@vanderbilt.edu.

Distribution of Employer Contact Information

The VU Career Center does not share employer/recruiter contact information with students/candidates unless express written consent is provided. Students are encouraged to review the Handshake profile of employers and determine who may have a publicly listed profile to conduct outreach.

Guidelines for Serving Alcohol at Events with Students in Attendance

The presence of alcohol at all recruitment events is prohibited. A recruiting event is hosted by the employer with the purpose of recruiting and hiring. These events can include info sessions, career fairs, interviews, coffee chats, invite-only events, etc.

Student Attendance at Campus Recruitment Programs

The Vanderbilt University Career Center does not have the authority to approve absences or missed coursework for interviews, career treks, or other career-related events. Students who choose to accept an interview or attend a recruiting event with an employer during a scheduled class period are responsible for completing any missed coursework or class requirements. Each student must communicate proactively with their instructors to discuss missed material and ensure they remain in good academic standing.

Career Fairs

  • Information about upcoming Career Fairs can be found here.
  • Cancellations
    • The VU Career Center sets cancellation deadlines for all Career Fairs. These are identified within the event itself on Handshake.
    • Employers will receive a 100% refund up to 2 weeks prior to the career fair. No refunds will be given after that date. All refund requests must be in writing and sent to recruiting@vanderbilt.edu. No cancellations will be taken over the phone, in-person, or after a cancellation deadline.
  • Interviews
    • Interviews that occur during Fall Commodore Career Week or Spring Career Fair Week are Room Reservation interviews only. The VU Career Center team will create an interview schedule on your behalf but cannot support Pre-Select or Open schedules during those two weeks each year. All employers are responsible for creating and managing interview schedules for post-expo and post-career fair interviews.
      • Interviews held during these two weeks will also incur a fee.
  • Outstanding Payment Policy
    • Outstanding unpaid bills from previous events and other recruiting services will prevent employers from using our other services in the future, including registering for an upcoming career event. Once your unpaid invoice has been paid, your event registration may be approved.

Job Postings

  • The VU Career Center will support posting opportunities for Full-Time, Internship, and Experiential Education opportunities. These roles will be automatically approved as long as they match our approval criteria.
    • If they do not meet the approval criteria, they will be reviewed by a member of the External Partner Engagement Team.
  • The VU Career Center does not post part-time or co-op opportunities.
    • To promote these opportunities to students, please visit the HireADore student employment portal to request an account and post your opportunity for Vanderbilt students.
  • If a member of the Vanderbilt Community would like to post an internship or full-time opportunity on Handshake, it must be posted through VU HR first.

Full-Time, Internship, or Experiential Education opportunities will not be auto-approved, and will be manually reviewed by a member of the External Partner Engagement Team, if they fall within any of the following categories:

Employers are tagged on Handshake with:

  • Cannabis
  • Firearms
  • Gambling
  • Multi-Level Marketing
  • Upfront costs
  • Regional legal considerations
  • Third party recruiter or staffing
  • Ideological/religious
  • Alcohol/tobacco
  • Adult entertainment
  • If the job is listed as Unpaid
  • If the job or employer is located outside of the United States
  • If the job is located at a residential address
  • If the job role is one of the following:
    • Lawyers
    • Veterinarians
    • Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
    • Dentists, Orthodontists, Prosthodontists, and Oral and Maxofillial Surgeons
    • Physicians and Surgeons
    • Judges, Magistrates, and Other Judicial Workers

Manual review of jobs does not guarantee approval.