The Annual Harvard Westlake Career Day (“Career Day”) motivates and inspires students to find their passion, continue their education, and develop a direction for their future. It offers organizations, firms, and agencies in different industries the opportunity to recruit Harvard-Westlake students.
Career Day is Harvard Westlake's commitment to assisting and shaping the future career pathways of our students by connecting them with leading industry professionals, HW parents and alumni, in a student-centered event focused on areas of their interest.
The Career Day program both enlightens and educates students while allowing the broader Harvard-Westlake community to become more involved with the school. A student-centered career day provides the best experience for both students and the employers, giving the students more control to match their career choices. Employers benefit by imprinting an indelible image within the Harvard-Westlake community, creating a pool of better-prepared workers, and building loyalty towards their organization or industry.
The Career Day Program is open to all Harvard-Westlake students and alumni.
Employer Registration
To register for Career Day, alumni, parents, and friends of Harvard-Westlake should rsvp on the HW Works platform. If you have not registered a profile on the platform, please do so here.
Next, under the "Get Hired" section of the platform, click "Share an Opportunity", to post your career day experience. The title format is: Career Day: Your name or your Company's name
The experience should include location, time, inclusion of breakfast/lunch, and what students should expect.
Here is the Career Day Host Guidebook which includes some frequently asked questions along with some sample Career Day schedules.
Please direct Career Day questions to works@hw.com.
Career fairs are a great way to connect with HW students, alumni, and parents while offering the opportunity to meet potential employee prospects.You can expect to connect with a variety of students and alumni from all areas of study at our Career Day and Spring Hiring Fair events.
Career fairs are a great opportunity to interact with a large number of employers on the same day. You will be able to:
- Build your network of professional contacts.
- Explore your career options and how you can put your degree to work.
- Discuss current and future work opportunities with a variety of organizations.
The Spring 2024 Career Fair will take place Thursday, February 13th at the Harvard-Westlake Upper School Campus
RSVP in the events section on the platform. If you need to register a profile on the platform, click here. Parents and members of the extended HW community, please remember that signing up for the platform means agreeing to act as a resource, guide, mentor, or advisor for HW students and alumni.
In this case, you are signing up in the capacity of a potential employer. If you simply want access to the community for a student or an alum, have them setup a profile on the platform, If you simply want access to the community, setup a meeting with me (kfrance@hw.com)
Please review the following guidelines before posting an internship for HW Students or Alumni. Email kfrance@hw.com should you have any questions.
Does the internship posting meet our Job & Internship Posting Standards?
Employers wishing to recruit students and alumni of Harvard-Westlake using HW Works, including the HW Works platform, are encouraged to do so; however, all submissions to HW Works and the platform are reviewed and approved/rejected based upon the information contained in the HW Works Employer Recruiting Guidelines and Procedures.
Has the recruiter agreed to abide by our recruiting standards?
Employers who wish to make use of the assistance, services, and/or facilities offered by HW Works at Harvard-Westlake School must also comply with Harvard-Westlake’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy. As part of the school’s commitment to leadership in the area of ethics and professional conduct, we require employers utilizing HW Works to adhere to employment laws and principles of professional practice, as outlined by the federal government and The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Principles for Professional Practice, respectively.
Is the unpaid intern afforded the same protections as an employee?
Many employers, particularly small employers, are unaware of the liability they take on when hosting an unpaid intern. We at Harvard-Westlake are keenly aware of this, and this is why we only approve internship sites that have adequate business liability and worker’s compensation insurance. All tenants in commercial office space must carry adequate insurance coverage; it is a cost of doing business. Many home-based businesses do not carry the same types and levels of insurance, so we do not typically allow postings for unpaid internships in home-based businesses. And, this protection extends beyond simple workplace safety. Just like employees, interns should not be subjected to sexual harassment or other conditions that would constitute a hostile work environment. Treat interns with the same respect given to regular employees and offer them similar workplace protection.
Will the unpaid intern be working in a professional work environment?
Workplace and facilities are themselves an issue. Employers must provide physical space in a professional work environment where the interns can complete their assigned tasks in close proximity to their direct supervisor. Most “home offices” and virtual internships do not offer professional work environments, so most home offices and virtual internships are not suitable for unpaid internships. Here is an example: If interns have to use the same restroom as your kids, and they have to go from your home office through your kitchen and past your dining room to get to that restroom, you are not offering a professional work environment.
Will the unpaid intern be provided the necessary resources and supervision?
Resources: If you wish to take on unpaid interns, don’t expect them to bring their own tools! Provide a desk, phone, email address, online access, computer, parking permit, camera, etc. Reimburse them for approved expenses; including mileage if they have to run any errands or travel to off-site meetings in their own vehicles. Remember, if you are not paying them, they are actually paying to work for you. Don’t make it cost them anymore than necessary.
Supervision: Interns, particularly unpaid interns, should be supervised by experienced professionals. Accounting interns should be supervised by accountants, human resources interns should be supervised by HR professionals, public relations interns should be supervised by PR professionals; journalism interns should be supervised by journalists. A production office receptionist or administrative assistant cannot adequately supervise, mentor or train a film production intern to be anything other than a production office receptionist.
The supervisor should be on-site, and physically present and accessible to the intern on a regular basis. How else will that supervisor be able to evaluate the intern’s performance, train and coach the intern, offer feedback and input and otherwise be a resource to the intern? They can’t. And, this feedback is important:
In the case of internships for academic credit, internship supervisors should conduct mid-term and final evaluations of the intern’s performance, and the results of these evaluations should be shared with the Director of HW Works. Interns should also evaluate their internship experience and share this evaluation with the Director of HW Works. Learning and performance development should be the objectives of the student evaluations. Quality control should be the objective of the internship evaluations.
