Lindner College of Business » Co-op & Hiring » Hire a Co-op Student » Recruiting Policies

Employer Recruiting Policies

The University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business is committed to diversity and inclusivity in all hiring and employment practices. The Lindner Career Services Center (LCSC) aims to create an environment in which students are educated and supported to make informed employment decisions, and in which all employers have equitable and balanced circumstances to conduct recruiting.  

All employment professionals participating in LCSC’s recruiting and hiring are expected to adhere to recruiting guidelines and work within a framework of professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, selection, and offer practices as outlined by Principles for Professional Conduct set forth by NACE and the EEOC guidelines. 

All employers must be deemed legitimate organizations and provide verifiable information such as business name, physical address, contact name, email address, phone number and website.

Approved employers who utilize LCSC’s services must agree to the following:

LCSC adheres to the NACE policy, which states that serving alcohol should not be a part of the recruitment process. Therefore, all recruiting activities, including all student engagement events, will be alcohol-free.

All materials received from our students (letters, resumes, transcripts, via email or hard copy), will be shared only with those persons at the employer involved in the hiring process.

LCSC prohibits any commercial selling or solicitation on campus that is not sponsored or sanctioned by the university.

LCSC reserves the right to exclude any employer from recruiting activities and to edit, delete or refuse any employer profile or job posting at any time. Failure to follow the policies outlined above could result in loss of access to University of Cincinnati's Handshake database.

The hosting of employer, job and internship information in our Handshake database should not be considered an expressed or implied endorsement by LCSC or The University of Cincinnati of the organizations posting the positions, or the positions posted.

The views, information or opinions expressed by employers participating in career events are solely those of the employer(s) involved and do not necessarily represent those of LCSC or The University of Cincinnati.

Email LCSC if you have questions regarding employer policies or procedures not addressed here.

Employers are prohibited from falsely advertising the nature of the work that students will perform in the co-op. The job description must accurately reflect the duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required for the position. Employers must not intentionally mislead or withhold information that would impact a student's decision to accept a co-op offer. Employers must ensure that the role offered is consistent with the job description and tasks discussed during the interview process.

LCSC will not post any job or position that requires a financial investment from our students or alumni. Your postings cannot require any employment fees or purchase requirements (examples include: opportunities that require the purchase of supplies or training kits, fee-based placements or training, etc.).

In addition, the employer will not charge the university or student any fee for services.

University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business students and alumni seeking employment can connect to employers with employment opportunities by utilizing Handshake. Use of this tool is strictly limited to career-related activities; under no circumstances is the information submitted by students, alumni, and employers to be used for any purpose other than job/applicant seeking activities. Violation of this exclusive use policy will result in removal from the system.

Handshake requires companies to have a legitimate email address associated with their employer/organization website domain (no Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.), a functioning website (Facebook or other social media sites cannot take the place of a website), and an address that is easily identifiable as a place of business. Addresses cannot be an employee’s personal residence.

The LCSC reserves the right to decline any positions that do not match the mission and goals of the co-op program.  Examples are:

  • Work in private homes such as childcare, tutoring, nanny, moving, maintenance, etc.
  • Opportunities outside of the United States of America (company/organization must be headquartered in the United States to be able to post opportunities.)
  • Positions that pay for work in cash or other informal work/pay arrangements, including Commission Only positions (Students MUST receive a W-2 or Form 1099 from Employers)
  • Teaching English Abroad
  • Summer camp positions
  • Volunteer or unpaid positions
  • Fast food, catering, bartending, or other food service

The following organizations are not eligible to utilize LCSC services:

  • Involved in the production/promotion of marijuana
  • Adult industry, escort services, or similar organizations
  • “Network,” “matrix,” or “pyramid” marketing organizations

All opportunities posted to Handshake must be for full time, internship, or cooperative education and require a college degree or active student status/pursuing degree, unless permitted elsewhere in this policy.

At the University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business, we strive to provide our students with meaningful and valuable internship experiences. To ensure the quality of these opportunities, we reserve the right to deny Handshake postings and campus recruiting requests that contain false or incomplete information, or do not meet our standards for a bona fide internship experience.

