Career Center Policies

New Admit GPA Policy
First semester students (freshmen, transfers, graduate students) are assigned a 9.99 GPA in Hire-A-Niner their first semester in order to access all jobs, co-ops/internships, on-campus recruiting opportunities etc., for which GPA would otherwise be used by an employer to restrict application. Once their first semester grades are complete and recorded on their transcript, the student’s earned GPA will be uploaded into Hire-A-Niner, and accurately updated through graduation.

Major/Class Standing Policy
Major, class standing, degree status and GPA are imported from the Banner Student Information System and are not able to be changed on a case-by-case basis.

Resume Approval

The first resume you upload in Hire-A-Niner must be approved by the Career Center team. This may take up to 48 business hours (excluding weekends), so please do not wait until the last minute. No approval exceptions will be made for upcoming job or interview deadlines. Be sure to follow our Resume Checklist when creating your resume.

Important Notes on Job Postings

• Registration with Hire-A-Niner* does not guarantee job placement and that the employing organizations, and not the Career Center, make all hiring decisions.
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to research and evaluate job leads and job offers. The Career Center is not responsible for any misrepresentation or inaccuracy of job announcements.
• The Career Center team acts as a referral service only and makes no recommendations regarding employers or jobs. We make no representations or guarantees about position vacancies posted on Hire-A-Niner. The Career Center team is not responsible for safety, wages, working conditions, or other aspects of employment. Due to the volume of job vacancies received, we are unable to research the integrity of each organization or person who posts a job. 

*Symplicity is an outside vendor purchased by the University to manage job postings, resumes, events, career fairs, etc.This system is called Hire-A-Niner.

Collected Information

The Career Center collects student and alumni registration information, electronic copies of student and alumni resumes, cover letters, and any other material students and alumni choose to share with us. Through the use of an account with our office, students and alumni provide all information in the form of an online profile or resume. This information is maintained in databases housed on servers such as Hire-A-Niner. This information is accessible solely by representatives of the Career Center team and is not available to employers.

Release of Information

Career Center staff members disseminate student and alumni resumes to employers under the following conditions:

• Candidates have indicated consent by placing their resume in a Resume Book
• Candidates have sent their resume in for a Resume Collection

No‑Show / Late Cancellation Policy 
If you no-show for an interview (virtual or on‑campus) or an employer event that requires an RSVP and has limited capacity, the Career Center team will restrict your access to Hire‑A‑Niner by blocking your account.

What's the Difference - RSVP Required vs. RSVP Preferred

Required 

• The host expects all invitees to confirm their attendance.
• Essential for planning purposes. 

Preferred

• The host would appreciate knowing if you plan to attend to prepare accordingly.
• Respond if possible, but it's not mandatory.
• Helpful, but not critical.

RSVPs are done through your Hire-A-Niner account for all Career Center events. 

Examples of Employer Events That Require RSVPs

• Career Treks
• Workshops/Sessions with Instruction and Participation (Labs, Competitions, Case Studies), etc.
• Career Conversations/Coffee Chats and Other Individual Appointments with Specific Time Slots
• Interviews
• Focus Groups 

Why It Matters

• Employers, alumni, and other professionals commit their time to meet with Charlotte students. Failing to attend shows disrespect for their time.
• Your "no‑show" blocks others who might have used that slot. Some events have limited capacity and once full, go to a wait list.
• No-shows reflect poorly on you as a potential candiate, as well as UNC Charlotte’s reputation with employers and other organizations.

How to Reinstate Your Account
Write and submit an apology letter. Send it to recruit@charlotte.edu within 5 business days of your missed appointment or event. If no letter is received within 5 business days, your account will remain blocked, until you have scheduled an appointment and met with your Career Coach for professional coaching. 

Your Responsibility After Reinstatement

Once your access is restored, you are expected to honor all scheduled interviews and events with employers who require RSVPs. You are responsible for managing your own calendar, even if Hire‑A‑Niner does not send reminders.If you have another infraction, your Hire-A-Niner account will be blocked and you will be unable to attend Career Center events for the remainder of the academic year. 

 

General Appointment Scheduling

The Career Center asks that you arrive on time to all appointments to maintain the best possible service we can provide. Students who are more than 10 minutes late for an appointment will be asked to reschedule their appointment in order to maximize the time a career coach can spend on your career development.

The CC does not accept same-day appointments due to the nature of the assistance we provide, however, many services are available during our drop-in hours. This policy allows our career coaches to maximize the amount of research and resources they can prepare for you before your time with them.

Students/alumni who miss their career coaching appointment without cancelling will receive an email from the career coach to follow up with directions for rescheduling. Individuals with an excessive no-show history (more than 2 missed appointments) may not be able to schedule future appointments with a career coach. All no-show actions directly impact the campus community. When you don’t show up for a scheduled appointment, that is a slot another individual could have filled.

If you need to cancel, we appreciate you logging into your Hire-A-Niner account and rescheduling your appointment 24 hours before your scheduled appointment time so another person can fill your spot.

Practice Interviews

Students must email the career coach a copy of their resume and a sample job description at least 2 days in advance to allow the coach time to prepare for the practice interview. Students should wear business professional attire, as described in the Career Guide.

Drop-In Hours

If you need immediate assistance, career coaches and peer pros are available to assist during our scheduled drop-in hours. 

The Career Center is committed to providing high quality services to all our students and alumni of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Many of our students and alumni can be found throughout the United States and internationally. Every effort will be made to provide specific opportunities in your geographic location.

To accommodate online students and alumni, the Career Center offers email, Zoom, and telephone appointments. Topics for these appointments can include: resume development, interviewing skills, salary negotiation strategies, job search strategies, understanding how to use our online services, as well as many other career-related topics.

