Have you ever encountered any of these scenarios in your work in career services?
- A student receives an internship offer with a tight deadline while still waiting to hear back from other employers.
- A recruiter is frustrated after a student accepted an offer and later withdrew.
- A student stopped responding to a recruiter because they were unsure how to decline the opportunity professionally.
- A recruiter is concerned about student no-shows in interviews and recruiting events.
If these situations sound familiar, you’re not alone. Career services professionals regularly help students navigate recruiting decisions while also supporting strong employer relationships.
Why This Matters
Many of our undergraduate students are experiencing recruitment and hiring processes for the first time. For students who have been employed, they are facing vastly different recruitment processes and timelines than they did for jobs in high school.
This presents an opportunity to educate students on what they may experience in the job or internship search process, what is expected of them, and how they are part of a broader recruitment and relationship building ecosystem at UW-Madison.
Introducing the Recruiting Activity Expectations Resource
To support these conversations, a group of career services colleagues collaborated to develop student-facing Recruiting Activity Expectations for Students. Designed to help students professionally and ethically navigate the job and internship recruiting process, this resource offers best practices related to career fairs, interviews, networking events, employer site visits, offer management, communication with employers, and more.
The Recruiting Activity Expectations resource also serves as a companion to the Employer Policies and Guidelines (refreshed last year by a similar cross-campus working group), helping establish shared obligations for both students and employers throughout the recruiting process. Together, these resources support a positive student experience, ethical recruiting practices, and strong employer partnerships.
How Can You Use This Resource?
Use the resource to support conversations with students about:
- Offer acceptance and decision-making
- Interview etiquette
- Employer communication
- Career fair and networking expectations
- Recruiting-related challenges and concerns
The Recruiting Activity Expectations resource provides more clear and consistent messaging and education to students across campus. We encourage you to review the resource and consider how it might support your advising conversations, programming, career courses, and communications with students.
Join the Conversation: Upcoming Lunch & Learn
Interested in learning more? Want to dive into specific student scenarios? Join us for the upcoming Career Services Lunch & Learn: Recruiting Activity Expectations for Students on Wednesday, November 4, from 12:00-1:15 p.m. in Bascom 260. Bring your lunch, connect with colleagues across campus, and share ideas for promoting a consistent and positive recruiting experience for students and employers alike.