For Employers

Handshake makes it easy for you to post your job and internship opportunities for Goucher College students and alumni. By registering in the system you are also eligible to receive messages from our office informing you of upcoming events that you can participate in and key ways to reach our student and alumni population. If you have any questions about Handshake or have difficulty registering please contact out office at 410-337-6191 or career@goucher.edu.

The CEO believes all internships should be paid, and organizations should make every effort to provide compensation. For-profit private sector employers are expected to follow the standards regarding unpaid internships as set by the Fair Labor Standards Act. If a non-profit organization is unable to pay an hourly wage, consider other options such as paying for parking, subsidizing commuting expenses, or the like.

An employer should not expect an unpaid intern to work more than 10 hours a week.

Employers may not use unpaid internships to hire for positions that would normally be staffed by regular employers (i.e. customer service roles, etc).

NACE Internship Criteria

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To ensure that an experience—whether it is a traditional internship or one conducted remotely or virtually—is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship by the NACE definition, all the following criteria must be met: 

1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework. 
5. There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
6. There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.  
7. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals. 

Internship employers are required to comply with these criteria. If it is determined that an opportunity does not satisfy these criteria, the position will not be posted.  For more information, please see NACE's Guide to Internships.

**Before posting a job or internship, review Goucher's Employer Use Policy in the section below**

Should you need assistance in developing an appropriate job or internship listing, please Tips for Writing Effective Job and Internship Descriptions (PDF).

The Employer Use Policy is established to outline the eligibility of employers to utilize resources at Goucher College's Career Education Office (CEO). The CEO expects that employers who use the Center's services will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, sex, age, disability, or genetic information. 

The Career Education Office reserves the right to refuse to list positions and remove postings/companies that do not follow the Employer Use Policy. 

Career Education Office General Guidelines

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• Comply with all federal, state, and local labor laws, including: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws/regulations and minimum wage standards.
• Abide by the Principles for Ethical Professional Practice as outlined by NACE.
• Keep all student information obtained confidential unless receiving additional written student consent. This standard complies with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
• Supply accurate and current contact information including organization name, address, contact person, email address, organization description, pay rate (if applicable), and detailed description of position.

Goucher Internship Guidelines

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To ensure an optimal learning experience for Goucher students internship work experiences should be substantial and challenging. No more than 20% of an intern’s time should be spent doing clerical work.

No immediate family member may be the direct supervisor of the intern, although internships can occur in an organization with which a family member is affiliated.

The internship must take place in a professional setting. In-home settings are not acceptable.

Virtual internships are acceptable. The CEO believes it is imperative for there to be weekly supervision meetings via Zoom or other video tool, as well as regular phone and email support.

Employers are not able to offer "academic credit" as compensation for an internship since Goucher students are responsible for the credit hours they receive.

Positions That Will Not Be Posted

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• Commission only positions (all positions must have base pay).
• Volunteer positions.
• Positions with quota structures that have not been released in the position description.
• Positions requiring a prospective employee to purchase products or pay fees.
• Companies utilizing a "pyramid" or "multi-level" networking structure, or those encouraging the recruitment of others to increase sales initiatives.
• Opportunities requiring solicitation on campus/campus ambassador type positions.
• Positions posted using a personal e-mail. Contacts must use an established domain e-mail. If you do not have one but still wish to post, please reach out to our office directly.
• Positions posted with a company website that is "Under Construction" or "on the way".
• Domestic care positions/positions that take place out of a private residence.
• International job opportunities, such as "Teach English Abroad" positions.
• Positions in which a current Goucher undergraduate student will be supervised by another current Goucher undergraduate student.
• Internships that do not meet the guidelines and criteria above.
• Third Party Recruiters can post jobs under the following circumstances:
  • Disclose client company
  • Do not retain any student resumes/information for future placement unless given additional written student consent

Questions?

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Please contact our office at 410-337-6191 or career@goucher.edu regarding any questions you may have about our Employer User Policy.

*Revised October 2024

Goucher College is dedicated to a liberal arts education that prepares students within a broad, humane perspective for a life of inquiry, creativity, and critical and analytical thinking. The Career Education Office at Goucher College offers a range of services to help your organization find qualified candidates for full-time and part-time positions, as well as internships:

Handshake

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The best place to advertise your job or internship opportunities. Handshake is a valuable recruiting tool that gives you direct access to current students and alumni. Handshake is promoted and marketed to students as the first place to look for job and internship opportunities. Maintain thoughtful job posts in order to generate student interest. Students can apply through the system via email, or be directed to apply through your website.

Information Tables

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Come to campus to promote appropriate job opportunities within your organization. Tables are typically set up in areas frequented by students at strategic times during the day. You’ll want to bring with you literature about opportunities within your organization, including directions for application, and be prepared for informal interactions with students.

Job Fairs

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Goucher partners with the Maryland & Pennsylvania Career Alliance to plan and organize a large-scale virtual career fair for students from a variety of nearby colleges and universities. Contact our office for registration details.

Informational or Networking Events

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Opportunities may exist to come to campus to present information to students, or participate in informal, career-oriented, networking events. The scope of these events varies widely, and employer participation is typically scheduled on an as-needed basis.

Customized Recruitment Options

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Staff from Goucher’s Career Education Office are happy to meet with you to discuss your specific recruiting needs, and develop an individualized recruitment plan designed to deliver your organizational and job related information to our talented students and alumni.

Goucher College is a small, private, coeducational, liberal arts and sciences college with an international perspective and an academic program that partners classroom learning with real-world experience. Our students are technologically savvy, living and learning on a state-of-the-art campus. Many of them collaborate with faculty members on nationally recognized, federally funded research projects and publications. Our students are internationally savvy, as students are required to complete at least one international experience during their tenure at Goucher. Outside of class, they are active in community service programs and student-run clubs and organizations.

A Goucher education cuts across disciplines to encompass a vast body of knowledge, and couples that knowledge with internships, study-abroad, and service learning programs that test, shape, and reinforce the lessons learned in class. Go to Undergraduate Programs for information on Goucher's departments and majors.

Many Goucher students complete at least one internship before they graduate. For more information on Goucher's internship program, please feel free to contact us at 410-337-6191 or career@goucher.edu.

Goucher has been linking liberal arts education with internships and other real-world experiences for over 75 years. Goucher’s internship program continues to provide employers with first-rate students spanning the liberal arts.

Many Goucher students complete at least one internship by the time they graduate, and some complete two or more. These internships complement the students' educational experiences by enabling them to apply the lessons they have learned in the classroom to day-to-day realities of the working world.

Internships are available for every major and during every semester – winter, spring, summer and fall. Students may earn from zero (30 hours) to 4 (120 hours) credits for each internship experience. We also have students who seek non-credit internships. The Career Education Office works hard to tailor each student’s internship experiences to his or her particular academic interest and career goals.

Post your internship(s) in our Handshake database. To list your position(s) free of charge, create an account on Handshake.