What about “virtual internships?”
In certain instances, our school will award academic credit for virtual internships. Every once in a while an internship comes along that clearly deserves consideration. We know the world is changing and that more and more people are working remotely and in virtual environments. But remember, an internship for academic credit is first and foremost a learning experience, and an intern left to learn by themselves - 10 or 1000 miles away from their supervisor – is rarely engaged in a learning experience worthy of academic credit.
Is it an Internship or a Part-time Job?
We have a very narrow definition for internships. If we are going to allow a posting on the platform to be called an internship, we want it to meet the NACE Internship Definition and Criteria because we want to be sure that it is an experiential learning experience and therefore potentially eligible for academic credit. If your posting does not meet the NACE Internship Definition and Criteria, chances are it isn’t an internship; rather, it is a part-time job. Our students need part-time jobs, too! Part-time jobs are great; they are just not internships – and this distinction is very important. While internships can meet the NACE Internship Definition and Criteria AND also be paid, part-time jobs – though paid employment – are not internships unless they meet the NACE Internship Definition and Criteria.
Organizations and talent acquisition professionals who wish to engage with and make use of the assistance and/or facilities offered by Harvard-Westlake must have an approved account. HW Works and must adhere to university and college-specific recruiting guidelines as well as applicable federal, state, and local employment laws.
HW Works Guidelines and Procedures
HW Works provides employers with access to job posting services and to student job seekers in all phases of their educational journey. Employer accounts and postings are reviewed based on information provided by the talent acquisition professional. Talent acquisition professionals must agree to all recruiting policies and postings must adhere to the criteria detailed below.
Employer Account Review Process
For a successful HW Works account registration with a high trust score, employers must:
- Complete all required sections.
- Provide as much information as possible to help students research and learn about your organization and opportunity.
- Provide a professional website and matching contact domain email address (e.g., no personal, Gmail, or Yahoo accounts allowed).
- Represent a recognized business with a business location and address. Personal requests/postings are prohibited. Remote businesses without an office location are considered for postings and must be in compliance with our Statement of Understanding & Compliance for Remote Companies.
Staffing Agency/Third Party (SATP) Recruiters
HW Works welcomes SATP postings that adhere to our recruiting policies. SATP recruiters (e.g., employment/staffing agencies) must sign the Staffing Agency Statement of Understanding and Compliance. This form details the compliance guidelines created to protect student and alumni materials and contact information when connecting with employers via a SATP.
Job Posting Review Process
HW Works job postings are reviewed and approved/declined based upon the information you provide in your posting. All posted opportunities must:
- Include a professional website to help evaluate the opportunity, and recruiters must use a professional/organization-related email address in the contact field (e.g., no Gmail or Yahoo accounts).
- Be used for the hiring of candidates for your human resource needs or the human resource needs of your clients; job postings cannot be used to advertise events, services, or programs (e.g., career fairs, test prep, placement or learning programs, etc.).
- Include an English language website if your organization is based outside the U.S. and must be hiring for your internal needs (i.e., no placement programs are allowed); for employment outside of the U.S., employers are advised to use the following language when stating applicant qualifications: “must be legally eligible for hire in the country of employment.”
- Not include fees or purchase requirements for employment (e.g., fee-based training, fee-based placements, or positions requiring the purchase of supplies or a training kit).
- Not require employees to market/promote or create/develop free or fee-based programs, products, services, events, etc. and/or collect student information on the Harvard-Westlake campus on behalf of an organization.
- Not include referral bonuses.
- Align with the goals of the university and provide experiences for the development of marketable skills and career competencies that ensure continued career growth.
- Explicitly and transparently describe straight commission-based salary structures so that students are aware and informed when evaluating opportunities.
Internship Review Process
HW Works believes that experiential learning opportunities, such as internships, create high-impact experiences for students and should be for the primary benefit of the intern. Both paid and unpaid opportunities will be reviewed and fully vetted if they align with the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet “primary beneficiary” test, and with NACE’s Criteria for an Internship to be Defined as an Internship.
- Positions that do not comply with Department of Labor regulations listed above will not be approved (both paid and unpaid).
- Positions requiring interns or employees to market/promote or create/develop free or fee-based programs, products, services, events, etc. and/or collect student information on the HW campus on behalf of an organization are prohibited and not in compliance with Regents’ Rules and Regulations.
- Commission-only internships are prohibited.
- Stipend-based internships are allowable and must meet the federal minimum wage requirement.
- Remote/virtual internships, both paid and unpaid, will be considered and must comply with Department of Labor regulations and NACE’s criteria to ensure a high-impact experience.
- Opportunities that provide all resources, equipment, and facilities are highly favored.
- Postings for internships located outside of Los Angeles that take place during the academic year are allowable, but please note that some Harvard-Westlake commitments will not permit students to accept these positions.
- Summer internships may require students to work up to 40 hours per week. See related federal labor laws on overtime.
Unpaid Internships
Unpaid internships must pass the Department of Labor’s “primary beneficiary” test. If the opportunity is to the primary beneficiary of the employer, then the opportunity should be paid. Unpaid internships that require students to pay out-of-pocket expenses are prohibited; examples include unpaid internships requiring students to pay for gas to run internship-related errands, purchase software, or provide their own equipment and facilities. Additional unpaid and internship wage resources are available at NACE.
Labor Laws, Campus Policy, Association Guidelines
We welcome you to explore the following university recruiting guidelines and applicable federal, state, and local employment laws referenced above.