Recruiting Policies

The Career Management Center (CMC) supports GSB students in their efforts to secure employment and serves as a liaison with the employer community. Both students and employers who work with the CMC are bound by policies of ethical conduct that promote integrity, professionalism, respect, and courtesy.

The following policies apply to any organization that recruits GSB students whether on-campus or off-campus, using our CareerHub platform or not. Violation of these policies will impact future eligibility to recruit at the GSB, so we recommend that recruiting organizations communicate these policies to recruiters, interviewers, hiring managers, and representatives. Should you have any questions about these policies, please consult your Recruiting Relationship Manager (RRM). 

Many incoming students would like to have the opportunity to explore new career opportunities prior to beginning the MBA Program. Students from non-traditional business backgrounds in particular, have found such experiences to be helpful in making the transition to the business school environment. The GSB supports firms offering summer opportunities such as a “Virtual Day in the Life”  or hosting an office visit that provides exposure to the company, as well as virtual events providing an overview of the firm and employment opportunities. The GSB does not support evaluative summer experiences for our incoming students. Students who participate in pre-program experiences must be eligible to participate in regular internship recruiting activities. Any summer internship job offer made prior to the start of school must remain open in its entirety until February 3, 2025, per our regular recruiting policy.

In order to ensure that first-year MBA students are given the opportunity to settle in at the GSB and focus on academics at the start of their MBA Program experience, activity at the beginning of the academic year is reduced. This period is called the Academic Adjustment Period (AAP). Recruiting organizations are not permitted to communicate with first-year students during the AAP. As an exception, organizations may communicate with their former employees. The AAP for the entering GSB MBA Class of 2026 begins on Monday, September 9, 2024, and ends at noon on October 30, 2024.

Stanford GSB is an academic institution. Students’ first priority is class and academic requirements. Students missing class for interviews, training, employer events, or related travel may result in an unexcused absence. In very few cases, students are allowed one unexcused absence to accommodate a job interview, and it is at the student’s discretion as to whether they choose to take that absence. Because unexcused absence allowances are rare, students cannot miss class for a first-round interview. Organizations are not permitted to require or pressure students to miss class or any academic commitment.

Students may be required to be on campus for their final exams. The last possible day of finals for first-year MBAs is June 11, 2025. Hosting an event, interview, or internship training during exams or 24 hours prior is a violation of policy. International students working in the US on Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for the summer cannot legally start work until June 12, 2025. Check with your RRM for the most up-to-date class schedule and academic calendar.

The GSB expects that no students will work until they complete three full academic quarters in the MBA Program and will not facilitate hiring students during their first academic year in the MBA Program. We recommend that students in their final year seeking outside work opportunities be in Good Academic Standing and work no more than 10 hours per week, whether paid or unpaid. 

Students who are attending the GSB on a student visa are responsible for ensuring that they secure employment authorization prior to starting any professional work, whether paid or unpaid, at any time during their enrollment at Stanford. Visa holders who wish to work during the second academic year (not summer) must meet eligibility conditions described above.

We strongly encourage employers to engage in-person with our students. This includes employer events, company presentations, coffee chats, off-campus dinner events, as well as hosting company visits or treks.

Events that take place on the Stanford campus are considered University Events.  A University Event must be hosted by an officially recognized Stanford department or organization and must be in keeping with the University’s mission (i.e., the creation, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge). The University’s assets must be preserved for these purposes, not for the personal gain of individuals nor for outside parties’ uses, which do not further Stanford’s academic objectives.

A university event hosted by a student group must be student-led, and students must be involved in all event decisions. Outside organizations cannot use student clubs to gain entry to University facilities.

A recruiting organization interested in hosting an event on the Stanford GSB campus must be submitted through the CMC’s CareerHub platform. For assistance with this process, please reach out to your RRM.

Employer Events are defined as any activity that connects recruiting organization(s) to our students. Employer Events cannot conflict with academic requirements, classes, or CMC-sponsored events.

Employer Events for second-year students may start on Tuesday, September 27, 2024, and for first-year students on October 31, 2024. No employer events are allowed after November 22, 2024. Communication and marketing for second-year students can occur at any time and can start after noon on October 30, 2024, for first-year students when AAP ends.

