FT MBA Students

OCM Policies

STUDENT CONTRACT

Policies and Mutual Expectations for Students

The Robert H. Smith School of Business, Office of Career Management (OCM) strives to provide a superior career services support system for students in their pursuit of both internship and full time positions with companies of strong reputation in diverse industries. The OCM team consists of employer development and coaching staff. The employer development staff attracts and develops corporate contacts and coordinates their recruiting process both on and off-campus. The coaching staff supports students in developing search skills and assisting with access to career search resources. This support is provided to catalyze and improve the student’s career search, as well as to ensure the maintenance and improvement of the school’s reputation for the benefit of its current students and future graduates. Every student is a representative of the business school, and therefore will influence the way future students are viewed. It is in the mutual interest of the OCM and the student body to develop a high level of job search capabilities including interviewing, networking and presentation skills. While there are some required career development events, it is incumbent upon the student to take advantage of the resources provided to achieve highest possible levels of professionalism, poise and polish.

Students must agree to comply with these expectations in order to use the Office's services. Failure to comply with these policies will result in a student's forfeiture of participation in the Office's programs and services.

The Office of Career Management (OCM) is dedicated to providing MBA/MS students in the Robert H. Smith School of Business with assistance in maximizing their career opportunities. This is accomplished by preparing students to effectively search for career opportunities and by providing students with many experiences to meet and network with employers.

Throughout the length of your program at Smith, the OCM will help you connect with employers and prepare you for interviews by working with you. Many career-related workshops, designed to help you market yourself more effectively, are offered. In addition, we offer a strong on-campus recruiting program that is supplemented by our involvement in both national and international consortia. The OCM also provides you with information on other MBA-level job fairs and consortia.

The increasing success of our graduates in the job market demonstrates the strength of the relationship between the OCM and Smith students. You are strongly encouraged to take full advantage of all programs and services offered by the OCM to supplement your individual job search. To ensure that the recruiting process is fair and efficient, the OCM has developed mutual expectations that are to be followed:

From the Office of Career Management

You can expect us to:

• Provide you with opportunities to interview and network with prospective employers from domestic and international companies of many sizes and from many functional areas and industries regarding summer, part-time and full-time positions.

• Provide the most up-to-date resources and training programs in job search strategy and career management.

• Keep all statistics, records and conversations confidential unless we have your consent to release such information. (Note: Submission of a resume for inclusion in resume books, and for a resume referral is implied consent to release of the information in the resume.)

•  Be sensitive to your needs and open to your suggestions on how we can better serve you.

•  Consistently offer the highest level of customer service.

• To evaluate and understand the capabilities, talent and professional aspirations of the MBA student population towards the goal of helping students reach their career goals through both individual and group job search support.

• To continually service and improve upon existing employer relationships and to establish new relationships with additional high caliber employers to enhance the quality and quantity of MBA employment opportunities.

From Students

The Career Partnership is to promote a mutually beneficial environment where the OCM’s top priority is to equip students to compete for and earn the most desired employment opportunities. Full participation in the Career Partnership will assure student access to the full suite of OCM job search and career coaching resources. The success of this Career Partnership is highly dependent on student motivation and engagement in the many career development programs and activities offered by the OCM. While the OCM staff develops opportunities designed to enhance your job search, we expect you to take individual responsibility for your career development.

What we expect of you:

• To be devoted to working on individual career-related activities from the start of your first semester.
• To be honor-bound to present your qualifications accurately to all potential employers.
• To adhere to the common rules of courtesy when representing the Smith School.
• To actively participate in job search activities to optimize a professional approach and self-presentation while actively engaging in a job search process to obtain employment in an internship or full-time position. Specific programs towards this goal are outlined on the attached pages.
• To uphold the Code of Conduct as outlined below to assist in maintaining the Smith brand.
• To comply with the provision of job search and acceptance information for reporting purposes for business school rankings and internal program improvement. This may include, but not be limited to, employer company name, job title, location and compensation.
• To follow Smith resume guidelines as posted on the web site.
• To follow Smith policies and general rules of conduct that include ending your job search after accepting a job offer. Smith resources will be withheld for anyone breaking this policy.
• To attend scheduled interviews on campus - students will be required to pay a fine of $20 to the MBAA for any no-show cancellations, as well as risk suspension of OCM resources.

