On-Campus Interviewing

Berkeley Career Engagement requires that all students participating in OCI cancel interviews or coffee chats at least 24 hours in advance if they cannot keep an interview or appointment as scheduled. When you fail to cancel your interviews or coffee chats on time, or no-show for one of these, your actions reflect poorly on you as an individual and on the University as a whole. Not only do you inconvenience the employer, but you may also deprive another student of a valuable interview opportunity. These situations, if unchecked, may also have more serious implications on the University's relationships with employers overall.

Therefore, Berkeley Career Engagement treats these incidents very seriously and advises you to take special note of the following Cancellation and No Show Policy.

Cancellations

Most interviews can be canceled directly in Handshake. If you miss the deadline to cancel online in Handshake, you will need to contact Employer Relations at recruit@berkeley.edu or 510-642-0464. Please provide complete details: name, your berkeley.edu email address, company name, date/time of interview, position title. If the interview was scheduled with the employer, you will need to contact them directly to cancel. *Any interview or meeting canceled less than 1 business day in advance will be considered a No Show.

Interview Day Emergencies: In the event of a sudden illness or extreme personal emergency on the interview day, please call us at 510-642-0464 or email recruit@berkeley.edu

Late Cancellations and No-Shows
If you cancel with less than 1 business day's notice (late cancellation) or no-show for an interview, Berkeley Career Engagement will treat these instances seriously and will enforce a system with the following penalties:

First Violation
For any missed meeting or cancellation less than 1 business day, you will receive a warning email. 

Second Violation
If you fail to show up or late cancel a second time, you will be blocked from signing up for interviews or chats with employers for the remainder of the semester, however, you will be expected to honor all previously arranged interviews during your suspension period. If you are unsure about your interview schedule, email recruit@berkeley.edu to request a copy of your interview schedule. To reinstate your account, you will also be required to meet with one of the managers in Employer Relations.

A member of the Employer Relations staff will inform you of your suspension via email. 

Employers affected by these penalties may be referred to you for an explanation.

Appeal Process
You may appeal your suspension if you feel that there were extenuating circumstances that resulted in your canceling late or not appearing for your interview by emailing recruit@berkeley.edu within 48 hours. Include the organization name, interview date and time. If you have any substantiating documentation (medical excuse, accident report, etc.), you are encouraged to include that as well. 

Upon receipt of this information, the Sr. Associate Director will review your case and advise you of the final decision.

You can swap out a resume after applying or withdraw your application completely, but only if the job hasn't expired yet. Refer to this helpful Handshake article for information on how to do so.

Deleting a document will only remove it from the documents section of Handshake. It will not be deleted from any previous submissions.

The employer screens by major, degree level, GPA, and work authorization. Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications, or preferences, you may still apply and may still be selected for an interview.

It may be possible to submit your application materials directly to the employer if contact information is provided in the job posting. If not, try checking the Events section of Handshake to find out if the employer is attending a career fair or hosting an information session. If the employer wants to interview you, they can easily apply you to the job and add your name to their invite list.

If you are chosen for an interview, you will receive an invitation from the employer directly. Make sure that your Notification preferences are set so that you receive an email when you are invited to interview. You will also see the invitation listed in your My Interviews section of Handshake. Click on the link to select a slot. If an employer is handling their own schedule, they will contact you directly.

You must contact Employer Relations at 510-642-0464 or recruit@berkeley.edu to check for openings. You may have lost your slot to an alternate candidate.

Handshake only allows you to sign up once on a schedule. If you have been invited more than once on a schedule, contact Employer Relations at 510-642-0464 or recruit@berkeley.edu and we will sign you up.

Employers may select you as an alternate for some interviews (in other words, you are on a waiting list). In this case, your status on the My Interviews page will show as Alternate. As an alternate, you can try to sign up for an interview during the online alternate sign-up period, but only if there are still interview slots available.

Go to My Interviews and click on the interview title. To change your time, click the leave slot button next to your name, find another time, and click the take slot button. To cancel an interview, click the leave slot button. If the deadline has passed, you'll need to contact Employer Relations at 510-642-0464 or recruit@berkeley.edu.

When a student submits a swap request, an email is sent to the person holding the slot. Student information is always kept anonymous. If the student receiving the request accepts, they will be asked to choose from the available slots plus the slot of the student requesting the swap.

Once they choose a new slot, the swap is executed. Other swap requests by the student requesting the swap are canceled and the students are put into their new slots.

Employers are not required to contact those candidates who didn't make the cut. Generally, however, you'll be notified within 1-2 weeks after your interview, or according to the timeframe identified by the employer. It is appropriate to email the Interviewer after this time to check on your status. Include your resume and ask for a specific time when you will be notified for a 2nd round interview.

Review our detailed Job Offer Guidelines for more information. If you are accepting an offer, you should immediately withdraw from the interviewing process with other employers.