Busting Common Myths about Campus Recruitment

College life is an important phase for all. It is a stepping stone for those who wish to pursue a lucrative job and build a successful graduate career. As a student, you need to make good use of the opportunities and resources your university offers you, including the chance to get in touch with big industry names via campus recruitment events. It is important for you to get well-versed with the process of campus hiring, as this is a rare occasion when prospective employers actively seek you out and may hire you for a graduate job in their organization.

This makes it crucial for you to validate your knowledge and bust the prevalent myths surrounding on-campus hiring.  The following points will discuss the misconceptions students tend to have, and why you shouldn’t blindly believe them.

Time to get acquainted with some facts…

Campus recruitment myth #1:

Only technology and business majors tend to benefit from campus placements.

The actuality:

The placement cell of your university is responsible for inviting industry-specific organizations to recruit you and your course-mates. If your college does not bring in recruiters based on the full range of different disciplines and specializations it covers, then there is a possibility that the companies that come to interview on campus will talk to students from any specialization. Organizations like car-rental agencies, insurance companies and consultancies are known to hire graduates from across the spectrum.

And even if they demand specialization in a particular subject that you didn’t study, you can always try your luck by directly contacting the company and requesting to be considered for a graduate job anyway. The recruiters may have empty time slots in between the scheduled interviews. You can politely insist that they interview you in one of those free slots.

Campus recruitment myth #2:

Recruiters come to your campus only to hire you and make you their employee.

The actuality:

It is true that recruiters conduct on-campus recruitment to mainly increase their headcount. However, they also do so in order to increase their visibility and promote their brand. Branding strategies are devised by companies way before they step onto your campus. It is given a lot of importance because once they acquaint students with the name and nature of the firm, they will be able to find more applicants for each graduate job they need to fill. First-year students are often young and impressionable and communicate a lot, making them the perfect target audience. When a company brands the graduate career profile well, it builds a positive synergy around it, making it more desirable.

Campus recruitment myth #3:

On-campus hiring is meant only for final-year students who are about to graduate.

The actuality:

Many students are misguided and don't realize that recruiters also use this opportunity to appoint interns. All students should optimize their chances of getting industry exposure and work experience by taking part in on-campus recruitment. Interestingly, not only does this recruitment drive help the existing students. Even the alumni can use this opportunity to find graduate jobs.

Campus recruitment myth #4:

On-campus interviews are not the real thing. They are informal chats that are not to be taken very seriously.

The actuality:

This is as real as it will get. An on-campus interview must be taken seriously because it is going to decide your future. Whether you are invited for the next round depends entirely on your performance at this stage. Thus, you should prepare for it just like you would for an interview at the company’s office. Begin with the research work; find out the details, history and industry presence of the company. Dress appropriately and be prepared to answer all sorts of tough questions.

Campus recruitment myth #5:

Only major companies come for on-campus events.

The actuality:

It has been long observed that most of the firms that come to universities for recruiting are big companies. But to think that only multi-nationals and big corporate houses invest in campus hiring is wrong. You will also find some small and mid-level firms coming to hire young employees.

Campus recruitment myth #6:

The companies coming to your college are the only firms offering jobs to new graduates.

The actuality:

This is not true. It is not even remotely close to reality, because in reality there would be several other firms that have openings and would be hiring to fill up these vacancies. Only a few firms choose to take the route of campus hiring because they can make the most of it and hire in a cost-effective way. And just because one company is here to hire employees, it does not mean that the remaining organizations in the same field are not recruiting students at all. They are definitely doing so, they just do it differently.

Campus recruitment myth #7:

It is no big deal to skip a scheduled campus interview.

The actuality:

On the contrary, it is a huge deal! A single no-show can earn you a temporary (up to a year) or even a permanent ban from campus recruitment events. Such a ban would be imposed on you because when you don’t turn up for a scheduled appointment, you disappoint the recruiters who were expecting to talk to you. They may even get mad and decide not to return to your school for interviews. And even if they give you a second chance, they are unlikely to hire you because you have already shown an unprofessional attitude. So, forego that temptation to sleep in as it would only end up hurting you more than anyone else.

Campus recruitment myth #8:

Campus recruitment conducted by the company is the sole way to land a graduate job.

The actuality:

Winners never pin their hopes on just one option. Similarly, if you wish to emerge as a winner, you must never place your bets on just one graduate job search strategy. The answer to this is diversification, which should include a job search using the following approaches:

• Attending job fairs
• Boosting your presence on social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook)
• Uploading a compelling résumé on job search portals
• Hiring job search agents
• Networking in the real world
• Applying to the openings mentioned on official company websites

The internet will play a crucial role in your graduate job search. So be smart and spread out your efforts to pursue a job using different job hunt strategies.

Campus recruitment myth #9:

The job will be offered to you right after a successful campus interview.

The actuality:

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you will be called for another round of interviewing. If the company is going to shell out money to pay you, it will want to ensure that you are the right choice and possess suitable skills that will prove useful for this role. To clear their doubts, they will call you for a second-round interview, which will be taken in the office by a senior person from the company. But the good part is that you will be a significant step closer to the graduate job you desire and worked so hard for.

Campus recruitment myth #10:

The career center decides who will be interviewed.

The actuality:

Career services professionals can make suggestions to recruiters, but the final decision rests with the individual recruiter or the recruiting committee. The only difference the counselors at the career center can make is that they can persuade the employers to interview more candidates from your college, including those with diverse specializations. 

Devika Arora is a professional writer currently focusing on the extensive domain of job search and graduate career building. She has been writing various articles and blogs related to graduate career development and is professionally affiliated with job search portal Naukrigulf.com.