Recruiting Policies and Guidelines

The Berklee Career Center has developed a set of policies and guidelines to which all employers must agree. Our services, programs, and activities are available to employers whose behaviors and practices are consistent with the policies and guidelines outlined in this section. The shared commitment to these policies and guidelines, by both employers and Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, provides the foundation for a fair and ethical recruiting process.

Students rely on the Career Center’s relationship with employers to advise them and insulate them from problematic or unethical practices. It is our hope that an awareness of established policies and guidelines, and discussions in advance of recruiting will improve the employer and student experience during the recruiting process. We reserve the right to make exceptions to these policies and guidelines as warranted by special circumstances. Such exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Any exception made does not constitute a change in policy, nor is there a guarantee that this same decision will apply in the future.

Berklee Career Manager and Posting Guidelines

The Berklee Career Manager is a web-based portal, free to employers that wish to publicize full-time, part-time, internship, gig, and audition opportunities to the Berklee network exclusively. Employers must be transparent with the Career Center about their recruiting activities and the information provided to students. The Career Center reserves the right to decline any employer or posting at our sole discretion with or without explanation.

Posting Guidelines

The Career Center reviews and approves postings for opportunities in the areas of performance, production, music business, composition, education, health and wellness, and design. Opportunities that are not related to theater, dance, music, and the creative industries are not accepted. If you're uncertain, contact the Career Center to discuss further.
Volunteer or unpaid opportunities are considered on a case-by-case basis. In most instances, the Career Center does not promote unpaid opportunities on the Berklee Career Manager (except unpaid internships approved for academic credit).
We do not post opportunities in exchange for portfolio experience and where compensation is provided in the form of merchandise or concert tickets as we believe artists deserve a living wage.
We maintain a strict no solicitation and advertising policy. As such, Berklee will not accept postings that require students to solicit and/or recruit from within our community. For any vendor who wishes to sell products or services on campus, and for other questions and information, please contact Procurement Services Manager Jim Boyd(Opens in a new window).
Nonprofit or charitable organizations looking to hire Berklee artists may wish to contact the Career Center to discuss compensation practices. Berklee reserves the right to advertise all positions within the Berklee community as well as via social media.

In addition, the Career Center may refuse service to employers or individuals due to any of the following:

postings requiring personal information at the time of application, such as bank and social security numbers;
postings requiring donations, application fees, or investments, or offering items or services for sale;
postings requiring monetary outlay by candidates for equipment and training;
misrepresentation, whether defined by dishonest information or absence of information;
fraud;
harassment of Berklee students, alumni, faculty, or staff;
breach of confidentiality as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)(Opens in a new window); and
any violation of local, state, or federal laws.

Student Referrals

Undue Pressure by an Employer

Employers must refrain from putting undue pressure on Berklee students to attend recruitment events, apply for specific opportunities, and/or accept a job offer. Whereas assertive recruitment is appropriate, aggressive recruitment is not (i.e., unsolicited or excessive phone calls, and unsolicited emails to students). Exploding offers (offers that do not afford a candidate the appropriate time to either accept or decline) are unacceptable. For example, an offer with a 48-hour window or less would be an exploding offer.

Nondiscrimination Policy

Berklee does not discriminate in recruitment, employment, or policy administration on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, color, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, status as a disabled veteran or other protected veteran under U.S. federal law, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. In addition, Berklee expects all employees, students, vendors, and associates to comply with the policy of nondiscrimination. Please see Berklee’s Diversity Values Statement for more information.

Alcohol Connected to On-Campus Events

Third-Party Recruiting

Thirdparty recruiters may utilize Berklee Career Manager job listing services and participate in select on-campus recruiting events. The Career Center defines third-party recruiters as agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities for other organizations rather than for internal positions. Third-party recruiters must verify in advance whether they are recruiting for their own organizations or for their clients. Third-party firms who are recruiting for positions within their own organizations must clearly differentiate those opportunities from their client engagements.

Third-party recruiters will not disclose to any employer, including the client-employer, any student information without obtaining prior written consent from the student. Under no circumstances can student information be disclosed other than for the original recruiting purposes, nor can it be sold or provided to other entities. Online job posting and resumé referral services must prominently display their privacy policies on their websites, specifying who will have access to student information. Failure to abide by these third-party requirements will result in loss of access to Career Center services.

Employment Eligibility

In compliance with the Department of Justice rulings regarding citizenship discrimination and best practices for online job postings(Opens in a new window), the Career Center does no screening of candidates in the Berklee Career Manager based upon employment eligibility. Therefore, we do not allow students to indicate their work authorization status in their Berklee Career Manager profiles. Employers may include employment eligibility information in their Berklee Career Manager job descriptions as a point of information for potential candidates so that the candidates may self-screen. The Career Center reserves the right to modify or remove any statements or job postings that include any potentially illegal or discriminatory language.

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