AY23-24 Offer Policy

Effective July 1, 2023

Full-Time and Internship employment offers resulting from Summer 2023 internships have a response deadline of Friday, November 3, 2023.

Full-Time and Internship employment offers that are extended during the Fall 2023 semester have a response deadline of Friday, November 3, 2023 or one month from the date the offer is extended-whichever period is longer.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you receive a full-time or internship job offer that does not align with the Spelman offer policy, you should immediately inform your employer of this and share a copy of the policy with them. Share the following link with them: https://cpd.spelman.edu/resources/offer-policy-employers/

Along with sharing the link, inform your employer that you would like for them to consider honoring the policy as stated. The employer has the right to accept, decline or modify the terms of the policy. The policy is not enforceable as stated because ultimately the offer is extended by the employer and not Spelman. It is intended as a guideline to assist students in having the time to explore and/or weigh all of their options before making a final decision.

If you are not comfortable with the employer’s response after they have both reviewed the policy and your request to honor the policy as stated, you should respectfully decline the offer and continue with your job search. DO NOT accept an offer you are uncomfortable with or feel pressured to accept. In most cases, you will continue to explore other options and if you find something else you like, you will most likely decline your previous offer acceptance. Doing so is called reneging and is considered unethical in most cases. For more information on reneging, please read the section below entitled “Reneging on Job Offers”.

Remember, when you accept a job offer, you are essentially saying “I accept the terms of the offer as stated, and I am ceasing my job search effective immediately because I am moving forward with my decision.” If you are unsure how to proceed, please schedule an appointment with a career counselor via Handshake at https://spelman.joinhandshake.com/edu/appointments.

Effective January 1, 2024

Full-Time and Internship employment offers that are extended during the Spring 2024 semester have a response deadline of March 1, 2024 or 3 weeks from the date the offer is extended-whichever period is longer.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you receive a full-time or internship job offer that does not align with the Spelman offer policy, you should immediately inform your employer of this and share a copy of the policy with them. Share the following link with them: https://cpd.spelman.edu/resources/offer-policy-employers/

Along with sharing the link, inform your employer that you would like for them to consider honoring the policy as stated. The employer has the right to accept, decline or modify the terms of the policy. The policy is not enforceable as stated because ultimately the offer is extended by the employer and not Spelman. It is intended as a guideline to assist students in having the time to explore and/or weigh all of their options before making a final decision.

If you are not comfortable with the employer’s response after they have both reviewed the policy and your request to honor the policy as stated, you should respectfully decline the offer and continue with your job search. DO NOT accept an offer you are uncomfortable with or feel pressured to accept. In most cases, you will continue to explore other options and if you find something else you like, you will most likely decline your previous offer acceptance. Doing so is called reneging and is considered unethical in most cases. For more information on reneging, please read the section below entitled “Reneging on Job Offers”.

Remember, when you accept a job offer, you are essentially saying “I accept the terms of the offer as stated, and I am ceasing my job search effective immediately because I am moving forward with my decision.” If you are unsure how to proceed, please schedule an appointment with a career counselor via Handshake at https://spelman.joinhandshake.com/edu/appointments.

We ask students to govern themselves in an ethical manner during their job search by adopting the following best practices to reduce/eliminate renege rates as discussed in the following articles:

• Ask Ruth – How should I approach negotiating my Offer Letter?
• Ask Ruth – What should I look out for in my Offer Letter?
• How to Ask for Time to Consider a Job (With Examples)

Spelman College does not condone nor encourage students reneging on employment offers that they have previously accepted. As these instances are reported to us, the College will examine each situation on a case-by-case basis and facilitate the appropriate response based upon the circumstances of the infraction. To assist in mitigating these occurrences, the College will communicate the job offer policy to our students as well as educate them on the subject of reneging and how to conduct themselves with integrity during the job search process.

• What Does It Mean to Renege? (And How to Avoid It)

IMPORTANT: Please note that any student reported to the College by an employer as having reneged on a previously accepted job (full-time or internship) must participate in a mandatory discussion with the director of Career Planning regarding this infraction. Additionally, the student could be asked to perform certain steps to help mitigate further reputational risk to both the College and themselves. Failure to comply with this procedure will result in the case being turned over to the Dean of Students office in the Division of Student Affairs and deactivation of the student’s Handshake account. If a student is unsure how to respond to a job offer, or need assistance in evaluating a job offer, they should schedule an appointment with a career counselor in the Office of Career Planning and Development to assist with this issue.