Honor Code/Academic Integrity

Honest representation on your application materials (resume, cover letter), in your use of Smith on-line resources (HireSmith, etc.), and during employer interactions (networking events, on-campus interviews, etc.) is imperative. Misrepresentation in any of these venues – verbally or in writing – will result in negative consequences.

Honor Code/Academic Integrity - http://www.smith.umd.edu/fullmba/apply_info.html#honor and http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/code.html

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CAREER LIBRARY

We provide the most current resources to support your job search. We ask that you treat all of the materials with respect and that you refrain from removing materials from the Career Library unless the item is explicitly marked for take-home use. Your cooperation ensures that the Career Library remains in order for everyone while keeping replacement costs down.

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INTERVIEWING

On-campus recruiting is crucial to the success of your job search. We devote a great deal of time and energy to developing our interviewing program. We expect that you will participate in a highly professional manner at all times:

• Pursue only those positions in which you have a genuine interest. Do not use these interviewing opportunities as "practice." Participate in a "mock interview" instead.

• Respond to all invitations from companies inviting you to sign up for an interview as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours of receiving the invitation—even if your response is to decline the interview.

• Arrive at the OCM at least ten minutes early for scheduled interviews. Do not be late.

• Dress appropriately (formal business attire) for your on-campus interview, just as you would for one held at a job site.

• Prepare for the interview by thoroughly researching the company. Many resources are available for you to gain this information in the Career Library. Consult the company’s web site, as well.

• Give a complete and honest account of your experience and education on your resume, and truthfully answer all interview questions.

• Thank you letters are recommended. Be sure to correctly spell all company and recruiter names.

Missed or Cancelled Interviews

If, under extraordinary circumstances (extreme sudden illness, death in the family, major car failure, etc.) you are unable to attend a scheduled interview, you must call us (301-405-2301) immediately. Failure to report for an interview prevents other students from using a valuable interview slot and jeopardizes our relationship with the employer. If you fail to show up for an interview, you must write a letter of apology to the recruiter and submit a copy to the OCM's Director. If more than one scheduled interview is missed, your on-campus interviewing privileges will be revoked.

Interviews may only be cancelled in the event of extreme emergency or if you have already accepted another job. Cancellations must be made at least 48 hours before the scheduled time. Failure to do so will result in the same penalty as missing an interview.

Inclement Weather Policy

When the University campus is closed because of snow or other inclement weather, classes are cancelled and announcements regarding the University's closing are posted and updated at www.umd.edu, 301-405-SNOW (7669), and through local radio and television stations.

Inclement Weather Policy for On-Campus Interviews:

If the University is closed due to bad weather, on-campus interview activities are also cancelled for that day. Whenever inclement weather occurs, we work closely with the affected companies to reschedule as quickly and conveniently as possible.

If you are a student whose interview is cancelled due to a University closure, an OCM staff member will send you an email through HireSmith updating you on the situation and rescheduling information. When the University reopens, we encourage students with questions or rescheduling issues to stop by the OCM or call: 301-405-2301.

Accepting a Job Offer

Accepting a job offer is a contractual agreement, and you are bound to uphold the commitment. Upon accepting a job offer, discontinue your job search and notify the OCM and all other potential employers for both summer and full-time positions. It is important that all of the pertinent information of this acceptance be reported to the OCM so that we can maintain accurate information about our students’ progress.

Reneging on Job Offers
It is not acceptable by OCM standards to withdraw your acceptance of a full-time or internship job offer. It is called reneging and is viewed as unethical. If you have any concerns about a job offer, please contact the Office of Career Management for guidance.

Resume Referrals and Marketing Letters

Students must adhere to all deadlines for turning in resumes and marketing letters. Collected resumes are sent immediately.

• It is expected that all student materials be error-free and professional in content.

• If you miss a deadline, you may send your resume and/or letter of interest separately, but you then lose the advantage provided by the OCM’s relationship with the company.

Requests from Employers

Resume books for full-time job opportunities and summer internships are distributed to companies. Some employers choose to contact students directly. Responding to employers must be timely and professional, even if you have no interest in the company. Please remember that the impression a recruiter retains of you may affect their impression of the Smith School.

