McCombs Career Services - Code of Ethics
The McCombs Career Services (MCS) Code of Ethics provides a framework for the professional relationships among the MCS staff, employers and McCombs students. This document is reviewed annually by the students, staff and Associate Deans for the BBA, MPA and MBA programs. Students are asked annually, at the beginning of the semester, to review the MCS Code of Ethics, seek clarification and then sign to acknowledge that they have read and understood the policies and agree to abide by the same. Students who wish to use MCS services and recruiting systems must agree to abide by the MCS code of ethics. All students must indicate their agreement to abide to the code in the on-campus recruiting system. In the system go to your profile/privacy tab. Indicate your acceptance and save the change on your profile.
The MCS Code of Ethics:
Students are expected to represent both themselves and the McCombs School of
Business in a professional manner during their career search. This constitutes
the following:
1. Show up and be prepared for recruiting events
2. Be on time, all the time
3. RSVP when asked
4. Respect recruiters, employers and the MCS staff
5. Respect your classmates
6. Dress appropriately
7. Provide accurate information
8. Stand behind your decision
9. Report your employment status
10. Uphold ethical guidelines for employers
1. Show up and be prepared for all recruiting events to which you have
planned to attend
Attend all recruiting events, interviews and meetings that you have committed to
and be prepared to engage in conversation and questions as appropriate. Being
prepared involves being on time, dressing appropriately, completing
company/industry research and preparing questions in advance. Students are
expected to learn and understand how to use campus recruiting systems as part of
their preparation. Please keep cell phones, laptops and pagers off during any
event or interview.
2. Be on time, all the time
Arrive 10 minutes prior to your scheduled interview time. By scheduling an
interview you commit to showing up on time for that interview, unless a
legitimate reason arises (e.g. recent acceptance of another offer, sudden
personal illness or a death in the family). Should an emergency arise, or if you
know ahead of time that you will be late for an interview or event, please
notify a MCS staff member ASAP. Students are expected to accept interview
opportunities when they request pre-select consideration unless they have
accepted another offer in the intervening time. If you do not plan to take an
interview spot for which you have been pre-selected, please decline the
invitation as soon as possible. There is no penalty for declining invitations to
interview. You cannot transfer your spot to another student. By declining the
interview, you allow us to fill the open slot with another candidate.
Missing an interview or having a late cancellation (defined as canceling
an interview after you can no longer cancel in the on-campus recruiting system -
this date is reflected as the “Sign-up End Date”) are considered serious
offenses and will result in immediate and permanent loss of access to on-campus
recruiting. If you have a legitimate reason for missing an interview (as
defined above), you will need to contact your Career Services Director to appeal
your case and have your on campus recruiting privileges reinstated.
3. RSVP when asked
Students are expected to R.S.V.P. (Repondez S'il Vous Plait is French for
"please reply") in the affirmative by the deadline posted to help employers and
staffs plan their events or workshops. Large numbers of no-shows for events or
receptions can result in companies canceling campus interviews. Large numbers of
unexpected guests can result in companies not having enough recruiters,
refreshments, or handout materials for students.
4. Respect recruiters, employers and the MCS staff
Both employers and staff manage large volumes of students during the school
year. We ask all students to treat staff and recruiters with the utmost respect,
understanding that every interaction you have with a prospective employer or
staff member either enhances or detracts from your personal reputation and the
reputation of the school.
5. Respect your classmates
Students should conduct themselves with professionalism throughout the
recruiting process. Unprofessional behavior reflects poorly on you, your
classmates and McCombs. You should submit your resumes only for positions which
align with your career interests and for which you are qualified. Indiscriminate
“shopping around” diminishes opportunities for your classmates. Do not treat
recruiting as an opportunity for “practice interviews.” It is unfair to your
peers who genuinely want the job and to the company expending resources to
recruit. Career services staff can do mock interviews.
6. Dress appropriately
Interviews are typically business dress unless otherwise noted. Presentations
and company receptions are typically business casual unless otherwise noted.
Jeans, shorts, sneakers, flip flops and similar casual wear are never
appropriate at any recruiting related or company sponsored event.
7. Provide accurate information
You must provide accurate information on all career related materials (e.g.
graduation date, GPA, standardized test scores, work eligibility, transcript,
employment data). Furnishing false information is a violation of student
standards of conduct which will result in immediate loss of on-campus recruiting
privileges. You may also be subject to disciplinary action, including expulsion.
8. Stand behind your decision
Students must honor the acceptance of an offer as a contractual agreement with
the employer. It is unacceptable to continue interviewing or making office
visits after accepting an offer, or to back out on an accepted offer. Students
who back out (renege) on an accepted offer will be denied all future use of the
MCS services including coaching and on-campus recruiting services. Please do not
represent yourself as being prepared to accept an offer unless you are prepared
to do so. An offer is considered accepted once the student and the
employer have jointly agreed to the terms of employment.
Students must respond to every offer, whether they accept or reject it. Upon the
acceptance of a job offer you agree to:
- Notify all other employers with whom you are a job candidate and withdraw yourself from further consideration.
- Notify our office of your acceptance.
- Report all relevant offer information (e.g. company name, salary, bonus, location, etc.) for employment reporting.
9. Report your employment status
After accepting an offer of employment, you agree to complete an Intern or
Full-Time Employment Survey as appropriate. These surveys are available through
a secure site on the MCS web page. While the individual salary and offer data
provided by students are not released, the aggregate results are critical to
current and prospective students, recruiters and administrators. The data are
necessary for McCombs to complete information for business school rankings and
the information provided is among your best tools for future salary
negotiations. It is a student’s responsibility to keep his/her personal profile
and current employment information in all career related systems updated and
accurate.
10. Uphold ethical guidelines for employers
We expect all companies to evaluate candidates without consideration of race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, age,
disability or veteran status. We also ask all employers to grant students a
minimum of three weeks to decide on any offer. “Exploding offers” or pressure
from companies to accept an offer “on the spot” or within an unreasonably short
time frame are considered violations of our expectations of companies. Just as
we expect students not to renege on offers, we expect companies not to withdraw
or rescind an offer to a student. For complete details on offer timelines go to
http://fcc.mccombs.utexas.edu/employers/fcc_guidelines.asp.
Students who feel they have experienced unprofessional or unethical recruiting
practices with a company should notify their program’s Career Services Director
(Velma Arney - BBA, Rachel Brown - MPA, or Stacey Rudnick - MBA), of the
situation immediately so appropriate follow-up action can be taken with that
company.
Appeals Process:
If you have questions regarding your individual circumstances or about penalties
for missing interviews please seek the advice of your program’s Career Services
Director. If you feel that you have not been treated equitably, you are welcome
to appeal any decision to Arthur Allert (for BBA), Steve Limberg (for MPA)
or Eric Hirst (for MBA).
