Student & Alumni Policies

Due to the increase in traffic, the University Career Center asks that you arrive on time to all appointments to maintain the best possible service we can provide. Students who are more than 10 minutes late for an appointment will be asked to reschedule their appointment in order to maximize the time a career advisor can spend on your career development.

The UCC does not accept same-day appointments due to the nature of the assistance we provide. This policy allows our career advisors to maximize the amount of research and resources they can prepare for you before your time with them.

Cancellations

Appointments with Career Advisors are important to a student’s career development. To allow as many students as possible to meet with their advisor, we ask that students cancel appointments at least 48 hours prior to their appointment time which would allow for another student to take that appointment space.

No Shows

In the instance a student does not cancel or show up for an appointment, the following will occur:

If a student misses one appointment without cancelling, Career Advisors will send an email to the student on how to reschedule the appointment and state the no-show policy and warn about a 2nd no show.

After two appointments without cancelling, Career Advisors will send an email to the student that the student is unable to schedule an appointment with an advisor for the remainder of the semester. After the 2^nd missed appointment, the student will only be allowed to seek assistance via email from their career advisor or receive assistance from PCAs during drop-in hours for the remainder of the semester.

Mock Interviews

Students must email the career advisor a copy of their resume and a sample job description at least 2 days in advance to allow the advisor time to prepare for the mock interview. Students should wear business professional attire.

Drop-In Hours

The UCC office has a team of Peer Career Ambassadors available Monday – Friday from 10am – 4pm (when classes are in session) to get you started on your career path and to help you maximize the resources available. They are on hand to assist you in scheduling with a career advisor if needed.

Computer Usage

Students are allowed to use the Career Center computers to print a maximum of 10 pages for career related materials such as resumes, cover letters, personal statements, or other career related materials.

Assistance Available to Distance Students and Alumni

The University Career Center is committed to providing high quality services to all our students and alumni (limitations apply) of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Many of our students and alumni can be found throughout the United States and internationally. Every effort will be made to provide specific opportunities in your geographic location.

To accommodate distance students and alumni, the University Career Center offers email, Skype, and telephone appointments. Topics for these appointments can include: resume development, interviewing skills, salary negotiation strategies, job search strategies, understanding how to use our online services, as well as many other career-related topics.

Join one of our many campus-wide recruitment venues to meet with recruiters directly. For more information, check out our events calendar.

Eligibility

• UNC Charlotte students and alumnae are allowed to attend.
• Many career fairs are open to students/alumni from other colleges/universities - check the event page for specific information about who the event is open to.
• UNC Charlotte students and alumni are expected to present themselves professionally.
• Some events have a required dress code.
• The UCC reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone whose attire is offensive, inflammatory, or does not meet the dress code.

In order for a student to take the Strong Interest Inventory or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), students must first obtain log-in credentials.

Log-in credentials can be obtained by:

• Meeting with your career advisor through a Career Exploration appointment
• Meeting with an academic advisor at the University Advising Center or CLAS advising center
• Visiting our self-assessment website

Some free assessment resources (Including Focus-2, O*Net and CFNC) are available online or by visiting during our PCA (Peer Career Ambassador) drop-in hours, Monday – Friday, 10am-4pm (when classes are in session).

Students who have an appointment to interpret an assessment must take their assessment at least 2 days before their appointment.

Career Treks Cancellation & No Show Policy

Career Trek Cancellations

If a Career Trek has less than five registrants, it will be cancelled unless the host employer states otherwise.

Student Cancellations

If you must cancel your reservation to participate in a Career Trek, contact the Career Treks program manager (Jay Skipworth, jay.skipworth@uncc.edu) with a detailed email explaining why you are no longer able to attend.

Students that cancel their reservation within 48 hours of the Career Trek itself are considered No Shows and must follow the consequences listed below.

Advice for Conducting an Ethical Employment Search

The University Career Center counsels students to conduct an ethical job search. Students are urged to cease their job search upon accepting an offer. They are highly encouraged, when faced with an offer, to…

• Ask the offering employer for 24 hours to consider.
• Then contact any "first choice" employer(s) they have engaged, for which they would rather work, and inform the employer, they have the offer and ask if the employer could hire them. 
• Students should not accept an offer until they have made such contact and are satisfied they will stay with their chosen employer.