The CMC hosts three multi-employer events: the Company Networking Event for first-year MBA students in November, the Growth Company Networking Event in February, and the Early Stage Company Meetup Event in April. The CMC hosts Coffee Chats throughout the year, virtually or in-person. All other company events must be co-hosted by a student club. Please note that the decision to host an event is at the club’s discretion, and clubs are not required to host employer events.

All event requests and registrations should be submitted through the CareerHub platform. To avoid industry conflicts and maximize student attendance, the CMC must approve all employer event dates. This includes on- and off-campus local events. Coffee Chats are organized by the CMC and can be requested through the CMC’s CareerHub platform. The CMC can set up virtual sessions with Zoom, or the employer can use their own meeting setup. Coffee chats on campus can be held in the outside seating areas or in a reserved room.

Current guidelines are that events may be up to 60 minutes at lunch (12:00-1:00) and up to 90 in the evening (not starting before 6:15 pm). A student from the hosting club will be at the event and provide introductions for the speakers. The Career Management Center can set up our campus Zoom system for your presentation and support you during the virtual event.

A CMC-Managed Interview means that the CMC will schedule interviews with the students on the employers’ behalf and ensure they are conflict-free for the students. We strongly recommend that any organization interviewing more than a few students use the CMC to schedule the interviews. The GSB has dedicated days in October for full-time interviewing and in January for internship interviewing, and can also schedule on-campus or virtual interviews at other times as requested by employers.
  
Off-campus interviews involving student travel outside of the area must comply with the University travel policy. If travel is involved, organizations holding interviews off-campus must offer two date options. Students may not miss a class or any academic commitments for interviews, employer events, or related travel. The GSB does not have regular classes scheduled on Wednesdays. Organizations are not permitted to require or pressure students to miss any academic commitments. Hosting an event or interview during “dead week” or exams is a violation of policy. Check the Recruiting Calendar or with your RRM for the most up-to-date class schedule as well as the academic calendar.

Offers to second-year students can be made at any time. The offer must be open in its entirety until January 3, 2025, or at least three weeks after the student receives the written offer, whichever date is later.

Second-year students who were summer interns or have a prior employment relationship with an organization must be given until November 22, 2024, or three weeks after the student receives the written offer, whichever is later, to consider an offer.

Offers made to first-year students must be open in their entirety until February 3, 2025, or at least two weeks after the student receives the written offer, whichever is later. This includes an offer resulting from a summer experience prior to matriculation.

Longer time frames for considering an offer are acceptable. Undue pressure to accept an offer is considered a violation of policy.

A job offer containing incentives such as base signing bonus, cash bonuses, performance bonuses, and tuition reimbursement must remain open in its entirety until the offer consideration deadline. Changes in offer terms including start date, job location, job function, and base salary are considered violations of the recruiting policies.

Any student who did not request a late start date and is issued a start date on or after December 31, 2025, will not be subject to the renege consequences outlined in the Student Recruiting Conduct Policies and Guidelines. If your organization intends to delay start dates or change offer terms, please contact your RRM immediately.

If a student with an offer requests a different office location or materially different job function at the same company (i.e. role change and/or drastically different responsibilities) and the company accommodates this request, this is considered a rebound offer.

Withdrawing a verbal or written offer after it has been extended is a violation of the GSB Policy. If your organization is considering rescinding an offer, please contact your RRM immediately.

The intent of these policies is to:

1. Create a situation in which students are able to make educated, rational choices.
2. Create a fair playing field among employers.

These policies are for the benefit of all parties involved. Employers are expected to follow the letter and the spirit of the policies. The CMC reserves the right to review specific situations and enforce consequences or allow exceptions.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) applies to any school that receives federal funding, including Stanford. For information approved by students for distribution, please access the Candidate Search function in CareerHub.

The Stanford GSB makes its facilities and services available only to organizations that do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, citizenship status, military service, or disability.

Violations of the Recruiting Conduct Policies will be reviewed by the Career Management Center (CMC) management team on a case-by-case basis. Consequences may include any combination of the following:

1. Letter to the organization’s senior management.
2. Communicating the organization’s name and violation to students, including club leadership.
3. Not being permitted to access the GSB Resume Database or post to the GSB Job Board.
4. Not being permitted to recruit at Stanford GSB.

Stanford GSB students are held to high professional standards. We require that all students using CMC services agree to uphold the GSB Student Recruiting Conduct Policies. Policies address a variety of issues including missing classes for interviews and late interview cancellations, and also the serious consequences of reneging on a job offer. Report student violations to your RRM immediately.