UNLV maximizes career employment and internship opportunities for its students and alumni by offering a range of services to facilitate the recruitment of prospective candidates. These services include, but are not limited to, job/internship postings, on-campus recruiting, career fairs, and information sessions. UNLV requires that any recruiting organization or individual utilizing these services must agree to the Terms and Conditions found below and abide by all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws, including Equal Employment Opportunity laws, University of Nevada, Las Vegas rules and regulations, and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Principles for Employment Professionals.
By acting in accordance with these policies and guidelines, individuals and organizations can help UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development maintain a professional, fair, and successful environment for all parties concerned. These policies reflect the expectations of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Career Services central office and include Engineering Career Services, Lee Business School Career & Professional Development, and College of Hospitality Boughner Career Center. Other departments on campus may implement their own additional set of guidelines depending on the program or service.
Cannabis Policy
Although marijuana (cannabis) is legal under certain conditions in the state of Nevada, it is not legal under federal law. To ensure compliance with federal law, UNLV Career Services will not post internship or work opportunities at companies that may possess or come into contact with marijuana products. Additionally, UNLV Career Services will not support internships for credit or non-credit where a student may come into contact with marijuana products (including work with a company’s clients, attendance at marijuana conventions, etc.).
The Drug Free Schools and Communities Act 1989 (DFSCA) provides, “as a condition of receiving funds or any form of financial assistance under any Federal program, an institution of Higher Education must certify that it has adopted and implemented a program to prevent the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs or alcohol by students and employees.” Further, under the DFSCA, institutions of Higher Education must employ “standards of conduct that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students and employees on its property or as part of its activities.”
Dispensaries (i.e. retail shops), cultivators or manufacturers of THC infused edibles are examples of businesses that directly work with marijuana, a Schedule 1 federally illicit drug. However, many businesses fall into a gray area including ancillary (e.g. a grow-light manufacturer) businesses, real estate leasing businesses, consumption device and consulting businesses among others. Requests of UNLV Career Services that may involve ancillary businesses connected to the marijuana industry will be reviewed to ensure compliance with state and federal law. UNLV is committed to the ongoing protection of student access and eligibility for federal financial aid.
Handshake Portal Policies
The UNLV Handshake system is a web-based portal for publicizing all verified full-time career opportunities, internships, and related part-time, seasonal, and short-term positions. The site is designed to accommodate recruiting activities for all employers looking to hire current UNLV students and alumni to enhance their career trajectories. All recruiting organizations and their representatives are expected to accurately describe their organization, positions, and position requirements when posting their information on Handshake or when representing their opportunities at any campus recruiting events.
UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development reserves the right to refuse service to organizations or individuals due to any of the following:
- Requiring personal information at the time of application, such as bank and social security numbers
- Misrepresentation, whether defined by dishonest information or absence of information
- Fraud
- Harassment of UNLV students, alumni, or staff
- Breach of confidentiality as required by the Family
- Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Failure to adhere to UNLV employer guidelines and violation of UNLV rules and regulations
- Any violation of local, state, or federal laws
- Account suspension for not abiding by Handshake Terms and Conditions
- Addresses found to be a residential address or linked to an alternate business name
- Lack of contact information
- Company email addresses from private domains such as Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, etc.
- Flags from other institutions regarding improper conduct
- Requests from businesses aiming to launch their business by selling a product or service
- Requests from organizations to build their membership numbers
- Organizations whose industry type or other classifications are contrary to UNLV, state, or federal rules, regulations, or laws.
UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development reserves the right to reject or withdraw approval of job or internship posting requests due to any of the following:
- Inclusion of information that is found to be fraudulent
- Failure to provide the requested information to verify a position, including questions regarding position location, payment information, or position duties/responsibilities
- Failure to provide the requested information to verify an internship, including questions regarding paid/unpaid classification, supervision/mentorship provided, internship duties/responsibilities, or workspace
- Failure to adhere to deadlines provided for submitting the necessary information
- Account suspension for not abiding by Handshake Terms and Conditions
- Multi-level marketing opportunities
- Jobs that require payment by the applicant for the opportunity
- Jobs that require payment to apply
- Jobs that include job duties inconsistent with the business type
- Jobs that appear to be hiring for positions that are of a personal nature, such as a babysitter, nanny, tutor, personal assistant, etc. but are being posted by a business
- Positions that are potentially discriminatory in nature without a clear rationale as to why
- Positions whose industry type, work duties, or other classifications are contrary to UNLV, state, or federal rules, regulations, or laws.
