Campus Recruiting and Engagement

Employers may post opportunities (with or without interview schedules) through our on-line system, Handshake. Some employers opt to include (or add) an interview schedule to convert a posting into an On-Campus Recruiting experience. For positions requiring 5+ years of experience, send descriptions to Angela Shurtleff (ilrcareerrecruiting@cornell.edu) to share on the ILR Alumni Association LinkedIn page.

Employers can request either on-campus or virtual interviews through our office. Our staff will manage the logistics to ensure a seamless recruiting experience.

The ILR Office of Career Services hosts an active on-campus recruiting program managed through Handshake. Employers find on-campus visits to be a very effective way to identify prospective summer interns and full-time hires.

We can coordinate in-person or virtual interview schedules. If interested in other recruiting activity, such as information sessions and office hours, please visit Campus Recruiting and Engagement.

1. Request Interview Dates

Please request your interview dates using Handshake, and select ILR Office of Career Services as the career center. Once the reservation request is complete, a confirmation via e-mail will be sent.

A standard interview day is 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with two 15-minute breaks and a 1-hour lunch break. Upon request, schedules may be adjusted to add additional interview slots by starting the schedule earlier, removing 15-minute breaks, or shortening the lunch break. If you recruited last year, please complete the hiring report form, or upload a spreadsheet that you have prepared for internal use.

2. Upload Your Job Description to Handshake

Once the reservation has been confirmed, employers should post job descriptions online in Handshake and notify Angela Shurtleff at ilrcareerrecruiting@cornell.edu. The job postings will only be visible to students once they have been attached to the related interview schedules. It is recommended the postings be uploaded soon after confirmation since students frequently check Handshake postings to gauge fall recruitment activity.

3. Review Candidates and Select Students for Interview Schedules

Within Handshake, the “Timeline” for the interview schedule outlines resume submission deadline, timeframe for review of applications, and candidate sign-up dates. Recruiters should select primary and alternate candidates at least 48 hrs hours prior to primary sign-up start date indicated in the Handshake Timeline.
Indicate “Make Primary” for all students desired (or chosen) for interviews. The number of “primary” candidates should match the total number of interview slots*. In addition, select at least five “alternate” candidates. Selection of alternates will ensure a full interview schedule.        

*30-minute interviews=13 interview slots, 45-minute interviews=9 slots, 60-minute interviews=6 slots. 

4. Changes to the Interview Schedules or Application Review Time

Although Handshake allows for employers to directly make changes to interview schedules, it is preferred that Angela Shurtleff makes the requested changes. This process will prevent potential conflicts with competing interview schedules. Changes can only be made prior to selection of primary candidates.

Application submission deadlines can be extended but doing so will shorten the review period for employers. Candidate sign-up times cannot be changed.

To avoid conflicts with other events and to ensure space is available, all employers interested in hosting campus interviews, information sessions, or any other type of engagement with students, must communicate with Angela Shurtleff at ilrcareerrecruiting@cornell.edu.

Information Sessions

Employers can connect with larger groups of students and educate them about their organizations and positions.

1. Two tracks offered: 4:45 - 5:30 p.m. or 5:45 -6:30 p.m. (in-person) and after 7:00 pm (virtual)

2. Based on student feedback, successful sessions last approximately 20 minutes for the formal presentation, with additional time for questions, conversation, and networking.

3. In-person sessions are held in the ILR Conference Center (reservations will be initiated by OCS) and cannot held in the classroom building.

Coffee Chats

In lieu of group Information Sessions (or as follow-up to a session), employers may choose to conduct these one-on-one or smaller-group chats regarding their organizations and programs. These should not be formal interviews, but rather informal discussions. Employers typically commit three to four hours, broken down into 15-30-minute intervals.

Career Fairs

Employers have the opportunity to recruit Cornell students for full-time and internship opportunities at two unique Career Fairs.

The Human Capital & HR Career Fair in the fall focuses on corporate Human Resources, HR corporate labor relations, and HR consulting opportunities.

The Labor Advocacy Career Fair in the spring brings representatives from labor unions and other worker advocacy organizations to campus.

The EXPLORE winter break programs—our one-day Field Shadowing Program and 2–3 week Career Exploration Project—will be on pause for the 2025–2026 academic year. Contributing factors to this pause include budget and staffing limitations, the retirement of technology systems previously used to manage these programs, and the need to strengthen compliance with safety and risk management requirements for both sponsors and students.

During this time, our office will recalibrate the programs to better meet our goal of providing the widest possible range of new students with meaningful career exploration opportunities and valuable connections with industry partners and alumni.

Supporting students in exploring career paths remains a top priority for ILR. While we work toward launching an updated program model, we encourage employers and alumni to engage with students through other exploratory and networking opportunities:

1. CUeLINKS – Create or update your profile so students can connect with you about college life, careers, and more. We will be partnering with AA&D and Cornell Career Services to offer tips/reminders on maximizing your profiles.

2. Winter Break Opportunities – If you’d like to host a short-term, paid project or internship over winter break, please post it directly to Handshake (with description, deadlines, and rate of pay). Please include words such as “ILR” and/or “Winter Break” in your ‘job title’. Email ilrcareerrecruiting@cornell.edu for us to further highlight the opportunities to ILR students.

3. Credit Internship Program– Consider hosting a semester-long intern through ILR’s Credit Internship Program. Details are available via the Office of Engaged and Experiential Learning.

4. Interested in hosting a Career Trek for Cornellians including ILRies? We are seeking hosts between January and March 2026. Please contact Heather Fortenberry, Cornell Career Network, at hao3@cornell.edu for additional information.