Students may not miss class or academic commitments for full-time or internship interviews, recruiting events, or travel related to those activities. Employers cannot require a student, as a condition of his or her employment candidacy, to interview at a time that conflicts with his or her individual academic schedule. An employer's inflexibility on this issue will be considered a violation of Wharton's recruiting policies. In order to avoid class conflicts, MBA Career Management recommends that all first-year interviews outside of the Dedicated Interview Period take place on Fridays and Saturdays or on weekday afternoons/evenings from 3:00 to 9:00 pm in Philadelphia.
International offices of U.S domestic firms, as well as all international companies, will be held to the same recruiting schedule and requirements placed on U.S. offices/U.S. firms, barring exceptions pre-approved by MBA Career Management.
Company and/or club hosted recruiting events may not be held during the Second-Year Networking Expos event times.
For the 2009-2010 academic year, companies targeting both classes may choose one option below:
A) Conduct a First-Year Only Employer Information Session (EIS) and participate in one of our Second-Year Networking Expos.
B) Conduct one Combined First- and Second-Year EIS.
First-year targeted, single-firm Recruiting Events may begin on Thursday, October 29, 2009. Please also note that first-year resumes cannot be requested until Thursday, October 29, 2009. First-Year Only Employer Information Sessions begin on Monday, November 2, 2009. Events targeted toward first-year students and planned for Quarter 1 (from Wednesday, September 9, 2009, through Tuesday, October 20, 2009) must be multi-firm and educational events, not Recruiting Events.
The Focused Interview Period (FIP) begins Friday, October 16, 2009, and runs through Wednesday,
October 21, 2009. During FIP, all interviews must occur in Philadelphia. Recruiting will continue on a rolling basis throughout the rest of the academic year.
Earliest Decision Date: Friday, November 13,
2009, at 5:00 pm EST
Second-years must be given until the Second-Year MBA Earliest Decision Day, or three weeks from the date of the written offer, whichever is later, to respond to offers of employment. Students cannot be required to indicate acceptance of an offer until a written communication (e.g. mailed letter, fax or e-mail) is received.
Once an offer (verbal or written) is made to a student, it cannot be withdrawn without being considered a violation of Wharton’s Recruiting Policies. If a company believes it has a valid reason to withdraw an offer, it can appeal its rule violation to the Director of MBA Career Management. The penalty for rescinding an offer will be up to the equivalent of two rule violations, as per the enforcement guidelines (on page 17). Delayed start dates will not be considered ‘de facto rescinded offers’ for a period of up to four months from the original start date for full-time positions (or, if no start date was given, for up to eight months from the date of graduation); subsequently they will be treated as rescinded offers.
The Dedicated Interview Period (DIP) for first-years runs Thursday, February 4, 2010 to Friday, February 12, 2010. Interviews continue on or off campus on Fridays, and weekdays off campus from 3:00 - 9:00 pm after February 12, 2010 in order to comply with the class attendance policy. All interviews during DIP, excluding the dedicated second-round date, must take place in Philadelphia to avoid scheduling conflicts. No interviewing of first-year students may occur prior to DIP. (This includes on- and off-campus interviews.)
Second round interviews may be held at any time during DIP in Philadelphia. Friday, February 12, 2010 is reserved for out of town interviews. Interviews can occur outside of Philadelphia on Fridays and Saturdays after DIP. In order to facilitate second-round interview scheduling, students should be offered an alternative interview date and time. Interviews must not conflict with academic schedules.
No recruiting events (e.g., private events or dinners) can take place between the dates of an individual
company’s first-round interviews and the end of DIP – Friday February 12, 2010, at 5:00 pm EST.
Earliest Offer Date: Friday, February 12, 2010,
at 5:00 pm EST
To allow first-year students sufficient time to consider various opportunities, as well as allow employers sufficient time to evaluate candidates, all employers are required to observe a First-Year MBA Earliest Offer Day. First-year internship offers (verbal or written, accepts and declines) cannot be made until this day. No first-year student can accept an offer before Friday, February 12, 2010, 5:00 pm EST.
First-years must be given until the First-Year MBA Earliest Decision Day or two weeks from the date of the written offer, whichever is later to make a decision. Students cannot be required to indicate acceptance of an offer until a written communication (e.g., mailed letter, fax or e-mail) is received.
All pre-MBA fellowships/internships and resulting offers or contracts made prior to the start of the MBA program, are between the company and the student and preclude involvement of the MBA Career Management Office and Recruiting Policies.
