Recruitment & Hiring

Purpose of Recruitment & Hiring Guide
  • The Career Center provides guidance with navigating student recruitment & hiring
  • To support offices / departments with recruitment & hiring best practices
Disclaimer
The Career Center supports supervisors with navigating student recruitment & hiring.  We recognize the important work of the other offices that support student employment at CSU.  
Our team does its best to keep this guide and resources up to date.
The Office of Financial Aid can help with work study awards, pay rates, and Oracle approvals

There are two types of employment for students: Work-Study & Student Hourly.

  • Work Study: financial aid awarded via the FAFSA or the Request Work-Study Application; types include “need-based” and “no-need” work-study. Part of a student’s wages earned through a work-study position are supplemented by state, federal or institutional funds.
  • Student Hourly: campus hourly positions are available throughout campus and do not require a work-study award.


Find detailed work study information on OFA’s website.  View the Office of Financial Aid’s Student Job Categories & Pay Rate Chart to determine the hourly pay rate of the student position.

The Career Center can help with Handshake job posting, interviews, and conditional offer best practices

Update candidates not moving forward in the hiring processes. 

Dear [Student Name],

Thank you for your interest in our student employment opportunity at the [Department Name]. Your time and effort in applying and interviewing with us was greatly appreciated.

This email is to inform you that we are not able to move forward with your candidacy currently. We were fortunate to have a strong and competitive pool of candidates for our roles and had to make some tough decisions. We do encourage you to apply for future openings with us.  We wish you the best in your job search moving forward.

Resume, Cover Letter & Application Support at the CSU Career Center

The CSU Career Center provides services to students to assist in their job search. Career Managers and Peer Educators are available to help you with application materials, help with interviewing skills and a job search.

  • Drop-in Appointments:  Drop-in appointments are available Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.  We are located on the first floor of the LSC.
  • Schedule an Appointment:  You can also schedule an appointment online through Handshake.

Download Student Employee  Interview Guide

Student Employee Interview Guide Screenshot

Explore Interview Questions Library

Job offers are contingent on a successful background check.  As a guide, use the email template directly below to make a conditional offer to a candidate.  The conditional job offer template is provided directly below.

As a best practice, the CSU Career Center recommends providing students between 48 – 72 hours to make a decision. With the nuance, that students can ask for a reasonable extension if they need more time to make an informed decision.

Dear [Student Name],

I am delighted to extend an offer for the [Position Title] position campus with us at [Office / Team / Department Name].

Attached to this email is a conditional job offer that is contingent on a successful background check.  The job offer lays out:

  • Anticipated start date
  • Anticipated weekly hours
  • Hourly pay rate

Please respond letting us know about your decision to accept or decline this conditional job offer by [Date & Time].  If you need more time to make an informed decision, please let me know.

I am very excited to have you on the team and look forward to working with you!

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Download Conditional Job Offer Template

Conditional Offer TEMPLATE Screenshot

Human Resources can help with background checks, new hire paperwork, Oracle Technology, and TimeClock Plus & payroll

The background check process for students are conducted through Oracle. To initiate a background check:

  1. Complete the HR System Access Request Form for background checks. This will allow access to the background check system within Oracle.
  2. Complete the online background check training: Review the How to Order a Background Check in Oracle training document or  reference A Guide to Background Checks at Colorado State University
  3. Once the background check has been submitted, the candidate will receive an email notification. The candidate’s response is required for the background check to begin.

Reference the RAMp Up Guide for more information.  Once the student passes their background check, they will automatically be enrolled in Equifax to complete their RAMp Up new hire forms (I-9, Section 1 & SSA-1945) .  These forms must be completed no later than the first day of employment.

After the student completes their RAMp Up new hire forms, your department must complete I-9, Section 2 of the new hire forms through Equifax.  Arrange a time to meet with the student to view and verify their original identification and work authorization documents.  Departments are not required to make copies of the supporting documents.

Using the Oracle Hiring a New Employee Guide, enter the newly hired student into Oracle.  You will need to reference the Office of Financial Aid’s Student Job Categories & Pay Rate Chart to complete this step.

24 hours after the new hire is approved through Oracle by the Office of Financial Aid, they will have access to TimeClock Plus.

Highlighted Resources

Icons 07 Min
Handshake Job Posting Guide
Icons 09 Min
Interview Guide
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Conditional Offer Template

Additional resources for hiring international students

International students may be employed on-campus from the start of their academic program. Hiring international students can have a great benefit to university offices and provides these students with opportunity to get experience in the U.S. work environment.