On-Campus Job Interview Questions: A Guide for Recruiters and Students

Most of the candidates got their first job through an on-campus interview. In fact, most of us remember the excitement during the placement seasons. However, conducting an on-campus interview is vastly different from other interviews. It is because, during an off-campus interview, all the candidates have yet to gain prior experience with jobs (barring internships). 

This means that recruiters have to devise a unique strategy while interviewing such candidates. Such strategies mean testing the candidates on the knowledge they may have acquired in their curriculum.  You also need to ask yourself a few questions before beginning. For example, what is the applicant’s motivation for applying? Does he want to achieve results, or is he simply interested in the facts of employment and income? Does the applicant know what he wants? Say for things like experience, abilities, and qualities. Is all this clear: the candidate must have knowledge, skills, and personal attributes relevant to a particular position. The number of questions may vary from person to person. What say!

Also Read: 23 Managerial Skill Interview Questions That You Must Ask Candidates

Key Points to remember for formulating questions:

Your Motivation: 

Understand the applicant’s reason for applying—do they want to achieve results or just seek employment and income?

The Experience and Skills:

Assess the candidate’s knowledge, skills, and personal attributes relevant to the position.

Some Conditions: 

Consider the candidate’s salary expectations, additional benefits, and working conditions. A typical interview might have 15-20 questions, assuming an average response time of 2 minutes per question.

Also Read: In Person Interview Tips

The Interview Script for Recruiters:

For inexperienced recruiters, creating an interview script ensures all necessary points are covered. A basic script might look like this:

Introduction:

“Hello, my name is ___. I am a recruiter at Company __. I would like to speak with you about this position for the next hour. The interview will consist of the following steps.”

Icebreakers:

“Did you find our office easily? Did you have any problems when you arrived?”

Identify Needs:

“Why are you looking to change jobs? Why did you choose us? What do you know about our company? How did your academic background prepare you for a career in this industry?”

Technical Questions:

“What professional experience do you have? What skills and abilities do you think are most important for this job?”

Situational Questions:

“Imagine you are dealing with a very unhappy customer; what would you do?”

Motivation:

“List the five most important things to you in a new position.”

Job Details:

“We work from 10 AM to 6 PM. Most work is done in the office, but remote work is available. What are your financial expectations? When can you start?”

Applicant’s Questions:

• “Do you have any questions about the company or the position?”

Conclusion:

“Thank you for taking the time to interview with me. We will analyze the results and let you know our decision within a week.”

Also Read: The Ultimate List: 25 Interview Questions Focused on Collaboration Skills

This is a rough interview script that you can use as a guide. I would request you to please adapt it according to your work and prepare on-campus job interview questions according to your needs. For bulk hiring, where more interview round is needed, the one-on-one conversation should last at most 10-15 minutes. In such scenarios, ask only technical questions, and focus only on critical competencies. The interview in bulk selection is primarily an opportunity to supplement and confirm what has been stated on the resume. Therefore, the interview should be as quick and specific as possible. Apart from this, I have prepared some sample on-campus job interview questions for you, that might help you out.

Few Sample On-Campus Job Interview Questions:

Some General Questions:

• Can you tell me a little about yourself?
• What do you know about our company?
• What interests you about this job?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Why do you want to work here?
• Can you describe your ideal work environment?
• How would your peers describe you?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• Do you have any questions?

Experience and Background Questions:

• What courses are you currently taking?
• What do you enjoy most about your education?
• Do you have experience in a similar position?
• What extracurricular activities are you involved in?
• How did your academic background prepare you for this industry?
• Are you planning to continue your education?
• What professional goals have you set for yourself?
• What academic achievements do you hope to achieve by graduation?
• Have you ever disagreed with a teacher about your grades? What were your reasons?
• What skills do you hope to gain in this position?

Also Read: 25 Innovation Interview Skill Questions To Assess Excellent Candidate

In-Depth Questions:

• How do you cope under pressure?
• How will you use your current skills in this job?
• Are you ready to work on weekends?
• Have you resolved conflicts in a team setting?
• Do you have leadership experience?
• Are you willing to take advanced training courses?
• Are you satisfied with the job responsibilities?
• How can you be successful in this role?
• What would you do if you had to perform an unfamiliar task?
• What kind of people do you work best with?

Additional Questions:

• Why did you choose your educational institution?
• What is your specialty? What degree are you getting?
• Why did you choose your specialty?
• What projects did you undertake during your studies?
• What makes you a suitable candidate for this position?
• What was your most outstanding academic achievement?
• Can you describe a time you participated in a team effort?
• How do you manage your priorities to meet deadlines?
• What contribution have you made to the student community?
• What aspects of your studies do you enjoy most?

Also Read: The Complete Guide to On-Campus Interviews: Preparation, Tips & Success Strategies

At the end

The rise of Artificial Intelligence-backed tools is not just limited to such software but has also penetrated other areas. One of these is the AI interview intelligence platform, where BarRaiser can greatly help companies looking to take their hiring to the next level.

With BarRaiser, recruiters can plan better interviews with the help of our AI Interview Copilot. This feature helps the interviewers create a better set of questionnaires that might be suitable for the job posting. During the interview, our AI bot regularly updates the interviewers on what questions to ask and to speed up the interview if the conversation stagnates. In addition, it can also create new questions during the interview by either going through the candidate’s CV or the context of the interview (as the entire interview is transcribed and recorded)

Using BarRaiser, we guarantee quality hiring that will bolster diversity and inclusion. BarRaiser is the best AI interview platform that features structured interviews and tools to ensure quality hiring while eliminating recruitment bias. With BarRaiser’s support, you’ll be well-equipped to build a strong team of sales associates who will drive sales and deliver exceptional customer service.

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