We’re starting this whole thing off with an odd analogy, but hang with us; it’ll make sense soon!
You often hear professional athletes talk about having trouble getting excited to play against a poor team in their league. Their preparation is weak at practice and they just aren’t excited come game time. Everything is opposite when a game with their top rival approaches. Players work harder in practice, they have butterflies before the game, and they perform better when it all goes down!
Can the same be said about (some) recruiters and their level of excitement and preparation for on-campus interviews? Possibly, right? Well, we think so!
If a recruiter has been preparing constantly for interviews with middle management level candidates and then has to bounce over to a day of on-campus interviews, it’s realistic to expect that they may not be preparing as much for their college candidates.
We’re not saying that every recruiter experiences the above, but we do want to provide an excellent list of questions for those that are looking for a little boost. While these “kids” may not have much experience interviewing, they’ll appreciate, respect, and remember your company if the interview keeps them on their toes.
Here is a list of 15 Interview Questions to Ask on Campus:
Questions about their college experience
Not every college student has an internship or two, so it’s crucial to start off with questions about their experiences at college. This keeps them feeling comfortable since it should be information they know!
1. Why did you choose College/University? Explain the community there and how you fit in.
2. How do you stay organized when there are multiple large projects, tests, or papers due around the same time?
3. Which extracurricular activities did you join? What were your roles and what major initiatives/projects did you help with?
4. Can you explain a major group project that you were involved in? What was the project? What was your role in the group? What was the final result?
5. When you look back at your complete college experience in a few years, what will you be most proud about? What would you do different if you could go back?
Questions about their experience/internships
If they’ve had internships, then you’ll want to focus a number of questions around their experience at those internships. If they haven’t, then you can still ask a few questions about other jobs they’ve held.
6. What did you learn about working in an office and a team while at your internship?
7. Tell me about a project you worked on while at your internship? Who else was involved in the project? What was your role? What was the end result?
8. What were some of the jobs you had during high school? Which was your favorite? What about your least favorite?
9. What kind of relationship do you still have with your peers and supervisors from your internships?
10. Tell me about a time when you may have made a mistake at a high school job or internship. We all make mistakes, but it’s important to learn from them. What happened, and what did you do to ensure it wouldn’t happen again?
Questions about their goals and expectations for after college
These questions will gauge how interested they may be in your company and give you insight into what their abilities are.
11. Tell us a little bit about your ideal company and what your dream job would be?
12. What are your direct plans once you graduate? Will you be interested in finding a job immediately, planning to take some time off, or will you look into graduate school?
13. What would one of your professors say is one attribute of yours that you’ll bring to the table for company that hires you?
14. What motivates you to achieve success?
15. Why are you interested in a career with us? How could we help you reach your goals and advance in your career?
Oh, and as always, make sure to leave plenty of time for your college candidate to ask you questions. You may be surprised to find out more about them during this period then when you were asking the questions!
What are some other MUST ask questions for recruiters to include at on-campus interviews?
Pingback: Top 5 Recruiting Articles of August 2012 and #AsyncAsks — Async Interview