Virtual Student Interviews (OCIs) – Best Practices for Spring

On-Campus Interviews, or OCIs, are a great way to interview several candidates in a row for a job opening at your company. Employers are welcome to arrange for a spring OCI starting January 1st, 2022. Below are some best practices for arranging an OCI at Tufts this spring (*please note, all OCIs will be conducted virtually in spring 2022)

 

 

1. Choose your Interview Schedule Type

First, consider which interview schedule type best fits your needs. The two most common Interview Schedule Types are Open and Preselect.

Open:  Select the Open schedule type if you would like the opportunity to interview ALL qualified students who submit applications
Preselect: Select the Preselect schedule type if you would like to review the incoming applications first and select those who you wish to invite to interviews

Note: If you are unsure which schedule type to choose, feel free to reach out to the career center for support!

2. Select an Interview Template

There are several templates available to choose from when deciding on your interview day schedule. Don’t forget to give yourself some breaks between interviews! If you would like to make edits to a template or create a custom schedule, please reach out and we can help.

Note: When selecting an interview template, consider how long you would like each interview to be, how many total time slots you need, and how long you would like the interview day to go.

3. A note on flip flop schedules

A flip flop (or back to back) schedule is when a student meets with two different interviewers, one after the other. This can be a great way for multiple people on your team to get to know the candidates – just make sure to reach out to students BEFORE they are prompted to sign up for timeslots to provide them with instructions (e.g. requesting that they sign up for two adjacent timeslots in two different Zoom rooms, if that is your plan). Another tip is for the interviewers to swap in and out of the Zoom room while the student stays put – this eliminates confusion on the student end!

4. Set your timeline

If using a Preselect interview type, consider how much time you need to look over applications before selecting your students. If applications are due on a Friday and your Preselects are set to be made that next Monday, your team will have limited time to review student applications. Make sure to leave your selected students a few days to select their timeslot before interview day.

5. Don’t forget to make your video link available

Once you have created your OCI, you will want to make sure to share the link you will be using for interviews with the candidates. There are a number of ways to do this:

One option is to email or message all candidates directly with your link. Make sure to CC Willa Mayo, Recruitment Coordinator (willa.mayo@tufts.edu) on your email in case candidates miss or misplace your note – students sometimes reach out to us for guidance when they can’t find their link.

Another great way to make sure candidates see your link is to post it directly in Handshake in the interview schedule’s description or  “Interviewer” field.

Note: Send out your link sooner rather than later. As the interview day approaches, students often get antsy and nervous, wondering if they missed an email with the link. Making it available to them as soon as possible helps to curb that anxiety.

6. Making changes to your OCI

Some edits to your OCI can be made by employers directly on Handshake, while others must be made by Career Center staff.

To make the following changes, employers can log in to Handshake and adjust the settings as needed:

  • Editing your job posting
  • Updating your listed contacts and interviewers
  • Editing the interview schedule description

To make edits to any of the following, please reach out to the Career Center:

  • Your interview date
  • The schedule template
  • Your OCI timeline

7. Following Up

Following your OCI, you will receive a check-in email from the Employer Relations team. Please let us know how the experience went and complete the survey provided so that we can continue to improve our programming.

Feel free to reach out to Recruitment Coordinator Willa Mayo (willa.mayo@tufts.edu) with any questions or concerns as you build out your OCI, we are here to help!

By Willa Mayo
Willa Mayo Recruiting Coordinator, Employer Relations