Student Offer Acceptance Expectation

UNC Charlotte expects any student accepting a job offer to honor their commitment to the accepted position and company.

Often called, “reneging,” to renege is to go back on a promise, undertaking, or contract.

Our office will not tolerate reneging on offers. Not only is reneging inconsiderate and unprofessional, it casts a poor reflection on UNC Charlotte and damages the relationship between the Career Center and the Employer. This could negatively impact other students' opportunities with the employer. Additionally, recruiters discuss candidates with one another and this could damage your reputation as you are job seeking. After you have given your decision careful consideration and accepted an offer, end your intern/job search. Inform other employers who have extended offers or that you have applied with that you have accepted another position. Do not accept further interview invitations or search further.

• If you renege on a full-time offer, you will be suspended from using Hire-A-Niner or alumni services provided by the Career Center until the issue is resolved*.
• If you renege on an internship offer, your access to Hire-A-Niner will be suspended until the issue is resolved*.

International students on F1 visas will not be issued another CPT (Curricular Practical Training) authorization if they renege on an opportunity.

This policy deals with you reneging on your commitment to a company. It does not address a company revoking its commitment to you. If this type of situation occurs, please contact the director of the University Career Center.

First semester students (freshmen, transfers, graduate students) are assigned a 9.9 GPA in Hire-A-Niner their first semester in order to access all jobs, co-ops/internships, on-campus recruiting opportunities etc., for which GPA would otherwise be used by an employer to restrict application. Once their first semester grades are complete and recorded on their transcript, the student’s earned GPA will be uploaded into Hire-A-Niner, and accurately updated through graduation.

Job Postings

Students and alumni should understand that:

• Registration with Hire-A-Niner* does not guarantee job placement and that the employing organizations, and not the University Career Center, make all hiring decisions. 
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to research and evaluate job leads and job offers. The UCC is not responsible for any misrepresentation or inaccuracy of job announcements. 
• The UCC acts as a referral service only and makes no recommendations regarding employers or jobs. We make no representations or guarantees about position vacancies posted on Hire-A-Niner. The UCC is not responsible for safety, wages, working conditions, or other aspects of employment. Due to the volume of job vacancies received, we are unable to research the integrity of each organization or person who posts a job. 

*Symplicity is an outside vendor purchased by the UCC to manage job postings, resumes, and other vendors for student usage. This system is called Hire-A-Niner.

Collected Information

The University Career Center collects student and alumni registration information, electronic copies of student and alumni resumes, cover letters, and any other material students and alumni choose to share with us. Through the use of an account with our office, students and alumni provide all information in the form of an online profile or resume. This information is maintained in databases housed on servers such as Hire-A-Niner. This information is accessible solely by representatives of the career center and is not available to employers.

Release of Information

University Career Center staff members disseminate student and alumni resumes to employers under the following conditions:

• Candidates have indicated consent by placing their resume in a Resume Book
• Candidates have sent their resume in for a Resume Collection

The University Career Center, through Hire-A-Niner, serves as a “clearinghouse” for posting all experiential learning opportunities (Internships, Cooperative Education, Academic Credit Internships, CPT) for the entire University in order to provide a fair and equitable way for all students to access opportunities. This is a free service for both students and employers.

Remote Internships

While internships allowing students to work remotely will be considered, the employer's offer letter must clearly state…

1. The name of the direct supervisor who will monitor the virtual assignment.
2. How often the student's progress will be checked.
3. The technology used to communicate between supervisor and student (Skype, email, etc.)

1099 Independent Contractor Employment

F1 students cannot be hired as Independent Contractors requiring a 1099 Form as part of the employment arrangement. Students must be hired as an actual employee, in an established, structured, company internship that adheres to UNC Charlotte's CPT/Internship criteria, per the University Career Center and International Student and Scholar policies.

Third Party Employer Opportunities

On occasion, employers will use "Third-Party Employers," to help them recruit, hire, and pay talent. Third Party Employers are defined as agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities other than for their own needs. The University Career Center has specific policies about working with Third Party Employers, which are informed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and outlined on our website.

