Our Best On-Campus Interview Tips and Resources

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professional woman in suit sits across table from two men and a woman in suits; the woman in the foreground is giving a thumb's up and a smile because her on-campus interview is going well

What are your best on-campus interview tips and resources? With OCI week coming up at different schools, I thought now might be a great time to round up some of our interviewing resources, as well as to ask the readers:

What are your best on-campus interview tips? Do you think on-campus interviews need a different set of skills than regular interviews? What's the best interview advice you've ever gotten? If you're coming up on OCI week, how are you prepping for it? If you're on the other side and someone who interviews people for on-campus interviews, what are YOUR best tips? 

For my $.02, I definitely think on-campus interviews are a bit different — the stress level is through the roof because you have a ton of them in a very short period of time, plus many of your friends are going through the same experience you are, which somehow normalizes it and amplifies it all at the same time.

That said, I think in the real world, just getting to the interview stage of things is a journey, particularly if you're more of a generalist and don't have special skills or clients — so OCI week can be really easy from that perspective.

Plus, in OCI week most interviewers and interviewees have a good sense of a shared timeline, whereas in the real world you may interview and hear back that afternoon — or hear nothing for months. (I'm a weirdo in that I still have really good memories of OCI week, but that's probably just me!)

{Psst: Do check out our Guide to Interview Suits! Some of our favorite suits are below…}

As of 2024, some of our favorite mid-range suits for women (which sometimes have such frequent sales that they come down to the same range as our “budget” suits) include Ann Taylor, J.Crew, Talbots, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, and Antonio Melani. (Talbots and J.Crew usually have plus sizes, and the others offer petites.)

With that said, here are some of our best on-campus interview tips and tricks…

What to Wear to an On-Campus Interview

Hunting for comfortable work heels? We've got a whole guide just for that, but as of 2025 some of our favorites include Marc Fisher LTD, Sam Edelman, M.M.LaFleur, and Cole Haan. On the pricier side, check out Ferragamo, Stuart Weitzman, and Sarah Flint. For comfort-first styles, look to Vionic, Sofft, and Naturalizer.

Interview Attire Questions

Resume Advice

After the Interview: Dealing with Anxiety, Following Up, and More

graphic rounding up our advice on interview suits for women

Stock photo at top: Deposit Photos / Wavebreakmedia.

5 Comments

  1. I’m going to be conducting OCI interviews for the first time this year (NYC, big law firm, giant high-pressure format in a hotel). I’ve done callback before but this is my first experience with the 20-minute “screener” format. Anyone have tips for both how to get a substantive conversation going in such a short time, and how not to go crazy sitting in the same room all day with a parade of law students?

    1. I’ve done OCI interviews and lots of mock OCI interviews. Try to get to know the person and draw them out – makes for a more interesting conversation than “tell me what you did at this job, that job?” Come up with a few “tell me about a time when” questions. I always ask if they have a law review comment topic yet and then ask them to tell me about it. I try to find out what is going to get them to light up and talk about that.

  2. Having been on both ends of these interviews, I suggest interviewees study up on the firm and show true interest as I did. All too often, interviewees just go through the motions, expecting that they will get a callback. Do not dress provocatively as the firm will not appreciate having you at the firm.

    As an interviewer, look for a person who will be an asset to the firm, not a social climber who is looking for their next job. Also, never flirt with your interviewees. This will not go over well if you do not call that person back. Finally, do not date any interviewees, even if they do get an offer, as this will look bad for the firm.

  3. Good information, I suggest interviewees study up on the firm and show true interest as I did. All too often, interviewees just go through the motions, expecting that they will get a callback.

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