You are here: Career Services > About Hokies4Hire (H4H) & On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) > Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about On-Campus Interviewing (OCI)

FAQs:

• Are OCI and the job fairs the same thing?
• Do employers go to job fairs and do OCI?
• If an employer is attending a job fair and doing OCI, which should I use?
• Do employers interview more than once a year through OCI?
• How many employers and students participate in OCI?
• How many students from each college participate?
• Are there co-op and internship jobs in OCI?
• How many VT grads get jobs through OCI?
• Can master's and doctoral students use OCI?
• Can alumni participate in OCI?
• Are there GPA restrictions for OCI?
• Isn't OCI mostly for business and engineering students?
• Why are some career fields included in OCI, but others aren't?
• Why do some employers not use OCI?
• What's the secret to interviewing success in OCI?
• What if I find nothing in OCI for me?

Q:  Are OCI and the job fairs the same thing?

A:  No.
Job fairs and career fairs are typically one-day or two-day events.
There are about 12 different job fairs on the VT campus each year. Each fair happens once a year. Each fair has its own purpose and sponsor — a college, department or organization at VT. See the job and career fair schedule and see how to prepare for more on that.

OCI runs for 9 weeks in fall and 9 weeks in spring, so if you do the math, that comes to 90 days of interviewing. See the schedule of dates and deadlines.

For OCI, you use Hokies4Hire online to complete your profile, post your resume and apply for jobs. You apply for jobs about 4 weeks before the interview — so it takes advance planning. For more on OCI, see about Hokies4Hire and OCI.

Some of the job fairs are followed by a day or half-day of interviewing, but those interviews are typically scheduled during the fair, so it's a quick turnaround. See the job fair schedule for links to each fair's web site where you should find more details.

Career Services only directly organizes and sponsors Connection Co-op and Internship Job Fair. We strongly encourage students to take advantage of the other career and job fairs; we are just not the people who run those events or their web sites.

Q: Do employers go to job fairs and do OCI?

A: Some do and some don't. Look at the job and career fair schedule and the links for each fair to see which employers are attending those fairs. View the OCI interview schedule to see which employers have scheduled recruiting (to date; it's continually subject to additions for future!) through OCI.

Q: If an employer is attending a job fair and doing OCI, which should I use?

A: Probably both. Some employers attend job fairs to meet students and give students a chance to get to know them in advance of formal OCI. If you meet an employer at a fair, and you know the employer is also doing OCI, ask the employer how one relates to the other. It could be that the same representatives of the company are handling both, or it could be that different divisions or locations doing separate recruiting. Just be aware that at job fairs, employers sometimes tell you things about OCI that aren't quite accurate. (For example, OCI does not involve your dropping off a paper copy of your resume at Career Services!) Follow the H4H and OCI procedures, and ask our staff if an employer tells you something that doesn't fit with the OCI process.

Q: Do employers interview more than once a year through OCI?

A: Most don't. Of all the employers who recruit through OCI, most (62%) make just one annual visit for OCI (though, again, some of them also attend job fairs as discussed above).

About 71% of the OCI employers interview in fall semester, and about 54% interview in spring semester. About 37% make two OCI visits in the academic year (some interview twice during one semester, so making two visits does not always mean they are interviewing in both fall and spring). Keep in mind that some organizations have divisions or locations that do separate recruiting, so you may see an organization name more than once for that reason.

Q: How many employers and students participate in OCI?

A: See numbers of employers and students participating, number of interviews, and average interviews per student.

Q: How many students from each college participate?

A: See numbers of interviews and numbers of student participants by college.

Q: Are there co-op and internship jobs in OCI?

A: Yes. Most of the jobs in OCI are permanent positions for graduating students, but there are also many internships and co-op positions available through OCI.

Q: How many VT grads get jobs through OCI?

