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.

The first resume you upload in the system must be approved by the University Career Center. 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.

Students and alumni should understand that:

• Registration with Hire-A-Niner* does not guarantee job placement and that the employing organizations, and not the University Career Center, make all hiring decisions. 
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to research and evaluate job leads and job offers. The UCC is not responsible for any misrepresentation or inaccuracy of job announcements. 
• The UCC 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 UCC 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 UCC to manage job postings, resumes, and other vendors for student usage. This system is called Hire-A-Niner.

The University 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 and is not available to employers.

University 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

If you no-show or cancel your registration within 48 hours of an on-campus or virtual interview, the University Career Center will restrict your access to Hire-A-Niner by blocking* your account. The University Career Center takes no-shows and last-minute cancelations very seriously. For organizations to participate in recruitment events, professionals give up their client-facing time to meet with UNC Charlotte students. This time translates into money for the organization and the professional. If you no-show for an interview, you demonstrate disrespect for the organization and professional’s time.

All no-show actions also directly affect the rest of the UNC Charlotte community. First, a classmate interested in connecting with the host company/organization could have filled the no-show time slot. Second, no-show actions directly influence UNC Charlotte’s reputation with an organization. The last thing that we want is for professionals and organizations to leave campus with an unfavorable impression of UNC Charlotte students.

If your Hire-A-Niner account has been blocked due to your no-show or last-minute cancelation, you can regain access to your account and University Career Center events, job postings and interviews by writing a letter of apology within 5 business days of your missed interview. Review your letter for errors and send to recruit@uncc.edu.

We will forward the acceptable letter of apology to the professional who was impacted by your actions and remove the block on your account.

If we do not receive the letter of apology within 5 business days, your Hire-A-Niner account will remain blocked. To regain access, you will need to schedule an appointment with your Career Coach for professional coaching.

* If you are scheduled for subsequent career coaching or recruiting activities including Career Treks, practice interviews or on-campus/virtual interviewing, you are responsible for showing up and monitoring your calendar in the absence of reminders from Hire-A-Niner.

If you RSVP for a Career Fair we encourage you to attend, however, your RSVP is non-binding and is primarily to ensure that you have access to information related to the fair and receive appropriate reminders. 

The University 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 UCC 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.

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.

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

The University 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 distance students and alumni, the University Career Center offers email, Skype, 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 University 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 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 University 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 University 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 University 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 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 University 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 University 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 University 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 University 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. See the First Destination De-Identification Policy (https://firstdestination.uncc.edu/faq/de-identification-policy) for more information

The University Career Center is committed to ensuring accessibility to all services and programs. General questions about accessibility can be directed to Brooke Brown, 704-687-0789 or Brooke.Brown@uncc.edu. Persons (UNC Charlotte students/alumni and employers) who wish to request special accommodations for an event should contact our office (Brooke Brown, 704-687-0789, Brooke.Brown@uncc.edu) and UNC Charlotte's Office of Disability Services (704-687-0040 (tty/v) or accessibility@uncc.edu) at least one week in advance of the event. 

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.