Employer Presentations

A company presentation is an excellent way to gather company information and meet prospective employers.

• Business attire should be worn unless corporate casual attire is specified.

• If an employer schedules a presentation before an on-campus interview day, you are expected to attend if you are interested in the company. If you have already been chosen for an interview, your attendance is required.

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Attendance Policy

Maintaining a good relationship with recruiters is of the utmost importance to all Smith students. In order to ensure the continued success of Smith professionalism, OCM has amended its Fee Policy to incorporate student feedback and recruiter observations. The policy is listed below, and includes a new provision whereby any student who leaves a presentation early without prior clearance will be charged a $20 fine (see below for clarification of prior clearance).

For every OCM event, Student Ambassadors will now require that a student initial beside his/her name on the attendance list, and will not permit any student to attend the event who is inappropriately attired, late, or has not previously signed up for the event through HireSmith.

In addition to the change in fee policy, the MBAA encourages all students to treat every event, as if it were a corporate presentation. Smith professionalism is defined with every corporate interaction, not just during OCM-sponsored events.

OCM Fee Policy Overview

For company presentations and programming events, OCM will apply a fine of $20 to students for the following unprofessional behavior:

• Signing up for a presentation/event in HireSmith and not attending;

• Being asked to leave a presentation/event due to inappropriate attire (this is the same as not attending); or

• Leaving a presentation/event early without telling the presenter and student ambassador prior to the start of the presentation.

Payment is made out to the MBAA and failure to pay this fine within a two week period (from the date of the initial fee notification) will block a student from using HireSmith, including access to on-campus recruiting, interviews, and company presentations. Students can regain access to HireSmith once they have paid the fine.

Signing Up For/Withdrawing From Events in HireSmith

To sign up for an event:

• Click on the ‘Sign Up’ link for that event.

To withdraw from an event (must be at least 48 hours prior to the event):

1. Click on ‘Homepage' on the main navigation bar.
2. On 'Your Homepage,' click on the desired event.
3. On that event’s webpage, click on the ‘Cancel Event Signup' link.

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Offer Reporting

We are all aware that placement success is a key driver of business school rankings. In keeping with the Smith School’s ongoing efforts to capture and report complete and accurate job offer and acceptance information in a timely manner, the procedures with which we used for gathering this information from our full-time MBA students was revised.

The Smith School will continue to adhere to the widely accepted standards published by the MBA Career Services Council for reporting of such information. All Smith School data analysis and reporting will continue to be prepared in conformance with these standards. For your reference, the official MBA Career Services Council Standards can be viewed by accessing the following link: http://www.mbacsc.org.

Students, faculty and staff members are encouraged to contact LaVern Chapman or Peter Brown in the Office of Career Management should there be any questions regarding the new procedure. Thank you for your cooperation.

ATTACHMENT A

Procedures for Gathering Job Offer and Acceptance Data from Full-Time MBA Students

The following describes the annual cycle for gathering and reporting job offer and acceptance data.

1. The Smith Office of Career Management (“OCM”) will oversee the process for gathering job offer and acceptance data for MBA students. All questions regarding the process or the reporting standards should be directed to the OCM.

2. The OCM will solicit PRELIMINARY job status information from students at various intervals throughout the course of their second year, using simple Excel spreadsheets. Students who have received job offers (even if they have not yet accepted a position) will be required to respond. If a student does not respond, it will be assumed that he/she has thus far not received any job offers at all.

3. On a rolling basis starting in the spring of each year, the OCM will contact students who have reported receiving job offers and require them to complete a detailed survey in the format required by the MBA Career Services Council.

4. At the time of graduation, students who have not reported receiving an offer will be instructed to complete the same survey and to provide contact information so that their status can be tracked in the 90 days immediately following graduation.

5. The cut-off date for gathering job offer and acceptance data is September 30th of each year. At that point, the Smith School will analyze and report the data that has been gathered in conformance with the standards published by the MBA Career Services Council.

6. Student compliance with the above procedures established by the OCM, as well as accurate and complete reporting of the student’s individual job status information, are required to achieve a passing grade in the Ethics ELM (BUSI 608E). They therefore constitute requirements for graduation from the Smith Full-Time MBA program.

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