Recruiting Green in Duke Blue

In support of Fuqua's focus on sustainable business practices, the green recruiting policy calls for campus recruiting events to be giveaway-free.

Objectives:

  • Emphasize interactions between employers and students as the focus of the recruiting process
  • Reduce cost, fuel use, effort, and waste associated with the packaging, shipping, storing, and distribution of company giveaway items
  • Spotlight environmental issues among key Fuqua stakeholders, including students, alumni, recruiters, and staff
  • Enhance service quality by streamlining Fuqua operations to host employer recruiting events

Background

Recruiter Perspective

A common practice at recruiting events is for employers to give away company logo merchandise, such as coffee mugs, key chains, or notepads, to all participating students. Consumer product companies frequently distribute gift bags filled with their products. Both are visible ways to demonstrate commitment to Fuqua recruiting and to showcase the company and/or its products. Yet packaging, shipping, and distribution, which are necessary to make the giveaways possible, consume natural resources and create waste when extra products are left after the event.

Student Perspective

Recruiting events span the fall semester and bring more than 150 companies to Fuqua's campus each year. By seeking both an internship and full-time position over two seasons, Fuqua students accrue a significant inventory of giveaways. While appreciated and nice to have, these items are secondary in students' eyes to the higher objectives of the recruiting process. Students consistently tell us that the products ultimately do not influence their job choices and are often given to others or are discarded.

To achieve our desired objectives, the cooperation of all Fuqua recruiting companies and representatives is essential. Together we can simultaneously enhance the recruiting process and reduce environmental impact, yet our aims fall short if individuals or organizations act outside these protocols.

Policy Overview

Employers are prohibited from distributing giveaway items to students attending employer presentations, office hours, or employer presentation day exhibits. This policy includes logo merchandise and company products, and applies to any employer conducting school-facilitated recruiting on Fuqua's campus or at nearby locations such as the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club.

Recruiter Branding Opportunities

We support company efforts to build brand awareness among Fuqua students. Recruiters may pursue one or more of the following options to achieve maximum visibility during recruiting events:

  • Support Fuqua causes: In lieu of giveaways, an employer may make a donation to selected causes supported by the Fuqua student community. All employer donations will be recognized by the CMC. (More details below in the Supporting Fuqua Causes section.) 
  • Additional employer representatives: Students would appreciate, in lieu of company giveaways, the presence of an extra employer representative at the Fuqua recruiting event. More interaction could then occur between recruiters and students.
  • Raffles: Employers may raffle off a small number of prize items to student participants. The offerings should directly showcase the company's products or services.
  • Coupons: Certificates or coupons for company products or services may be distributed to student participants.
  • Display: Companies may set up a display representing their brands, products, and/or services, as part of their recruiting event, and can ship necessary materials to Fuqua for that purpose. After the activity is over, any giveaway items that were part of the display may be left for students or donated to the Duke MBA Games. The quantity of display materials should not be sufficient to distribute to all student participants, and the display must fit within appropriate event space parameters.

Supporting Fuqua Causes

In lieu of giveaways, an employer may donate to one of the two selected causes (listed below) that are supported by the Fuqua student community:

Case Summer Internship Program

The Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Summer Internship Program enables first-year Daytime MBA students to learn about the rewards and challenges of social sector management without making a significant financial sacrifice. In addition, the program enables organizations that otherwise could not afford to hire MBA student interns to benefit from their expertise in areas such as finance, management consulting, strategic planning, and marketing.

Each year, the program raises money from corporate donors and current Fuqua students through a number of campaigns (one of which is Give-A-Day, where students can opt to donate the equivalent of one day of their summer salary to help their classmates). This money is awarded to students interning in the social sector to supplement the often below-market salaries offered by non-profit and government agencies.

Duke MBA Games

The Duke MBA Games is a student-run organization that raises more than $100,000 annually for the Special Olympics of North Carolina. Donating to the Duke MBA Games gives a firm exposure to the entire Fuqua community, as the organization engages students, faculty, and alumni by hosting fun and meaningful events throughout the year.

Fundraising efforts culminate in April when Fuqua hosts the MBA Games Weekend. This event features more than 175 students from 20 top US and international MBA programs who compete alongside Special Olympians. The MBA Games embody Fuqua's spirit of giving, and any contributions are welcome; every donation no matter how big or small gets us closer to our goal of raising money and awareness for such a worthy cause.

How to Donate

Donations can be made by check or credit card. Companies should provide the following information to their CMC account managers:

  • Name
  • Job title, phone number, mailing address and email address
  • Company name
  • Name of the student organization
  • Indicate the donation reason as "In support of green recruiting at Fuqua"

Key Links

Fuqua CareerBridge
(post a job, request a campus event, review recruiting activity) 

Access resumes 

Employment statistics

Recruiting calendar