Career Services and Workforce Development Expectations and Handshake Terms and Conditions
Your use of UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development and Handshake is deemed to constitute your binding agreement to the following terms. If you do not agree to these terms, please refrain from the use of any services provided by UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development, including Handshake.
The UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development provides venues for employers to advertise job opportunities, for job candidates to search for and evaluate job opportunities, and for employers and job candidates to communicate and exchange information. UNLV and Career Services & Workforce Development do not enter into any employer/employee relationship with any user of Career Services & Workforce Development or Handshake by virtue of their use. Career Services & Workforce Development is not directly involved in the actual recruitment and employment transactions between employers and candidates and, therefore, has no control over or responsibility for the quality, safety, or legality of the jobs/internships or resumes posted, the truth or accuracy of the listings or the parties’ representations regarding those positions, the ability of employers to offer job/internship opportunities to candidates, the ability of candidates to fill job/internship openings, or the behaviors of employers and candidates.
The UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development expects that all parties will exercise caution and common sense when using Handshake and other services. The Handshake site may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. Employers and candidates are solely responsible for the content of their postings on the job portal, and for any information they exchange through the portal when using other UNLV recruiting services. The Career Center does not represent or guarantee any such content or information's truth, accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. While the UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove job postings, resumes, or other material from Handshake per the guidelines provided above, the office does not assume any obligation to do so, and to the extent permitted by law, disclaims any liability for failing to take any such action. The UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development also cannot verify that users are who they claim to be, as user authentication is a complicated process. You acknowledge that your use of Handshake and other Career Services & Workforce Development services and your reliance on any content posted on the website or obtained through the services is at your own risk. Note that there are risks including, but not limited to, the risk of physical harm, interactions with strangers, underage persons, or people acting under false pretenses. You assume all risks associated with dealing with other users with whom you come in contact through the platform.
In the event of a dispute between one or more users of the Handshake job portal or UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development, you release the UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development and Handshake (and our agents and employees) from liability for any claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential, direct and indirect of every kind and nature, known and unknown), arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Special Employer Types
UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development defines third-party recruiters as agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities for other organizations rather than for their own internal positions. This includes entities that make referrals or recruit for-profit or not-for-profit, and it includes agencies that collect student information to be disclosed to employers for purposes of recruitment and employment. Examples of third-party recruiters include employment agencies, search firms, contract recruiters, venture capital firms acting on behalf of their portfolio companies, and online job posting or resume referral services.
Third-party recruiters may utilize UNLV job listing services, participate in on-campus recruiting, and attend select career fairs only if staffing their own organization or disclosing their employer client. They will be required to verify in advance whether they are recruiting for their own organizations or for their clients. Third-party firms who are recruiting for positions within their own organizations must clearly differentiate those opportunities from their client engagements. Failure to abide by these third-party requirements will result in loss of access to UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development resources and programs.
Third-party recruiters representing client organizations must:
- Verify that they charge no fees of any kind to student or alumni applicants
- Identify themselves as a third-party recruiter in their employer profile and all client job announcements
- Provide the Career Services & Workforce Development in advance with a list of the employer clients for whom they are recruiting, and, if requested after review, provide a copy of the retainer(s) signed by their employer client(s) authorizing them to act as their sole campus representatives
- Provide accurate position descriptions and include specific client names in all jobs posted on Handshake
- Only release candidate information provided to the identified employer in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Re-disclosure of candidate information to any other parties is not permitted.
Start-Ups and Residential-Based Businesses
UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development has established these criteria for identifying appropriate entrepreneurial employment opportunities for promotion through its services.
Start-ups must have progressed sufficiently in their business development process so that they can:
- Provide a company name, business address, business website, and email address, and identify a primary contact
- Verify that they are not seeking potential partners or investors
- Confirm that they have obtained the necessary business licenses and Tax IDs as well as sufficient funding, including identifying their funding model and investors, if requested
- Offer positions for pay, not just for equity; see Compensation and Fees below
- Provide clearly defined organization and position descriptions in Handshake
- UNLV does not allow positions or experiences at residential addresses. Positions and experiences should take place at a business address or virtually.
Position Offer Guidelines and Compensation And Fees
Recognizing that UNLV students and alumni need time to make informed decisions when comparing and responding to offers, and that employers need to be able to manage their time-sensitive recruitment processes effectively, the following guidelines are intended to provide students, alumni, and employers a fair and transparent framework for managing the offer phase of the process in an increasingly competitive job market:
- For all offers extended for internships, part-time, or full-time employment, employers are encouraged to allow a minimum of two weeks from the date of the written offer, but preferably longer, for students or alumni to accept or decline any offer.