All UNC Charlotte career fairs are open to current UNC Charlotte students and alumni, regardless of graduation year. Some of our career fairs are also open to the public.  All attendees are required to check in to the event, although no pre-registration is required. For UNC Charlotte students, alumni and staff, please have your 49er Card ready when you reach the check in desk or be able to tell the attendant your UNC Charlotte ID number to expedite check in (if you don't have your card or number you will not be refused entry, but it will take considerably longer to check you in).

• Attendees are expected to present themselves professionally
• Some events have a required dress code, you can find that information in the published description of the event at careerfairs.charlotte.edu
• The University Career Center reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone whose attire is offensive, inflamatory or does not meet dress code
• University drug and alcohol policy is enforced
• Due to University requirements, attendees may be subject to a bag check or metal detector sweep

RSVPs are not required for Career Fairs. 

Advice for Conducting an Ethical Employment Search

The Career Center counsels students to conduct an ethical job search. Students are urged to cease their job search upon accepting an offer. They are highly encouraged, when faced with an offer, to…

• Ask the offering employer for a minimum of 24 hours to consider.
• Then contact any "first choice" employer(s) they have engaged, for which they would rather work, and inform the employer, they have the offer and ask if the employer could hire them.
• Students should not accept an offer until they have made such contact and are satisfied they will stay with their chosen employer.

Student Offer Acceptance Expectation

UNC Charlotte expects any student accepting a job offer to honor their commitment to the accepted position and company.Often called, “reneging,” to renege is to go back on a promise, undertaking, or contract.

Our office will not tolerate reneging on offers. Not only is reneging inconsiderate and unprofessional, it casts a poor reflection on UNC Charlotte and damages the relationship between the Career Center and the employer. This could negatively impact other students' opportunities with the employer. Additionally, recruiters discuss candidates with one another and this could damage your reputation as you are job seeking. After you have given your decision careful consideration and accepted an offer, end your intern/job search. Inform other employers who have extended offers or that you have applied with that you have accepted another position. Do not accept further interview invitations or search further.

• If you renege on a full-time offer, you will be suspended from using Hire-A-Niner or alumni services provided by the Career Center until the issue is resolved*.
• If you renege on an internship offer, your access to Hire-A-Niner will be suspended until the issue is resolved*.

International students on F1 visas will not be issued another CPT (Curricular Practical Training) authorization if they renege on an opportunity.

This policy deals with you reneging on your commitment to a company. It does not address a company revoking its commitment to you. If this type of situation occurs, please contact the Associate Director of Employer Engagement.

The Career Center, through Hire-A-Niner, serves as a “clearinghouse” for posting all experiential learning opportunities (Internships, Cooperative Education, Academic Credit Internships, CPT) for the entire University in order to provide a fair and equitable way for all students to access opportunities. This is a free service for both students and employers.

Remote Internships

While internships allowing students to work remotely will be considered, the employer's offer letter must clearly include the following: 

1. The name of the direct supervisor who will monitor the virtual assignment;
2. How often the student's progress will be checked; and
3. The technology used to communicate between supervisor and student (Zoom/Teams, email, etc.)

1099 Independent Contractor Employment

F1 students cannot be hired as Independent Contractors requiring a 1099 Form as part of the employment arrangement. Students must be hired as an actual employee, in an established, structured, company internship that adheres to UNC Charlotte's CPT/Internship criteria, per the Career Center and International Student and Scholar policies.

Third-Party Employer Opportunities

On occasion, employers will use "Third-Party Employers," to help them recruit, hire, and pay talent. Third Party Employers are defined as agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities other than for their own needs. The  Career Center has specific policies about working with Third Party Employers, which are in accordance with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and outlined on our website. We require that Third-Party Employers disclose in Hire-A-Niner the name of the organization and position(s) that are being recruited for; this information will be viewable by UCC staff only (not students or alumni).

The UNC Charlotte University Career Center team requires that opportunities  designated  as "internships" and approved for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for F-1 international students comply with safety, quality, and accountability standards set by national professional practice and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations. International students seeking CPT via the UCC, can assist us in this assurance by asking Third Party Employers who want to extend letters of offer to provide the Career Center the following: 

1. The name of the contracting organization and their main contact at that organization;
2. An official job description containing the job title, job description with learning objectives/goals  desired qualifications, skills and knowledge needed, and desired major(s) as each relates to the student's academic course work; and
3. A letter of offer which is written on company letterhead, containing the prospective employer's name, the name of the direct supervisor of the student within the company location, the physical location/address of proposed internship (no P.O. Boxes), a start date and end date of employment, and the number of work hours per week. 

CPT via the Career Center will not be approved if the above steps are not followed explicitly.

F-1 International students with questions about their offer through a Third Party Employer or Third Party representatives, themselves, are asked to use our "Who to Contact with Questions" web link to get answers.

Additional Guidelines for Internships

Internships can be paid or unpaid, but the Career Center does not allow employers to post unpaid internships in Hire-A-Niner. All internships must adhere to U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division standards for internship programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

All students who apply for graduation at UNC Charlotte will receive an invitation and a series of reminders to take the Next Destination Survey. Information you supply in response to the survey will be maintained in by the Career Center and protected in compliance with FERPA. Results of the survey will be published in aggregate form only and precautions are taken to ensure that re-identification of individuals is not possible. Next Destination Survey Info

The Career Center is committed to ensuring accessibility to all services and programs. General questions about accessibility and accomodations requests, can be directed to the Assistant Director of Employer Engagement. UNC Charlotte's Office of Disability Services can also assist you. 

The University provides links to these external sites as resources only and does not endorse or control any information or opportunities found at these sites. The University makes no representation as to the reliability of information or effectiveness of using the resources provided by these external sites.