LCSC follows the direction of the university for inclement weather. When The University of Cincinnati is closed, LCSC is closed, and all events are canceled. The Employer Relations team will work with employers on the best strategy to reschedule canceled events.

In compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, interviews must be made available to all interested students who meet the permanent work authorization requirements, regardless of their citizenship. If United States citizenship is required by your company, please indicate this requirement in the job description of any position for which you are recruiting. Please see the U.S. Department of Justice “Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers” for more information and guidelines.

We expect employer partners to honor all offers made to students, to communicate openly throughout the process, and to provide a reasonable timeline for students to make informed decisions. All offers must be made in writing. Written offers can be in electronic or hard copy form. The start of the offer decision timeline is determined by the date of the written offer letter.

Employers must not place excessive pressure on students to accept a job or co-op offer. The University of Cincinnati does not allow the use of exploding offers. An “exploding offer” is one that a) requires students to decide on an offer within a very short amount of time or b) provides incentives (diminishing bonuses, location preferences) encouraging students to accept offers early.

Early Offers: For students who receive offers for internships or full-time positions before the start of the next academic year, the offer should remain open until the Fall semester preceding the summer internship or full-time start date.

Internship to Full-Time: For students receiving a full-time offer after an internship, it is best that the offer remains open for a minimum of 4 weeks from the date of the written offer or until the Fall semester, whichever comes later.

Fall Recruiting: For students receiving offers for internships or full-time positions during fall recruiting season (that are not early offers), it is best that the offer remain open for a minimum of 4 weeks from the date of the written offer or until the Fall semester, whichever comes later.

Spring Recruiting: For students who receive offers during the spring recruiting season (that are not early offers), it is best that the offer remains open for a minimum of 3 weeks from the date of the written offer.

Part-time vs. Full-time Co-op Timeline: Students accepting full-time offers should do so before the drop date of classes each semester. This will allow them to retain a full refund.

  • Fall 2023- September 4
  • Spring 2024- January 22
  • Summer 2024- May 20

Students accepting part-time offers can extend their waiting period until the co-op reporting deadline. ALL students on co-op during any semester need to report their co-op on Handshake by these dates.

  • Fall 2023- October 15
  • Spring 2024- February 15
  • Summer 2024- June 15

LCSC forbids discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, arrest record, or disability and will comply with EEO, ADA and Civil Rights Laws.

We expect the employer to make reasonable accommodations for a disabled person so that they may participate in the recruitment process.

Positions with sales-related job descriptions must include a form of guaranteed compensation (base salary, hourly wage, or stipend). Options for guaranteed compensation can be an hourly base pay and/or a stipend. If compensation consists of a stipend, it must be received by the student no later than the start date of the co-op (internship).

A commission-only compensation package will not satisfy this policy. Commission is defined as a monetary amount of compensation that is not guaranteed and is typically dependent on meeting a performance standard that may/may not be realistic.  Professional development perks such as conferences, workshops, and training provided by an employer will not serve as valid substitutes for guaranteed compensation.

Third-party recruiters who wish to post opportunities within the LCSC job database, Handshake, must agree to the following terms and conditions:

  • The third-party recruiter must agree to disclose the name of the employer, as well as the position description. The client's name must appear in the title of the position.
  • Students and alumni will not be charged a fee for the third-party recruiter’s services.

This agreement will remain in effect for all positions posted through the third-party recruiter. We reserve the right to refuse or remove any postings that do not adhere to our terms and conditions. Any violation of these terms will result in the loss of access to LCSC Handshake.

Companies hiring 1099 or independent contractor positions are not eligible for any on-campus recruiting activities. They may, however, post positions on Handshake and must include the following disclaimer in the posting:

"This is a 1099 position. Persons paid on a 1099 basis are independent contractors and are self-employed. Independent contractors (you) are required to pay out of your remuneration all self-employment taxes (Social Security & Medicare), income taxes, worker's disability compensation and health or other insurances. These will NOT be withheld or paid by the client for which you are working. Independent contractors generally do not receive employment benefits from the client or person for which they are working. For more information, please refer to www.irs.gov or talk with a tax professional."