Foremost among our policies we require that "Third-Party Employers must disclose in Hire-A-Niner the name of the organization and position(s) that is being recruited for; this information will be viewable by UCC staff only (not students or alumni)."

The UNC Charlotte University Career Center is concerned that opportunities to be designated "internships" and approved for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for F-1 international students comply with safety, quality, and accountability standards set by national professional practice and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations. International students seeking CPT via the UCC can assist us in this assurance by asking Third Party Employers who want to extend letters of offer to provide the University Career Center the following: 

1. The name of the contracting organization and their main contact at that organization.
2. An official job description containing the job title, job description with learning objectives/goals, desired qualifications, skills and knowledge needed, and desired major(s) as each relates to the student's academic course work.
3. A letter of offer which is written on company letterhead, containing the prospective employer's name, the name of the direct supervisor of the student within the company location, the physical location/address of proposed internship (no P.O. Boxes), a start date and end date of employment, and the number of work hours per week. 

CPT Via the University Career Center will not be approved if the above steps are not followed explicitly.

F-1 International students with questions about their offer through a Third Party Employer or Third Party representatives, themselves, are asked to use our "Who to Contact with Questions" web link to get answers.

Additional Guidelines for Unpaid Internships

Internships can be paid or unpaid. Employers providing unpaid internships may advertise on Hire-A-Niner, however, the position description must adhere to U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division standards for internship programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Please visit our Co-op Program and CPT via the University Career Center pages for additional program requirements.

If you no show for an on-campus interview, mock interview, and/or Career Trek, or if you cancel your registration within 48 hours of the event, the University Career Center will restrict you access to Hire-A-Niner by blocking* your account. The University Career Center takes no shows and last minute cancellations very seriously. For organizations to participate in recruitment and/or career development events, professionals give up their client-facing time to come and meet with UNC Charlotte students. This time translates into money for the organization and the professional. If you no show for an on-campus interview,, mock interview, and/or Career Trek, you demonstrate a disrespect for the organization and professional’s time.

 All no-show actions also directly affect the rest of the UNC Charlotte community. First, a classmate interested in connecting with the host company/organization could have filled the no-show time slot. Second, no-show actions directly influence UNC Charlotte’s reputation with an organization. The last thing that we want is for professionals and organizations to leave campus with an unfavorable impression of UNC Charlotte students.

 If your account has been blocked due to your no-show or last minute cancellation (within 48 hours of the event), you can regain access to your account and University Career Center events, job postings and on-campus interviews by writing a letter of apology within 5 business days of your missed interview/mock interview/Career Trek. Review your letter for errors and choose the appropriate recipient associated with the event you missed:

• On-campus Interviews: recruit@uncc.edu.
• Mock Interview Program: Matthew French (mkfrench@uncc.edu)
• Career Treks: Jessie Simonik (jessica.simonik@uncc.edu)

 We will forward the acceptable letter of apology to the professional who was impacted by your actions and remove the block on your account.

 If we do not receive the letter of apology within 5 business days, your Hire-A-Niner account will remain blocked. To regain access, you will need to schedule an appointment with your Career Advisor for professional coaching. You will have access to Hire-A-Niner to schedule an appointment with your advisor. Please include your no-show activity as the reason for your appointment.

 * If you are scheduled for subsequent career advising or recruiting activities including Career Treks, mock interviews or on-campus interviewing, you are responsible for showing up and monitoring your calendar in the absence of reminders from Hire-A-Niner.

The University Career Center partners with employers from a variety of industries to conduct On-Campus Interviews. This program brings employers to campus to interview students for positions within their organization. With research and proper preparation, you can demonstrate why you are the right candidate for the position. Apply to interview for full- and part-time positions, internships, and co-ops through your Hire-A-Niner account.

Cancellations

Students may not cancel an interview or any other RSVP employer-sponsored event (On-Campus Interviews, Employer Office Hours, Company Treks, Employer Lunch & Learns, etc.) without prior approval from the UCC office after the signup period closes the final schedule. If a schedule is being handled manually by the University Career Center, it may not be canceled without prior approval from the University Career Center AND within 48 hours (within 2 business days) of the interview day.