Campus recruitment is an increasingly common form of recruitment where major corporates visit campuses of prestigious colleges and recruit students, mostly in the final years of their courses. This is advantageous for students who find their careers beginning even before they have completed their studies. In addition, the students are able to access all employers in a single platform.

From the perspective of the employers, campus recruitment helps them get the cream of talent. The companies are able to access a pool of talented, intelligent youth. In fact, there is competition amongst recruiters to get to the colleges first to get to the best of what the colleges have to offer. Campus recruitment generates great excitement and aspiration amongst the students, as all want to land great job offers in famous companies.

Among the companies, it generates interest and concern to net a “good catch”. In today’s open market where all companies have access to the same level of technology, human resources become a critical factor that determines the position of the company in the market. Apart from helping the companies get young, hardworking engineers and managers, campus interviews are effective than other forms of recruitment such as through newspapers, magazines, internet etc.

To identify candidates that match their skills and requirements, companies arrange for a range of tests and interviews. A typical selection process would involve an aptitude test, a group discussion and an interview.

Aptitude Test: An aptitude test is a formal way of evaluating the logical approach of people in relation to tasks and their reaction to different situations. These tests can also be tailored to test specific skills which may be related to a specific position in a company. Generally, these tests are used in areas such as Verbal skills, logical reasoning, basic knowledge in the chosen fields and quantitative methods. In many cases the aptitude test is used as a filter to determine which of the candidates may proceed to the next round.

Group discussion: The primary aim of a Group discussion is to test the interpersonal skills, the clarity of their thought process and their general communication skills. The key skills that are looked at in a group discussion are skills in reasoning and in language. The ability of the candidates to design a response to an argument or to clearly enunciate his own ideas on the topic are closely watched as they can be critical in a job environment where the candidate may have to sell a product, pacify a customer or respond to a query.

The Interview: The interview enables the companies to see the real people beyond what they have known from the tests and the discussion. Here the candidate as an individual is studied and his attributes compared with those required for the specific job profile. The interview also enables to check the compatibility of the employee with the company.

While a campus interview may be a great opportunity for a student, it requires preparation in advance like all interviews. Students need to hone up their communication skills, their speed and accuracy in responding to questions and their interpersonal skills.