Why do companies interview on campus?

Most companies who choose to interview on any campus are looking for a number of entry-level employees to fill their hiring needs. Through screening interviews, the employer is able to talk with a large number of students in a short amount of time. Their mission is to find the "brightest and best" from a wide pool of applicants, hence the term screening. Job offers are not often made at these initial interviews -- instead, they are opportunities to determine which candidates they would like to bring back for more in-depth interviews.

Because the on-campus "screening" process is a considerable investment of money, staff time, and effort, it is often not a viable option for small companies. Although smaller firms do interview at Caltech, they are typically local firms, or companies started by alumni. Other reasons given for not interviewing at Caltech are: hiring freezes, few openings, lack of student interest, or recruiters not available.

The companies choosing Caltech are usually here because they need students with science and engineering backgrounds. Therefore, it is not unusual for a typical recruiter to also recruit at similar schools such as Stanford, MIT, and Berkeley. They are generally seeking Ph.D. candidates who will be graduating within the next 15-18 months and M.S./B.S. candidates who will be graduating within the next 6-12 months.

Recruiting at Caltech has steadily been increasing over the past few years. Last year we had a record high of 225 companies who held interviews on campus. For a complete list of 1997-98 employers, copies of Organizations Interviewing on Campus are available in the Career Development Center.

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