You've stopped by your campus career center to find out when the next round of on-campus interviews will be and what companies will be recruiting. You've also noticed a schedule of companies offering information sessions. You see that there are some companies you're interested in working for and maybe even some you haven't considered. But then you think about all the things you have to do: lab assignments, problem sets, and an exam coming up in a couple of days. Do you really have an hour or two to spare to listen to a company presentation?

For many employers, the campus interview visit begins with a presentation by the recruiter or recruiting team. By attending, students can gain a better understanding of individual employers and the job market. This information can improve their performance in interviews and thus increase their opportunities for employment. These events also give students tools for evaluating job offers critically. This article explains why employers schedule presentations, how they work, who should attend, and the value of attending. It also tells how to understand employers' recruiting strategies, proposes a job search strategy for candidates, and explains how to use company presentations to screen employers.

Why Companies Schedule Presentations

Employers use pre-interview presentations as a means to ensure high-quality interviews. For a campus or other screening interview to be effective, the candidate and the employer must exchange enough information so that each may correctly determine their suitability for the other. Unfortunately, for the employer and candidate alike, time constraints can work against a successful information exchange. Often the candidates have too little time to ask their questions. If candidates do not have their important questions answered, they may leave frustrated and less disposed toward the organization.

How They Work

The presentation generally has two components: the presentation itself—usually about an hour in length—and a function where food and drink are served. For the employer, both components are important.

Employers introduce general information and answer basic questions about themselves during the presentation. By doing so before the interview, more time is provided in the interview for candidates to make a strong impression. The presenters, who are members of the recruiting team, will ordinarily talk about their own careers, their interests, and career paths in the organization. They put a human face on their organization. In this way, the recruiters help the candidates to see their interviews in context. The presentations also enable the interviews to run more smoothly because they start with the participants already acquainted. The discussion usually covers:

* The organization's history, business interests and goals, and core values
* The organization's technological strengths and direction
* Current job opportunities and their locations
* Resources and programs for developing employees
* The format of the interviews and process for keeping candidates informed afterwards

With a solid introduction to the employer, candidates are more equipped to ask in the interview probing questions about issues that are personally important. It is helpful to understand that interviewers often assign equal importance to the quality of a candidate's questions as they do to the candidate's answers to questions. While answers indicate one's level of knowledge, a candidate's questions often reveal his or her values and professional needs. Both dimensions are important to an employer.

The other element of the presentation is a reception or meal. At receptions, expect pizza, hors d'oeuvres or other finger-foods, and beverages. Expect a meal to be "business casual." Either way, the employer is trying to thank the candidates for attending and to enable the interviewers to become better acquainted with the candidates, and vice versa. The event also allows the interviewers to observe the social skills of the candidates and, possibly, to identify the leaders among them. Thus, candidates should be alert to this reality and consider the impressions they want to make.

Who Should Attend?

Company presentations are ordinarily open events, but sometimes employers may have reasons to limit attendance to those already chosen for interviews. The recruiters' travel schedule may be the issue, or they may feel that with a homogeneous audience they can make the event more focused and more informal. However, there are advantages to employers' widening the audience to include interested candidates not on the interview schedule and those a year or so away from seeking employment. For one thing, the pre-selection process isn't perfect, and employers benefit by identifying solid candidates previously overlooked. Organizations should also welcome the opportunity to promote themselves early to next year's candidates. If you're not invited but wish to attend, ask the presenters and be prepared to give them a reason to agree. For example, your resume may not have been available for their review, or you may be a junior interested in summer employment with the company.

The Value Of Attending

In many ways a job search resembles a research project. Attending company presentations is much like doing a literature search on employers—even better, because they are interactive. The more organizations you survey, the better your information can guide you in selecting the right employers, entry jobs, and careers for you.

As noted, the presentations relate what individual employers do; their values, resources, and opportunities; the kinds of people they seek; their business goals and how they prioritize them; and how they develop, reward, and advance employees. These meetings allow candidates to test their assumptions about employers, jobs, and career goals, and to replace possibly biased opinions with data based judgments. Each employer is different but even among the most respected and successful employers, not every one will be right for you. These presentations allow you to "try on" an employer to see how it "fits."