Students Reneging on Accepted Employment Offers
Once you have accepted an offer from any company, you are expected to uphold the integrity of the Wharton brand by honoring your commitment. A Wharton MBA student’s reneging on an accepted offer potentially damages not only the reputation of the individual, but also the school and its relationship with affected employer. The act of reneging on an offer can result in a company significantly reducing or altogether eliminating its on-campus recruiting effort, damaged alumni relations, and/or the withdrawal of a company’s financial support for student activities and broader school wide initiatives.
If you are planning on reneging on an offer you have accepted, you are required to schedule a meeting with a member of the MBA Career Management advising staff in order to discuss your intended actions. Our goal is not to prevent students from making optimal career choices, but rather to counsel students on the handling of this difficult situation to help them minimize the negative impact of their decision.
Reneging on an accepted offer is a serious action and therefore considered a violation of Wharton’s recruiting policy. Penalties are imposed on students to uphold the integrity of the policies and to create accountability for a student’s individual choices which have negative impact on the broader Wharton community. Each student situation will be carefully reviewed by the MBA Career Management Office, and depending on the circumstances and the student’s management of the situation, any of the penalties outlined below may be imposed. Students who fail to consult with the MBA Career Management Office before reneging on an offer will face the maximum penalties outlined below and may have their case referred to the Ethics Committee for further review and consideration.
- A mandatory meeting with the Director of MBA Career Management, Vice Dean Jain and/or Dean Robertson to explain the reasons for your actions and steps taken to manage the situation.
- A mandatory in-person meeting with the company, as well as a letter copying MBA Career Management, apologizing and explaining the reasons for your actions.
- Monetary fine up to $20,000. The monetary fine will be billed to the student's account prior to the end of the academic year and could result in the withholding of the student's physical diploma and academic transcript if unpaid.
- Immediate and permanent suspension from CareerPath including loss of access to on campus recruiting and the use of MBA Career Management services. You will receive email notification regarding CareerPath termination.
- Loss of all Wharton MBA Career Management alumni career management privileges for a period of up to five years, including access to the Alumni Job Board, Alumni Resume Book, Alumni Advising and online resources.
Employers Rescinding Offers and Delaying Start Dates
Rescinded offers and delayed start dates have a deleterious effect on both the student(s) involved and the company’s reputation on campus, as well as their relationship with Wharton. Once an offer (verbal or written) is made to a student, it cannot be withdrawn without being considered a violation of Wharton’s recruiting policies unless extenuating circumstances exist, such as extreme or unforeseen business conditions or egregious student behavior. In order to deter firms from rescinding offers, or to do so in as thoughtful and sensitive way as possible, an employer’s act of rescinding an offer may be treated as a second-time violation and will be subject to the penalties described below under “Enforcement of Employer Policies.”
As with student recruiting policy violations, an employer’s rescinding of an offer will be reviewed carefully by MBA Career Management and penalties assessed based upon the circumstances and the company’s management of the situation. Delayed start dates will be considered de facto rescinded offers if the delay is for a period greater than four months from the original start date for full-time positions, or, if no start date was given, for up to eight months from the date of graduation.
Wharton students are free to disclose any aspect of their own academic transcripts
to prospective employers, or any other interested parties, and are
encouraged to do so. Such disclosure is a legal right, and it is Wharton’s policy
to protect this right. Prospective employers are free to request from students
any aspect of their academic transcripts. Details of Wharton’s MBA grading
system can be found at http://employer.wharton.upenn.edu/recruiting/wgs.cfm.
In the recruiting process, employers may encounter students who refer to the Wharton
Graduate Association’s Grade Non Disclosure referendum which can be found on the
WGA website.
Should a company violate Wharton's recruiting policies, the following penalties will be imposed:
- A first-time violation will result in a letter from the Director of MBA Career Management to the senior management of the company informing them of the guideline violation, and the company will be immediately placed on probation. Written company confirmation of the violation notice and associated probation is required.
- A second-time violation will result in restricting the company's access to students, including but not limited to panel/industry discussions, Employer Information Sessions, club events and conferences or other general recruiting activity.
- A third-time violation will result in a meeting between Wharton and company senior management, and potential exclusion of the company from any on-campus recruiting activity at Wharton for a period of one year.
- If there are no subsequent violations within a two year period of any violation, the company will be removed from probation.
- Violations will be fully communicated to the Wharton community and listed on our internal website for a three year period.
The goal of these recruiting policies is to provide all employers with a level playing field and a fair process that takes into consideration the needs and requirements of our students. Employers who conduct interviews off campus are requested to notify MBA Career Management of all student interview cancellations, late cancellations and no-shows. We believe that the combination of the student and employer policies will enable employers to develop valuable long-term relationships with The Wharton School and will also provide students the maximum number of career opportunities.
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