Employer Recruiting Guidelines & Procedures

For a successful Handshake account registration, employers must:

• Complete all required sections.
• Provide as much information as possible to help students research and learn about your organization and opportunity.
• Provide a professional website and matching contact domain email address (e.g., no personal, Gmail, or Yahoo accounts allowed).
• Represent a recognized business with a business location and address. Personal requests/postings are prohibited. Remote businesses without an office location are considered for postings and must be in compliance with our Statement of Understanding & Compliance for Remote Companies.

HireUTexas welcomes SATP postings that adhere to our recruiting policies. SATP recruiters (e.g., employment/staffing agencies) must sign the Staffing Agency Statement of Understanding and Compliance. This form details the compliance guidelines created to protect student and alumni materials and contact information when connecting with employers via a SATP.

The university will not accept companies or positions related to the study, cultivation, use, or distribution of recreational or medical marijuana. As the use of marijuana is illegal at the federal level, we must comply with federal law. In addition, the use of marijuana violates the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act and continues to be banned on campus.

Hemp Exception: If a company is licensed to research, produce, and/or market hemp, then internship or work experience solely within that specific hemp-based industry will be considered for review. The company must provide Texas Career Engagement formal evidence of state licensure and a written attestation that they are compliant with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations in order to be considered.

HireUTexas job postings are reviewed and approved/declined based upon the information you provide in your posting. All posted opportunities must:

• Include a professional website to help evaluate the opportunity, and recruiters must use a professional/organization-related email address in the contact field (e.g., no Gmail or Yahoo accounts).
• Be used for the hiring of candidates for your human resource needs or the human resource needs of your clients; job postings cannot be used to advertise events, services, or programs (e.g., career fairs, test prep, placement or learning programs, etc.).
• Include an English language website if your organization is based outside the U.S. and must be hiring for your internal needs (i.e., no placement programs are allowed); for employment outside of the U.S., employers are advised to use the following language when stating applicant qualifications: “must be legally eligible for hire in the country of employment.”
• Not include fees or purchase requirements for employment (e.g., fee-based training, fee-based placements, or positions requiring the purchase of supplies or a training kit).
• Not require employees to market/promote or create/develop free or fee-based programs, products, services, events, etc. and/or collect student information on the UT Austin campus on behalf of an organization. Such roles are prohibited and not in compliance with Regents’ Rules and Regulations.
• Not include referral bonuses.
• Align with the goals of the university and provide experiences for the development of marketable skills and career competencies that ensure continued career growth.
• Explicitly and transparently describe straight commission-based salary structures so that students are aware and informed when evaluating opportunities.

Texas Career Engagement believes that experiential learning opportunities, such as internships, create high-impact experiences for students and should be for the primary benefit of the intern. Both paid and unpaid opportunities will be reviewed and fully vetted if they align with the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet “primary beneficiary” test, and with NACE’s Criteria for an Internship to be Defined as an Internship.

• Positions that do not comply with Department of Labor regulations listed above will not be approved (both paid and unpaid).
• Positions requiring interns or employees to market/promote or create/develop free or fee-based programs, products, services, events, etc. and/or collect student information on the UT Austin campus on behalf of an organization are prohibited and not in compliance with Regents’ Rules and Regulations.
• Commission-only internships are prohibited.
• Stipend-based internships are allowable and must meet the federal minimum wage requirement.
• Remote/virtual internships, both paid and unpaid, will be considered and must comply with Department of Labor regulations and NACE’s criteria to ensure a high-impact experience.
• Opportunities that provide all resources, equipment, and facilities are highly favored.
• Postings for internships located outside of Austin that take place during the academic year are allowable, but please note that some UT Austin colleges and schools do not allow their students to accept these positions.
• Summer internships may require students to work up to 40 hours per week. See related federal labor laws on overtime.

Unpaid internships must pass the Department of Labor’s “primary beneficiary” test. If the opportunity is to the primary beneficiary of the employer, then the opportunity should be paid. Unpaid internships that require students to pay out-of-pocket expenses are prohibited; examples include unpaid internships requiring students to pay for gas to run internship-related errands, purchase software, or provide their own equipment and facilities. Additional unpaid and internship wage resources are available at NACE.

Decisions regarding whether or not a student will be able to receive academic credit for an internship are made at the academic departmental level, not at the university level. The student is responsible for initiating the application for academic credit with the academic department.

Each college and school has its own career center that manages employer relations and recruiting processes related to students in their particular majors. Please contact the college or school directly to learn about specific guidelines within these programs.

Career Center Directory

We welcome you to explore the following university recruiting guidelines and applicable federal, state, and local employment laws referenced above.

•   Fair Labor Standards Act
•   National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Principles for Ethical Professional Practice
•   NACE Seven Criteria for Internships – Position Statement: U.S. Internships
•   UT Austin Non-Discrimination & Equal Opportunity policy
•   The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
•   The Americans with Disabilities Act
•   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
•   Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964