Recruiting policies and guidelines

In our effort to maintain the integrity of recruiting at VCU, our three career centers—VCU Career Services, School of Business Career Services and College of Engineering Career Services—have developed standards for recruitment across the University. All activities must adhere to these policies in addition to VCU’s universitywide policies.

Download VCU's recruiting guidelines

Recruiting Standards

All recruiting activities must adhere to the following additional standards:

Handshake Posting Policies

  • Postings should be submitted to appear on Handshake for no longer than a one year time period. The VCU career centers reserve the right to make edits to expiration dates as required.
  • Organizations must not disclose any student information for any reason without obtaining prior written consent from the student. Failure to comply with this is a violation of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  
  • Under no circumstances can student information be disclosed for anything other than the original recruiting purposes, nor can it be sold or provided to other entities.
  • All new employers must complete an employer verification process through Handshake. Once cleared, the employer must include minimally their city (locality) and state (or country) publicly listed on their Handshake profile.

Identity disclosure and illegal questions

Deciding when and how to disclose elements of one’s identity to others, especially in professional or academic settings, is a personal, nuanced, and potentially difficult choice. As a reminder, it is illegal in the United States for employers to ask candidates certain questions related to their identity. For additional guidance, along with potential questions students/alumni may ask during the interview process to evaluate your organization's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, please see our Identity + Career page.