Work Authorization Overview

We collect work authorization information directly from the student to increase transparency for employers and improve the application experience for students. 

We believe this process provides a better experience for both students and employers:

• • Students are not spending time applying and interviewing for a job they cannot get.
  • Employers reduce the amount of time they are spending interviewing and reviewing candidates they cannot hire, while gathering more information about applicants without requiring them to disclose their work authorization status.

Topics: 

• Student prompt with work authorization questions
• Application Qualifications 
  • Student Perspective
  • Employer Perspective
• FAQs
  
  • What do the work authorization questions look like from the employer view?
  • Can we still import Work Authorization Name?
  • Can a student edit these fields after they've submitted them the first time?
  • How do employer work auth selections impact students that aren't fully qualified?
  • What is the exact logic for each work authorization situation? 

Student prompt with work authorization questions

If you'd like to share this information with your students, please share the student-facing article: Student Work Authorization Information!

Prior to submitting their first job application, each student will be prompted with work authorization questions, used to determine qualification for employer job posting preferences and virtual fair session requirements.

Likewise, if the student has not applied to a job in Handshake yet or answered these questions in Settings & Privacy, the prompt will appear after registering for a virtual fair.

The answers to these questions will be stored in the student's profile under Settings & Privacy. The student is not prompted to answer again after they've answered the questions once. 

• Note: If the student answers the work authorization questions prior to applying (either via virtual fair session sign up prompt or via Settings & Privacy), we will not prompt them to answer these questions at all during the application process.

The prompt contains three options:

• Are you legally authorized to work in the United States? (yes/no)
• Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship? (yes/no)
• Prefer not to answer these questions. (checkbox)
  • • There is a tooltip with a "?" icon - hover over the icon to display the following: 
      If you select "Prefer not to Answer", then you will show up when an Employer filters for students who don't require sponsorship or if they filter for students who do require sponsorship.
      If they look at your work experience field they will see status listed as "Unknown." Students who have yet to answer these questions will also be listed as "Unknown.
      If you have DACA and don't know how to answer, here is a resource on how to answer these questions: www.informedimmigrant.com/guides/daca/#employment-rights-daca

The selections on this prompt will determine whether or not a student is fully qualified for the job based on the preferences set by the employer on the posting.

If the student checks the option "Prefer not to answer these questions", the student will be FULLY QUALIFIED for all positions or virtual fair sessions with work authorization requirements.

• Note: Even though "visa status" can still be populated on a student's profile for reporting purposes, we will not use that field to determine qualification on job postings, unless both of the following are true: (1) the student has not answered these questions and (2) a Career Services user is submitting an application on the student's behalf. 

Application Qualifications 

Student Perspective 

If the student checks the option "Prefer not to answer these questions", the student will be FULLY QUALIFIED for all positions or virtual fair sessions with work authorization requirements.

Students can filter job searches by work authorization requirements by clicking All filters on the job search page, then scrolling to the Work authorization section. There are two checkboxes that correspond with the questions both employers and students answer: 

• Will sponsor or doesn't require US work visa
• Accepts OPT/CPT

When viewing a job posting, below the Role Description section is an indication of how the student matches the employer's preferences.

• In this example below, the employer requires work authorization, and the student has selected "prefer not to answer these questions", so they show as fully qualified: 
• In this example below, the employer requires work authorization, and the student selection does not match the employer preferences, so they show as not fully qualified:

Note: Students will always show up as fully qualified for jobs not requiring U.S. sponsorship, regardless of their answers to the work authorization questions.

Employer Perspective 

If you'd like to share any of this information with employers, please share the employer-facing article: Employer Work Authorization Workflows!

When reviewing the applicants list, icons represent the available preferences –– the icon furthest to the right indicates work authorization. Hovering over the icon will display more information about the student work authorization selections.

Applicant selections match employer preferences

When hovering over the work auth icon, if the student has selected answers that match employer preferences, the Student Information will display a green checkmark with "Authorized".

Applicant selections do not match employer preferences

When hovering over the work auth icon, if the student has selected answers that do not match employer preferences, the Student Information will display a red "X" with "Not authorized".

Prefer not to answer these questions

When the employer filters by students who meet all their preferences, or when they filter out students who don't match their Work Authorization preferences, opted out students will still show up.

When hovering over the work auth icon, if "Prefer not to answer these questions" is checked, the Student Information will display a gray "?" with "Unknown".

If the student checks the option "Prefer not to answer these questions", the student will be FULLY QUALIFIED for all positions or virtual fair sessions with work authorization requirements.

Note: Students will always show up as fully qualified for jobs not requiring U.S. sponsorship, regardless of their answers to the work authorization questions.

FAQs

What do the work authorization questions look like from the employer view?

• Questions appear for employers in three instances: fair registration, job post creation, and 1:1 schedule qualifications. For examples of each, please refer to the "Employer-facing questions" section of Employer Work Authorization Workflows. 

Can we still import Work Authorization Name?

• Yes, you can, however, we do not recommend that you import these fields, as students are prompted for the correct values.
  • The field for “Visa Status” does still exist on the student profile, but it is not visible to students; it is only viewable by Career Services. 

Can a student edit these fields after they've submitted them the first time?

• Yes, a student can edit these fields at any point by clicking their account icon in the upper-right corner of the page, then clicking Settings & Privacy –– scroll to the Work Authorization section and make desired updates, then click Save Update.

How do employer work auth selections impact students that aren't fully qualified? 

• For job postings, an indication will appear that they do not match the employer's preference, however, they will still be able to apply to the job. 
• For virtual fair 1:1 sessions, students will not be able to view or sign up for 1:1 sessions if they do not match the employer's requirements.

What is the exact logic for each work authorization situation? 

In the qualification matrix below (both the image and accessible text version), the upper-most row is the Employer Preference indicated on the job posting, and the Student Selection heading represents the far-left column, with each possible student selection combination listed per row. 

Student qualification outcomes are listed as Fully Qualified or Not fully qualified –– if not fully qualified, the reasoning is listed in italics below.

• Tip: If you'd like to make the matrix image below larger for easier viewing, right click on the image, then choose open image in a new tab!

The same table as displayed in the image –– text version.