Matthew Melone, a Lehigh finance professor, offered professional ethics advice to students who attended the “Ethics and the Job Offer” workshop Sept. 19 in Rauch Business Center.
Melone, who coordinates the ethics offerings, said hosting the workshop was a logical decision.
The event gave attendees a better understanding of the job application process and professional ethics. He told the students not to apply for other jobs after accepting an offer because it is unethical.
Melone spoke for 40 minutes before beginning a Q&A session. He stressed the importance of not accepting a job based solely on the starting salary and urged students to conduct research on the job contract, prospects of advancement and benefits before signing an employment contract.
“There should be no surprises later,” Melone said. “You should go in with your eyes open and have all the information you can possibly have.”
Although Melone said it’s important for students to assume that the job they accept may not be permanent, he asked everyone in attendance to be ethical and honor their employment contracts.
Most of the students in attendance were either juniors or seniors. The workshop allowed students to gain an idea of how they should deal with their internship and job application processes in the future.
Jeanne Tong, ’18, said she attended the event to better understand the ethical decision-making process of getting a full-time job offer, the steps involved with making a firm decision to accept or decline an offer and the risk involved in seeking other opportunities.
“I am currently still in the process of job seeking,” Tong said. “I have had three really great internships sophomore through senior year, and so now that I am in my final semester, I am still kind of making the final decision for after December.”
Tong said she found Melone’s advice helpful, especially his personal examples.
Keith Gustafson, a coordinator in the College of Business and Economics, oversees these programs to ensure that everything goes well.
“This event is an event that we have every year that is well attended and is super helpful for the students, especially the seniors,” Gustafson said.
He said the event was successful and plans to invite Melone to host future workshops. He also said the CBE Undergraduate Programs Office conducts 10 to 12 job-related workshops each semester for students who are interested in applying for internships or jobs.
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