- The written offer should clearly state all appropriate terms and conditions, including, but not limited to, position title/description, location, benefits, start date, salary, bonuses, etc.
- All bonuses or other incentives are to remain in full effect for the entire duration of the offer period.
- Students and alumni are encouraged to contact employers directly if they have any questions or concerns about their offers, including needing more time to make their decisions.
- Employers are requested to be flexible in granting offer extensions on a case-by-case basis if the circumstances warrant it.
UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development defines an improper offer as any offer which does not conform with the offer guidelines listed above. Students should not be pressured to accept offers “on the spot” or "early,” whether this is based upon a shorter timeframe for consideration overall and/or due to any special diminishing incentives attached, e.g., tiered or expiring bonuses, reduced options for location preferences, etc. UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development encourages all employers to refrain from such practices when recruiting UNLV students and alumni.
- Employers offering paid positions must pay at least the Nevada minimum wage or the applicable local minimum wage if higher (calculated over any time scale such as hourly, weekly, semi-monthly, monthly). Stipends, unpaid, or volunteer positions must meet the organizational definitions and requirements that allow them to do so legally (refer to resources for more information), and they must clearly state the pay status when posting their opportunities on Handshake. Consult your organization's legal counsel regarding any questions.
- Commission Sales Positions: If no initial base salary is provided, the form of remuneration should be clearly stated in the employer's job descriptions and at the time of the initial interviews.
- Recruitment for positions requiring monetary outlay by candidates for equipment and training is strongly discouraged. Students and alumni will be reluctant to apply for such positions. If fees are involved, this information must be explicitly included in the position description.
- Postings that request donations, application fees, or investments cannot be listed on Handshake.
UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development reserves the right to remove position listings on Handshake or decline further service to those employers who do not abide by these compensation/fee guidelines.
On-Campus Recruiting and Position Posting Guidelines
- On-campus recruiting may occur by request and will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis as location availability allows. Recruiters are asked to provide at least four weeks' notice to provide maximum scheduling ability for UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development.
- All verified full-time, part-time, seasonal, and short-term positions and other types of recruiting opportunities for small and large businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, on-campus employers, households, and individuals that conform with the Employer Policies noted above may be posted via Handshake. However, On-Campus Recruiting is intended for use by organizations recruiting for paid full-time career track and internship positions, not for part-time or volunteer positions.
- Preselection Screening Criteria: Major, school year, GPA, and work authorization are the screening criteria commonly used for positions in Handshake. Please enter your screening specifications carefully, but without being too restrictive, to ensure the best possible fully qualified applicant pool.
- On-Campus Recruiting (OCR) Reception Area as Neutral Territory: Employers are asked to respect the neutrality of the OCR reception areas. Students may feel uncomfortable talking to other employers while waiting to be called by their scheduled interviewers. Greeters are permitted as long as their presence does not create an unpleasant environment for students and other recruiters and does not interfere with other UNLV business.
- Testing: Employers must proctor/monitor any testing conducted in the UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development within space and time parameters arranged in advance with the Career Services & Workforce Development.
Confidentiality of Student Information
By completing the Handshake registration form and submitting resumes and other application materials for opportunities posted on Handshake, students provide the Career Services & Workforce Development with authorization to release employment materials to those selected prospective employers. Employment professionals must maintain the confidentiality of all student information released to them, regardless of the source, including personal documents, written records/reports, and computer databases. This means that there should be no disclosure of student information to another organization without the prior written consent of the student, unless necessitated by health and/or safety considerations, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Employment Eligibility
Employers are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel and establish legally permissible internal screening procedures before posting jobs or recruiting on campus. UNLV reserves the right to modify or remove any statements or job postings that include any potentially illegal or discriminatory language. The Department of Justice provides this resource on their Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers page.
Student Grade Point Averages (GPAs)
Students' GPAs are self-reported in Handshake, and the UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development does not verify the accuracy of student GPAs. Employers may include this information in their job descriptions as a point of information for potential candidates. Employers may also request unofficial grade reports or transcripts from students or alumni as part of their required application documents in order to verify academic performance.
Exceptions to Policies and Guidelines
The UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development reserves the right to make exceptions to these policies and guidelines as warranted by special circumstances, i.e., in certain situations deemed to be acceptable and beneficial to our students, the UNLV Career Services & Workforce Development, the university, or recruiters using our services. Such exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Any exception made does not constitute a change in policy, nor is there a guarantee that this same decision will apply in the future.