Professional Reputations Start Here

CS|Source brings companies to Virginia Tech because they want to connect with talented, professional, dependable students. When you accept an internship or job offer from any company, you are making a commitment — to the employer, but also to yourself and to every student who comes after you. Recruiters and hiring managers talk to each other. A single reneged offer reflects poorly on all of us.

"Reneging" means accepting a job or internship offer and then backing out before you start. It is not the same as turning down an offer you never accepted, nor is it the same as a rare, genuine emergency handled professionally (more on that below). A renege is a broken commitment and it carries real costs:

• Employers. Hiring is expensive and time-consuming. A renege wastes our partners’ recruiting investments and leaves their teams scrambling.
• Other students. Every reneged offer is an opportunity that could have gone to another qualified Hokie.
• The department. Our employers' goodwill is what fuels CS|Source. When students renege, it chips away at this goodwill, and opportunities shrink for everyone.
• You. Your professional reputation follows you. Recruiters, hiring managers, and alumni talk. Reneging can close doors for you for years.

Accepting an offer is a professional commitment. When you accept:

• You are confirming that you intend to work there.
• You should stop actively interviewing and promptly (and professionally) withdraw from other application processes.

There is a lot of pressure in accepting an offer and potentially closing other doors. We're here to help.

• Only accept an offer if you intend to honor that acceptance. If you are unsure, wait.
• Ask for time. It is normal and professional to ask a recruiter for more time to decide. Be specific in the request. Why are you asking for it and how long do you expect to need? Do not accept an offer just to “hold" it while you keep interviewing.
• Talk to us. Your advisors and the CS|Source team can help you weigh offers, manage timelines, and professionally communicate about your constraints.

Backing out of an accepted offer should be extremely rare. We are not talking about a change of heart, a better offer, or cold feet. None of those are legitimate reasons to renege, and accepting an offer expecting to back out later is not acceptable. Legitimate circumstances are genuinely serious and life-changing — for example, a medical crisis, a death in the family, or some other event that you truly could not have anticipated. If you accept, plan to follow through. How you handle rare, genuine, and exceptional situations defines your professionalism:

• Act as early as possible. The sooner you tell the employer, the more options they have.
• Tell them directly in person or by phone. Do not simply send a short email. This is a hard conversation; do it like a professional. Follow up with a written confirmation if needed.
• Be honest and respectful. Own your decision, and acknowledge the inconvenience you have caused.
• Never ghost. Never no-show. Missing your first day of work, or, worse, vanishing after starting the job, burns the relationship and your reputation.
• Let us know. Especially if you’re coordinating with a CS|Source partner company, contact the CS|Source office so we can help you manage the situation professionally.

Our partner companies and the department share information. Our partners regularly tell us — by name — when a VT CS student backs out of an accepted offer or doesn’t fulfill an accepted obligation. A renege has consequences. VT CS students who do not honor an accepted offer may:

• Lose access to CS|Source recruiting events, including career fairs and company information sessions.
• Lose access to CS Job Hub postings and related recruiting resources.
• Become ineligible for department recommendation support, including referrals to partner companies and letters of recommendation.

The department takes reneges seriously.

Fairness runs both ways. Just as we expect our students to honor the offers they accept, we expect our CS|Source partner companies to honor the offers they extend to our students. We are not aware of our partners ever having rescinded an offer made to a VT CS student — and we would treat it with the same seriousness if it happened. Mutual respect, reliability, and trust are the foundation of CS|Source, and they apply to everyone.