Policies

To effectively operate, Career Services has implemented the following policies and procedures as it relates to individual coaching appointments, on-campus interviews and alumni services. If you are ever unclear about these policies, do not hesitate to reach out to our office for further clarification. 

Alumni

During the first 2 weeks of the semester our appointments are reserved for currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Natural Sciences and students who graduated within six months. Other alumni of the College of Natural Sciences are more than welcome to make appointments after this time period.

Career Services are available to all students and alumni of the UT College of Natural Sciences. However, as Natural Sciences Career Coaching is funded through student fees, current students and recent graduates are our primary clients. Services include Career Fairs, access to our online job board (Handshake), on-campus interviews, workshops, resource library, and limited appointments with career coaches.

Recent Graduates: Free Full Services

Recent College of Natural Sciences graduates may use all services for free, including scheduling appointments during peak coaching periods. These graduates will receive the same services as current students.

Students graduating in the Spring will have access to our services through the Summer and Fall semesters; students graduating in the Fall will have access through the Spring and Summer semesters; and students graduating at the end of the Summer will have access through the Fall and Spring semesters.

Established Alumni: Fee-based Services

Alumni more than one semester out of school will be charged a $100 fee per semester for services, and appointments will be limited to a maximum of 3 session(s) per semester. For example, Alumni that graduate in the Spring will receive Summer and Fall Coaching services free of charge, but will be required to pay the $100 fee for the following Spring.

Regardless of status, all students are welcome to attend the two annual Career Fairs free of charge, so long as they have a government issued ID and a copy of their resume. Alumni are also welcome to attend other Career Services events but are required to call ahead and confirm that there is space availability for alumni.

PLEASE NOTE: Career Services is not able to provide services to UT Alumni outside of the College of Natural Sciences.

Parents

Parents are a critical part of a student’s academic, professional and of course, personal support system. Career Services encourages parents to actively support their students throughout the many stages of their professional development. However, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) restricts our office from releasing any information from a student's education record to parents without written permission from the student. Further, it is the policy of this office not to allow parents into individual coaching appointments, even if the student agrees.

Coaching Appointment Cancellations

Students are asked to make every effort to cancel their coaching appointment with as much notice as possible. With over 12,000 undergraduate students in the College of Natural Sciences, Career Services aims to serve every student and appointments cancelled late prevent other students from utilizing our resources. As such, students are only allowed to make three (3) late cancellations (defined as within 24 hours of the appointment) without penalty. Students that exceed that number of late cancellations will be temporarily barred from making future appointments until they have met with a Career Coach to discuss the pattern of behavior. It is at the discretion of Career Services whether or not to allow students to continue to make appointments and students with excessive late cancellations could be permanently prohibited from individual coaching appointments.

Coaching Appointment No-Shows

As in the professional world, it is unacceptable to not show up for an appointment or meeting that you have scheduled. Career Services insists that students make every possible effort to cancel an appointment in advance. No-show appointments will count against a student’s allowable late cancellations and an excess of three (3) no-shows will also result in temporary prohibition of a student’s ability to make coaching appointments. Any student that has been temporarily barred will be required to meet with a Career Coach before they are able to make appointments again. It is at the discretion of Career Services whether or not to allow students to continue to make appointments and students with excessive no-shows could be permanently prohibited from individual coaching appointments. In the case of an emergency, if you have a legitimate reason for missing your appointment, or if our records are incorrect, please contact our office immediately.

Mock Interview Policies

Given that our mock interview appointments are an hour long, as opposed to our typical 30 minute appointments, students are only allowed two (2) per semester. Students are encouraged to save their interviews for when they have an actual interview coming up and they should review our interview preparation materials in advance of their mock interview appointment(s) so as to get the most out of their appointment.

On-campus Interview Cancellations or No-Shows

Career Services requires that you give 24-hour notice to our office via email (cnsrecruit@austin.utexas.edu) or by phone (512-471-6700) if you must cancel or miss a scheduled interview. See our Recruiting Q&As for additional information. Additionally, it is strongly recommended that you send a letter of apology to the recruiter whose interview was missed. 
 
In the case of an emergency, if you have a legitimate reason for missing the interview, or if our records are incorrect, please contact our office immediately.  Should you still be interested in interviewing with the employer, we can help you get in contact with the interviewer to handle the situation in a professional manner. Please note the companies are not required to offer you a second chance to interview and may bar students who miss their first interview from interviewing for any other positions within the company.  
 
Finally, if you have another no-show for an interview scheduled through our office, you will lose your on-campus interviewing privileges.  Your Handshake account will be blocked, and you will be required to meet with a Career Coach in order to resume interviews.