Understanding Recruiting Strategies

Employers follow recruiting strategies. For most, it is: "screen in, screen out, screen in." In other words, they seek to screen in, at the outset, enough qualified candidates to meet their recruiting goals. They conduct as many initial interviews as needed to generate an adequate pool of the right candidates for site interviews. Depending on the quality of the candidate pool and selectivity of the employer, an employer may initially interview 10 to 20 times as many people as there are job openings.

After the interviews, the employer screens out most candidates since it seeks only the top four or five to interview for each job opening. Doing this quickly allows the employer to focus on scheduling site interviews for the finalists. These the employer screens in. Because each site interview involves significant costs in employer time and money, employers invite only those whom they feel will succeed. Unless concerns arise about a candidate's communication skills, attitude, or interactive style, a site interview should result in a job offer. In competitive times, preferred employers make two or three offers to obtain one acceptance. Other employers may need to make more offers.

A Job Search Strategy For Candidates

Job candidates should follow a similar job-search strategy. A useful one is: "screen in, screen in, screen out." The first "screen in" refers to identifying as many appealing employers as is reasonable. Visiting employer Web sites, reading company literature, and attending pre-interview presentations are all elements of this strategy. Be open-minded at this time since you are simply exploring ways to expand your employment options.

The second "screen in" refers to getting as many potential employers interested in you, through campus and other screening interviews. Your goal is to be invited for as many site interviews as is appropriate. Don't accept invitations from companies that you have already eliminated. You don't want to waste your time or theirs. However, if a company about which you're uncertain should invite you, a site interview could clear up your concerns. If you want three or four attractive job offers for a reasonable set of options, six to eight invitations for site interviews are a good target.

If you have at least two appealing job offers, use a final, "screen out" step to conclude your job search. Your personal criteria, such as those indicated below, are your guide. Also, ask your advisors and mentors for their perspectives.

Use Company Presentations To Screen Employers

Before you attend employers' presentations to determine their appeal to you, develop a questionnaire that enables you to evaluate their information. Create one that lets you see how well the employer measures up to what you value. In other words, generate a list of questions that address your job interests and needs. Bring your questionnaire to the presentation and rate the organization on how well it can provide everything you seek. Take notes.

If you want advancement and promotions, ask about:

Career paths available for employees with your credentials
Their standards for evaluating employee performance
Training and developmental programs for employees
How they recognize and reward top performers

If you want independence in your work, learn:

Who decides what projects will be pursued, or terminated
Their culture-is it defined by formalities and rules or more open and informal?
The managerial philosophy and style
Opportunities for independent work and freedom to act

If you want to have a life outside the job, inquire about:

What hours successful employees typically work
How much travel your job would involve
Opportunities to work with and through others
What cultural and recreational attractions are there

If you like challenge and seek to avoid routine work, ask about:

Opportunities employees have for choosing projects
How one may change jobs in the organization
The major challenges the organization pursuing
How employees are selected for exploratory work or new challenges

If you seek predictability and security in employment, try to understand:

What is the organization's competitive position?
Its principal opportunities for sustainable growth
Its history of reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, and layoffs
How competitive is its salary and benefits program

If involvement or helping others is important, inquire about:

How the employer supports and recognizes contributions to employee groups
The employer's attitude about employees' roles in professional societies

The more presentations you attend, the more opportunities you can identify. As you screen potential employers, construct a spreadsheet to compare their ability to meet your wants and needs. You will screen in those that look promising, and screen out the others. The more skilled you become at evaluating presentations strategically, the better you can spot which employers to pursue and which to forgo.

Summary

Company presentations are a robust source of information for job candidates, particularly if they understand what they seek in their jobs and careers. They provide an important foundation for evaluating employers and job offers critically. Students should take advantage of them whenever they can.

James D. Burke is formerly Manager of Technical Recruiting and University Relations for Rohm & Haas Company. Jim has more than 20 years of experience in recruiting and career development programs. Jim is an active ACS Career Consultant and is presently on the ACS Board of Directors.