Essential Work Samples for Campus Recruiter Interviews: Evaluating Real-World Skills

Campus recruiters serve as the vital bridge between universities and your organization, representing your employer brand to the next generation of talent. The effectiveness of your campus recruitment strategy directly impacts your ability to attract high-potential early career candidates who will grow with your organization. A skilled campus recruiter combines strategic planning, relationship building, event management, and candidate assessment expertise to create a robust talent pipeline.

Evaluating campus recruiter candidates through traditional interviews alone often fails to reveal their true capabilities in these critical areas. Work samples provide a window into how candidates approach real-world scenarios they'll face in the role. By observing candidates in action, you can assess their strategic thinking, communication style, problem-solving approach, and ability to represent your organization effectively.

The following work samples are designed to evaluate the essential competencies of successful campus recruiters. These exercises simulate key responsibilities of the role, from developing university partnerships to assessing student candidates. By incorporating these activities into your interview process, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities and fit for your campus recruiting program.

Remember that the best campus recruiters combine analytical skills with interpersonal abilities. These work samples will help you identify candidates who can not only plan strategically but also connect authentically with students and university partners. The right campus recruiter will elevate your entire early career hiring program.

Activity #1: University Partnership Strategy

This activity assesses the candidate's ability to develop strategic university relationships and create targeted recruitment plans. Successful campus recruiters must be able to analyze data, identify high-potential schools, and create tailored approaches for different institutions. This exercise reveals how candidates think about resource allocation, relationship building, and long-term pipeline development.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with information about your organization's hiring needs for entry-level positions (target number of hires, key roles, desired skills/majors).
• Include basic data about 5-7 universities (size, location, diversity statistics, academic programs, past hiring results if applicable).
• Allow the candidate 30-45 minutes to prepare their strategy.
• Have a panel of 2-3 interviewers (ideally including the hiring manager and a stakeholder from a key hiring department) to review the strategy.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided information about the company's hiring needs and university data.
• Develop a strategic plan for university partnerships that includes:
• Recommended tier structure for the universities (primary, secondary, etc.)
• Specific engagement activities for each tier
• Timeline for implementation over the academic year
• Key metrics to track success
• Resources needed to execute the plan
• Prepare to present your strategy in a 10-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of Q&A.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide one piece of positive feedback about an aspect of the strategy that was particularly strong.
• Offer one constructive suggestion for improvement, such as considerations they may have overlooked or alternative approaches.
• Ask the candidate to take 5 minutes to revise one element of their strategy based on the feedback, then explain their adjustments.

Activity #2: Career Fair Simulation

This activity evaluates the candidate's ability to engage effectively with students in a high-volume setting while representing your employer brand. Career fairs require recruiters to quickly build rapport, assess potential fit, and communicate your value proposition concisely. This simulation reveals the candidate's interpersonal skills, messaging consistency, and ability to handle common student questions and objections.

Directions for the Company:

• Create 3-4 student personas with different backgrounds, interests, and levels of preparation (provide brief profiles to the role players).
• Assign team members to play the roles of students visiting your booth at a career fair.
• Provide the candidate with basic information about your company, key roles you're recruiting for, and any specific messaging points.
• Set up a simple table with company materials to simulate a career fair booth environment.
• Allow 15-20 minutes for the simulation with 3-4 student interactions.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the company information provided and prepare your approach for engaging with students at a career fair.
• During the simulation, you'll interact with several "students" who approach your booth with varying levels of interest and knowledge about the company.
• Your goals are to:
• Create a positive impression of the company
• Assess each student's potential fit for your open roles
• Provide relevant information about opportunities
• Determine appropriate next steps for each interaction
• Collect relevant information from each student
• Be prepared to handle common questions and objections about the company and its opportunities.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the simulation, the "students" should provide feedback on what was effective about the candidate's approach and what could be improved.
• Focus on one specific interaction that could be enhanced, and ask the candidate to demonstrate how they would handle that interaction differently based on the feedback.
• Have the candidate redo the interaction with the adjustments incorporated.

