Ethical Conduct for Job Hunters

The following principles for professional conduct, recommended by the National Association Of Colleges and Employers (NACE) should serve as guidelines for students beginning their job search:

• Job hunters should accurately present qualifications and interests. Falsifying data such as GPA, date of graduation, major/minor, institutions attended and eligibility to work in the United States , is not only unethical but may also be grounds for dismissal if you begin employment.
• Increasingly, organizations are checking backgrounds and/or conducting pre-employment drug testing. Background checks may include review of official transcripts to verify GPA, graduation date, major/minor, coursework, and institutions attended; review of records of convictions for misdemeanors or felonies; and verification of employment history. Omissions or falsehoods may result in your job offer being rescinded by the organization. Questions about how to best disclose unfavorable information should be discussed with your career consultant.
• If contacted for an office visit/interview, promptly acknowledge the invitation and accept only when you have a sincere interest in the employer. Should you need to cancel or change an interview, notify the organization far enough in advance to alleviate an undue hardship or expense to the organization.
• Always notify organizations of your acceptance or rejection of a job offer at the earliest possible time and no later than the time mutually agreed upon.
• Continuing to interview, taking plant/office trips to an organization after accepting an offer from another organization, or reneging on an accepted offer is unethical.
• Reimbursements for visits at an organization's expense should be reasonable expenditures pertinent to the trip. Ask the recruiter in advance about the costs that the organization will cover.
• Your career counselor is available to discuss broad implications of inappropriate or unethical job search behaviors and help you identify alternative behaviors or actions.