For Employers

Engage with Macalester Students

• About Macalester Students

  Learn more about Macalester students and the numerious ways you can engage with them.

• Post a Job or Internship

  Post a job or internship on Handshake

  We use Handshake for our career services platform, allowing you to post openings, register for job fairs, and manage interview schedules. Don’t have an account? Find out what Handshake offers employers.

  Posting Criteria

  By posting a job or internship opportunity, you agree to comply with all federal and state regulations regarding Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity and to follow the National Association of Colleges and Employers Principles of Professional Practice.

  If you’re looking for an unpaid intern, be sure to review Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act.

  Macalester accepts postings for both paid (hourly, stipend, etc.) and unpaid internships. We encourage you, however, to offer some sort of compensation in order to reach the widest talent pool—60% of Macalester students say that for financial reasons they cannot accept an unpaid internship. The vast majority of internships can be set up to earn academic credit through Macalester, although this is not required. 

  Read Best Practices for Posting in Handshake (gdoc).

• Participate in a Recruitment Event

  We offer a variety of ways to connect with students in-person or virtually including info sessions, employer tabling, industry specific job fairs, and interviews. If you are interested in one of these please email [email protected] to further discuss your specific needs. We will work together to find the best opportunity for you. 

  Tips and Policies for Successful Student Engagement

  • Invite alumni who work at or current students who have interned in your organization to participate in the event with you. 
  • Keep information sessions to 30-45 minutes.
  • We may need to cancel info sessions if there are not at least 8 students registered 24 hours in advance.
  • Career Exploration promotes employer events to all students through multiple channels. We are unable to use printed materials provided by you to promote your visit. We may accept and use a copy of your promotional material submitted electronically.

• Offer Guidelines

  We urge employers to allow students ample time to consider offers of employment. Read Setting Reasonable Deadlines for Job Offers on the NACE website to learn more about best practices in this area.

• Hosting Macalester Interns

  The quality of the internship experience often depends on the supervisor’s skills  as much as on the effort of the student intern. An intern who is challenged by the work, is learning new skills, and feels valued by the organization will be a more engaged and productive contributor. Here’s how to create an environment that fosters a successful working/learning relationship.

  Hosting Macalester Interns (gdoc)
  Planning for Remote Internships (gdoc)

  The Benefits of Offering an Internship for Academic Credit

  • For unpaid internships, helps ensure you are staying on the right side of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines (outlined on the Department of Labor’s website) since the work is being done as an academic class that is focused on being a quality learning experience;
  • Students work within the structure and support of the school and a professor, and therefore tend to be more focused in what they hope to accomplish and reflective about the experience;
  • Employers report these interns tend to be more reliable and dedicated to the position because they are working within the structure of a class and earning credit;
  • If problems arise with the student, the employer may turn to Career Exploration and the professor for assistance in addressing them.

• Hiring International Students

  Macalester has long prided itself on being an international learning community. On average, 15% of the student body holds citizenship exclusively somewhere other than the U.S. (many more are citizens of the U.S. and another country). Making your positions (internships and full-time) open to international candidates will substantially increase the size and quality of your talent pool. Please read our Hiring International Students guide for more information.

  What you need to know about hiring international students as interns:

  • All of Macalester’s international students (those studying in the U.S. on F1 visas) are authorized to intern in positions related to their majors after completing two semesters on campus. 
  • International students must do their internships for academic credit and these internships can be paid or unpaid. 
  • As an employer, you have no paperwork or expenses beyond what you would have with a U.S student intern. 
  • Macalester’s Academic Internships and International Student Program will facilitate the process on our end. 

  For more information on employing international college students for internships, please see U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement information on student Curricular Practical Training (CPT).

  After graduation, international students have the ability to work full  or part time, paid or unpaid, in roles that are related to their majors, for a period of at least 12 months. Graduates with majors in STEM disciplines (biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, economics, environmental studies, geography, geology, math, neuroscience, physics, psychology, statistics) and hired into a role related to that major can work for you for up to 36 months without additional expense or needing a sponsored  visa. For more information on employing international college students for full-time roles, please see U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement information on student Occupational Practical Training (OPT).

• Alumni- Share Opportunities at your Organization

  Interested in sharing your organization’s open jobs and internships with Macalester students? There are two ways to share these opportunities:

  1. Handshake: The best way for students and recent alumni to learn about a company’s available positions is to post opportunities on Handshake, our job and internship search database. If your organization is hiring for positions that a student or recent alum would be qualified for, check with your HR department to see if they have a Handshake account and are posting jobs to Macalester students. If you’re not sure whether your employer uses Handshake, we would be happy to look that up for you. Please email [email protected]. Find out what Handshake has to offer here.
  2. #HireMac: We can post positions on Handshake with a #HireMac label. This label allows students to know there is an alumni connection. With your permission, we list your name and email address in the job description so students can reach out to ask questions about the application, company culture, etc. If you want to share an opportunity to be posted as a #HireMac position, please fill out our #HireMac form.    

  Have questions? Reach out to [email protected]

• Post Part Time and Summer Jobs

  If you are hoping to post local jobs for students while they are enrolled in college, please use our part-time job board.

  By posting jobs on the MacJobBoard, you agree to comply with all federal and state regulations regarding Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity and to follow the National Association of Colleges and Employers Principles of Professional Practice.