Activity #3: Candidate Assessment Exercise

This activity tests the candidate's ability to evaluate student resumes and conduct effective screening interviews. Campus recruiters must efficiently identify promising candidates from large applicant pools and assess both technical qualifications and cultural fit. This exercise reveals the candidate's evaluation framework, interview skills, and ability to make data-driven selection decisions.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide 5-7 anonymized student resumes of varying quality and experience levels.
• Include a job description for an entry-level role your company commonly hires for.
• Assign a team member to play the role of a student candidate for a mock screening interview.
• Prepare the role player with a background story, experiences, and responses that align with one of the provided resumes.
• Allow 20 minutes for resume review and 15 minutes for the screening interview.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided resumes and job description.
• Rank the candidates based on their fit for the role, noting specific strengths and areas of concern for each.
• Prepare 5-7 screening questions you would ask to assess candidates further.
• Conduct a 15-minute screening interview with the "student candidate."
• After the interview, provide a brief assessment of the candidate's fit for the role and your recommendation for next steps.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on the candidate's resume evaluation process and the effectiveness of their screening questions.
• Highlight one area of the interview that could be improved (e.g., a missed opportunity to probe deeper or a question that could be framed differently).
• Ask the candidate to reframe their approach to that specific area and demonstrate how they would handle it differently.

Activity #4: Recruitment Marketing Campaign

This activity assesses the candidate's ability to develop compelling messaging and engagement strategies to attract students to your organization. Effective campus recruiters must be able to articulate your employer value proposition in ways that resonate with students and differentiate your company from competitors. This exercise reveals the candidate's creativity, strategic thinking, and understanding of student audiences.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide information about your company's employer value proposition, culture, and key selling points.
• Include basic information about a target university where you want to increase your presence and applications.
• Share any existing recruitment marketing materials as reference.
• Allow 45-60 minutes for preparation.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided company information and university profile.
• Develop a multi-channel recruitment marketing campaign to increase awareness and applications from this university.
• Your campaign should include:
• Key messaging themes and taglines
• 2-3 specific engagement activities or events
• Social media strategy (platforms, content types, timing)
• Ideas for digital and physical marketing materials
• Approach for measuring campaign effectiveness
• Prepare to present your campaign in a 10-15 minute presentation.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on the campaign's creativity, strategic alignment, and feasibility.
• Identify one aspect of the campaign that could be enhanced or refined.
• Ask the candidate to take 5-10 minutes to revise that element of the campaign based on the feedback.
• Have the candidate explain their adjustments and the rationale behind them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each work sample requires approximately 60-90 minutes including preparation, execution, and feedback. We recommend selecting 1-2 work samples most relevant to your specific needs rather than attempting all four in a single interview day. You might consider having candidates complete the University Partnership Strategy as a take-home assignment prior to their onsite interview.

Should we provide candidates with company-specific information for these exercises?

Yes, providing real (though potentially anonymized) information about your organization makes the exercises more authentic and gives candidates a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills. However, be mindful of sharing sensitive information and consider creating modified versions of internal data for these purposes.

How should we evaluate candidates who have limited campus recruiting experience?

Focus on transferable skills and approach rather than specific knowledge of campus recruiting terminology or practices. Look for candidates who demonstrate strategic thinking, strong communication, and the ability to connect with student audiences. The feedback portion of each exercise is particularly valuable for assessing how quickly candidates can adapt and learn.

Can these exercises be conducted virtually?

Yes, all of these exercises can be adapted for virtual interviews. For the Career Fair Simulation, use breakout rooms to simulate different student interactions. For presentation-based exercises, have candidates share their screen. Virtual formats may actually better represent the reality of campus recruiting in today's hybrid environment.

How should we weight these work samples compared to traditional interview questions?

Work samples typically provide more predictive information about on-the-job performance than traditional interviews alone. We recommend giving these exercises significant weight in your evaluation process, perhaps 50-60% of the overall assessment. Combine these with behavioral interviews focused on past experiences to get a comprehensive view of each candidate.

Should we share these exercises with candidates in advance?

For complex exercises like the University Partnership Strategy or Recruitment Marketing Campaign, providing the scenario 24-48 hours in advance allows candidates to prepare thoughtful responses. For interactive exercises like the Career Fair Simulation, sharing only the general format (not specific scenarios) helps assess authentic responses while still allowing candidates to prepare mentally.

Campus recruiting is a specialized function that requires a unique blend of strategic thinking, relationship building, and talent assessment skills. By incorporating these work samples into your interview process, you'll be able to identify candidates who can truly drive your early career hiring success. The right campus recruiter will not only fill your pipeline with qualified candidates but also elevate your employer brand on campus and build sustainable university partnerships.

For more resources to optimize your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Descriptions, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. You can also find the complete job description for this Campus Recruiter role at https://yardstick.team/job-description/campus-recruiter.

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