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Recruiting Policies

  • Williams College is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive community in which members of all backgrounds can live, learn and thrive. In compliance with state and federal law, Williams does not discriminate in admission, employment, or administration of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, or military service. Employers utilizing the ‘68 Center services (including job postings and student interviewing) are required to abide by Williams College's non-discrimination policy. 

    The ’68 Center for Career Exploration at Williams also adheres to the principles of professional conduct set forth by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and reserves the right to deny service to any employer that fails to meet these standards. You may review these guidelines online at www.naceweb.org/ principles.

  • The Williams College '68 Center for Career Exploration reserves the right to reject any job or internship posting.

    Handshake is intended for jobs and internships that are appropriate for current students and recent alumni. As such, the following types of positions will NOT be approved:

    • Campus/brand ambassador positions
    • Commission only positions
    • International admissions consulting or tutoring positions
    • Positions or volunteer opportunities that require students to pay a fee or make an investment prior to employment
    • Placement agencies/organizations offering unspecified opportunities to teach abroad
    • Third-party recruiters, unless the name of your client and the job title are clearly indicated in the job or internship posting.
    • Positions that don’t align with this list of Williams majors.
    • Positions that don’t require a four-year college degree.

  • Employers may host events and presentations about their organization. While these meetings can be valuable for both students and employers, we caution that it can be difficult to build an audience at various times of year and/or if students are not familiar with your organization. While we cannot guarantee student attendance, we will work with you to design and execute a robust event marketing strategy.

    Requesting an Event
    All recruiting events must be requested on Handshake and confirmed by the External Relations team. Confirmation is required prior to our office promoting your event details.

    Please contact the External Relations team at [email protected] once you have submitted your event request so we can expedite its review.

    Dress Code
    We encourage students to attend on campus networking and recruiting events in “smart” casual or business casual attire. For virtual events students may not always be able to find a clean, quiet location to participate in the event. As such, we ask that you please forgive any distracting backgrounds and/or noises that you might encounter during the event. 

    Giveaways (Swag)
    The goal of creating a sustainable campus is something every Williams student, faculty and staff member plays a part in, and we are committed to supporting this initiative. As such, we do not allow employers to bring any giveaways (pens, water bottles, etc.) to on campus events with the exception of career fairs.

    Food at Events
    The food you serve must be consumable without the use of utensils. The amount of food being served must be approved by the External Relations team prior to placing the food order. We reserve the right to refuse the delivery of food amounts that are excessive when compared to the expected number of students. 

    If you plan to follow the common practice of serving pizza at events, please refer to this calculator to help determine the size of your order. Please use the Hunger Level “Not Very” for the calculation. 

  • Please note that the below policy can change at any time; please make sure that you review our policy before any virtual or on-campus recruiting activities.

    Williams holds the conviction that students must have the opportunity to explore a variety of opportunities in order to make effective career decisions. A student who makes a hasty or ill-considered decision regarding employment precludes his or her exploration of these options, which can lead to reneging on job offers. We appreciate your partnership in extending students’ time to reflect on the right next step for them.

    All employers that utilize and benefit from the ’68 Center's resources and services, including our Handshake platform, must provide a minimum of two to three weeks for the acceptance timeframe starting from when a student receives a written outline of the position and offer. This time frame is designed to increase the likelihood of a better outcome for both the employer and student alike.

    If you are actively recruiting for a position with a start date that is more than a year out (i.e., recruiting in fall ‘22 for summer ‘24 opportunities), we require that you provide the student a minimum of 30 days from the time the student receives a written outline of the position and offer. Please note that the ‘68 Center expects that recruiters will provide Williams students with a similar acceptance timeframe as other institutions.  

    If employers choose not to follow the policies and deadlines outlined above students will be encouraged to act in their best self-interest, and the employers assume the risk of offer acceptance reneges. 

    No Exploding Offers

    We expect employers to honor all offers made to students. Exploding offers are prohibited and refer to any condition that places undue pressure on the student to accept early (e.g., “We have 10 offers outstanding for 8 openings and will accept the first 8 students who accept,” or “We will extend an offer if you agree to accept today,” etc.).

    To avoid any misunderstandings, we suggest that you provide students with written confirmation of job offers and details.

    On our end, we make certain that students are aware of on-campus interviewing policies and the consequences of failing to appear for an interview or backing out of an offer. Please let us know if you experience any concerns about a candidate from Williams.

  • The '68 Center only offers services to third-party staffing agencies if the agencies are recruiting for currently available positions at their client companies. In addition, the names of the agencies' client companies and the titles and position descriptions of the open positions must be disclosed to the students before the students apply for those positions.

    The '68 Center will not work with nor promote third-party staffing agencies that wish to engage with Williams students to build a future talent pipeline for their clients. We understand that these agencies may be providing students with valuable tips and insights and that they may be able to connect students with attractive future opportunities. The agencies' ultimate goal, however, is to generate fees by delivering qualified candidates to their clients. The '68 Center does not use its resources nor Williams students to create revenue streams for any for-profit companies.

  • While cannabis is now legal in Massachusetts, it remains illegal under United States federal law. As an institution that benefits from federal funding, Williams College entirely prohibits the use of cannabis via our code of conduct.  This applies to students in both on-and off-campus housing, and it applies when students are engaged in college-sponsored activities away from campus.

    The ‘68 Center for Career Exploration Statement on Cannabis Industry Career Opportunities

    Williams College is cognizant of the emerging industry surrounding the sale of legal cannabis, and we appreciate the industry’s interest in finding talent. At the same time, the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act disallows the unlawful possession, use, and distribution of illicit drugs, including cannabis. If Williams College fails to comply with the Act, we could become ineligible for federal funding, including financial aid for our students and research funding.

    Until there is a clear resolution of this conflict between state and federal laws, the Williams ‘68 Center for Career Exploration (the ‘68 Center) is unable to include cannabis-related employers in on-campus recruiting activities, nor are we able to promote off-campus cannabis-related career events, with the exception of those organized by regulatory, compliance, oversight, or research organizations that are federally sanctioned. Select employers from the field will be allowed to post opportunities on our online job board, Handshake, provided that their organizations are not involved in the sale, production, or distribution of cannabis products, or in any other components of the cannabis industry.

    More specifically, the ‘68 Center:

    • will not host or promote events or postings for job-shadowing, internship, or postgraduate job opportunities related to cannabis growing, testing, production, distribution, retail sales, promotion, and tourism.
    • will post opportunities focused on compliance, regulation, research, and development within the cannabis industry.

The ‘68 Center for Career Exploration reserves the right to revise its policies at any time.