A: A fourth or less, but this varies widely by college and by year as the economy fluctuates.
Data below is from the Post-Graduation Report, compiled frrom our annual survey of the bachelor's degree graduates. We ask the source of the accepted job for employed graduates (and much more).
More graduates use OCI to explore opportunities, but choose to accept offers from other sources.

By academic year of graduation, percent of employed graduates (from all colleges combined) who identified OCI as the source of the job they accepted: (others may have had offers; this % is for accepts)

• 2005-2006: 14%
• 2004-2005: 17%
• 2003-2004: 16%
• 2002-2003: 12.7%
• 2001-2002: 16.5%
• 2000-2001: 17.9%
• 1999-2000: 22.2%
• 1998-1999: 19.3%
• 1997-1998: 24.6%
• 1996-1997: 21.7%
• 1995-1996: 18.1%
• 1994-1995: 16.0%

To see data for specific colleges, and to see how else grads got their jobs, see the Post-Graduation Report.

Q: Are there jobs for master's and doctoral students in OCI?

A: Yes. The majority of jobs are for students completing bachelor's degrees — this simply mirrors the student population at Virginia Tech. The same job market realities apply to recruiting of graduate students. Not all types of employers and career fields are represented in OCI; employers use OCI if it is a cost effective way to meet a critical mass of candidates. Employers strictly seeking doctoral level candidates might not use OCI if it's not practical. Instead, they might directly contact academic departments that produce those graduates, and list positions in relevant professional publications and web sites.

Q: Can alumni participate in OCI?

A: Yes. However, be aware that as an alumnus, OCI might not be the best strategy or use of your time. Consider the following:

Generally OCI employers are interviewing students whom they expect to bring on board after graduation in December, May, June or August. If you are seeking immediate employment, other strategies besides OCI may be more effective uses of your time.

Alumni with extensive professional experience should contact employers directly. Campus recruiters are usually not involved in hiring of experienced personnel, but may be able to refer you to the appropriate person in the organization.

As an alumna participating in OCI, you are competing against current students for interviews. Because employers are generally looking for the strongest qualifications in candidates, and are generally looking for current students rather than past graduates, consider how your credentials compare to your competition. If you are not highly competitive, you may find other job search strategies to be more effective.

If you would need to travel a long distance to participate in OCI, you may be better off contacting employers directly and asking if it is possible to arrange an interview at the employer's site.

If you are uncertain about how successful you might be in OCI, we encourage you to discuss your situation with a Career Services' advisor before deciding whether or not to participate in OCI.

Q: Are there GPA restrictions for OCI?

A: Career Services does not screen student GPAs for OCI participation.

Employers may state GPA preferences; some do.

Contrary to what you may have heard, there is no 3.0 GPA cutoff that applies to all of OCI. Some employers do prefer 3.0 and above; some specify 2.8, some specify 2.5; some employers don't specify a GPA preference.

A strong GPA is to your advantage; however, most employers hiring graduating students are looking for career-related experience during college. If you have good experience and an average GPA, you might possibly be more competitive than a student with no experience and a higher GPA.

Employers also look for evidence of initiative, such as extra-curricular leadership and involvement, work experience that requires good communication and interpersonal skills and customer service, experience working in teams, professional demeanor, and evidence of a strong work ethic, like working during college to contribute to your college expenses. These can also help to overcome a GPA that is not as high as you would like it to be.

If you are unsure how your GPA affects your chances in OCI, speak with a Career Services advisor. Your GPA should be considered in light of your other qualifications. If there is a shortage of job candidates with your skills, some employers may not be as particular about GPA as others. (Also see should I include my GPA on my resume? and other FAQs.)

lf GPA is not your strongest qualification, you'll need to make up for this by presenting the rest of your qualifications effectively in your resume and by taking initiative in your job search, both with OCI and other job search strategies.

Q: Isn't OCI mostly for engineering and business students?

A: Many (but not all) of the jobs in OCI are technical, scientific, computer-related, engineering, business, sales, accounting, financial services, marketing and management. Students can apply for jobs through OCI regardless of major — as long as you are qualified. There are a significant number of employers who recruit students from almost any major, because those employers will provide their new hires with formal training and because they are seeking characteristics like work ethic, teamwork skills, interpersonal skills, etc, that are not owned by any one major. Many students with humanities, social science, and other majors are successful in OCI because they are interested in the career fields available through OCI and because they've learned to think beyond major and can show employers they have skills that match the jobs. (For participation data by college, see the numbers of interviews and numbers of student participants by college.)

However, not every career field or type of employer is represented in OCI. For example, social service positions, television broadcasting jobs, and many others are not recruited through OCI. Many employers either don't have the need or don't have the resources to travel to campuses to recruit. Employers use OCI if it is cost effective to do so.

Q: Why are some career fields included in OCI, but others aren't?

A: Generally, in career fields in which demand for job candidates exceeds the supply, employers must work harder to find candidates, and therefore will make the effort to recruit on campus.

Generally, in career fields in which the supply of job seekers exceeds jobs available, then job seekers must take the initiative to seek out employers; thus there is less need for these types of employers to travel to recruit.

Recruiting on campus costs employers time and money in travel expenses, so whether or not to use OCI is an economic decision for employers.

OCI represents a limited segment of the job market in several ways:

• by geographic location of employers
• by type of employer
• by type of employment
• by type and quality of candidates sought

OCI is driven by employer demand. Employer demand is driven by the economy.

Employers do not recruit on campus as a service to students.

Employers do recruit on campus if this is the most cost-effective way to fill their hiring needs.

Just as job seekers must network, and successful ones do, employers also network to recruit and find candidates. Use professional networking activities to seek out employers.

Q: Why do some employers not use OCI?

A: Employers who fill positions as they come open usually need to advertise and fill positions quickly — OCI does not serve this purpose. However, those employers can search for VT resumes online through Hokies4Hire, so be sure you upload your resume (and indicate you want employers to see it!) in Hokies4Hire.

Smaller organizations often do not have the personnel and the funds to travel to recruit on campus. Again, however, their needs can be served by searching Hokies4Hire for student resumes.

Geographically distant, smaller or regional organizations are less likely to have incentive to recruit on campus or seek out students at VT. Students who are targeting employers in a distant location will typically need to use job search strategies other than OCI.

Employers targeting very specialized candidates — such as some Ph.D.s or Ed.D.s — probably won't use OCI. It's not practical. Instead, they may directly contact the departments that produce the doctoral candidates with the credentials they seek, and they may post their positions in relevant professional publications and web sites.

Certain career fields are not represented in OCI — it's simply not a useful way for those employers to do hiring. For example, you typically will not find social service occupations, broadcasting positions, or arts management positions listed in OCI — other job search strategies are used to seek those types of jobs — see complete job search information for students.

Q: What's the secret to interviewing success in OCI?

A: There's no secret. Employers look for a professional and pleasant demeanor, appropriate attire and grooming, honesty, a positive attitude and an ability to articulate your skills and why you would like to work for the company who is giving you the interview. Employers expect candidates to "do your homework," which means researching the company in advance of the interview. If you seem like you have no real interest in the particular organization, the employer will view you as wasting his/her time regardless of how good your qualifications are. Employers are looking for a good fit, or match, between you and the job and the organization. See more about interviewing.

Q: What if I find nothing in OCI for me?

A: If you find nothing in your chosen career field in OCI, it does not mean there is anything wrong with you, and it does not mean that Career Services can't help you.

Remember that OCI represents a part, not all, of the job market and it is driven by employer demand and by the economy.

Career Services will help you:

• Select appropriate job search strategies.
• Develop your job search skills (resume, interviewing skills, etc.) just like we help students who use OCI.

For help:

• Read pros and cons of the ways to look for jobs.
• Schedule an advising appointment with a Career Services advisor for individual assistance with your job search. Your appointment time will be most productive if you review the job search section of Career Services' web site first so that you understand job search basics.