Start Here — A Short Snapshot to Get Us Moving

• How many campus hires (interns + new grads) are you hiring this season across all programs? Options: Under 50, 50–199, 200–499, 500–999, 1,000+
• Who is completing this form and what role do you play in campus programs? Options: Campus Recruiting Manager, University Relations Director, Early Talent Program Lead, Talent Acquisition Coordinator, HR/People Ops, Other
• Briefly, what triggered you to explore a new campus recruiting platform right now?
• Which of these best describes your current toolset for campus hiring? Options: Spreadsheets + email, General-purpose ATS, Homegrown CRM, Multiple point tools (CRM + events + spreadsheets), We already use a campus-focused platform

Who's Really Pulling the Strings?

• We often assume a single director signs off—who actually makes the final go/no-go decision in practice? Options: Head of Campus Recruiting, VP/Head of TA, Procurement, Finance/Budget Owner, Legal/Compliance, Career Services partner at universities, Other
• Who else must be consulted or give input before a decision is made (names/titles or departments)?
• Which stakeholder typically has veto power—where have pilots stalled before? Options: Procurement, Legal, IT/Security, University Partners, Hiring Managers, Other
• How confident are you that the identified decision-maker will be available for alignment meetings when needed? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Unsure, Unlikely
• If we needed a single executive sponsor to unblock things, who would be the best person and why?

When the Clock Starts Ticking

• Imagine your recruiting season timeline—what is the hard deadline where a pilot must be validated? Options: Within 4 weeks, 4–8 weeks, 8–12 weeks, Next recruiting season (3+ months), No fixed deadline
• How long does your internal procurement/contract approval typically take? Options: <2 weeks, 2–4 weeks, 1–2 months, 2–3 months, 3+ months
• Are there non-negotiable dates (career fairs, campus visits, internal budgeting cycles) we need to align to? List them.
• When decisions in your organization tend to slow down, what usually causes the delay? Options: Budget approvals, Legal reviews, IT/Security checks, Stakeholder scheduling, Unclear ROI, Other
• If we committed to a pilot timeline today, how realistic is your team’s ability to meet it? Options: Very realistic, Realistic with support, Questionable, Not realistic

What Success Actually Looks Like (Beyond Vanity Metrics)

• If this pilot were unquestionably successful, what one outcome would you share with your execs first?
• Which of these measurable signals matter most to you for determining pilot success? Options: Time-to-offer, Event-to-hire attribution, Candidate completion rates (mobile), Diversity of hires (school-by-school), Offer acceptance within 72 hours, Employer brand impressions/engagement
• What are your minimum acceptance criteria for a pilot to be considered a win (quantify if possible)?
• Who will own tracking and reporting of success metrics inside your org during the pilot? Options: Campus Recruiting, People Analytics/TA Ops, Hiring Managers, Central Analytics/BI, Other
• How will this pilot’s results influence budget or program expansion next season? Options: Directly impact budget, Inform 2nd-stage pilot, Used for internal persuasion only, Unclear

Where the Friction Hides — Real Obstacles That Kill Momentum

• Most pilots fail quietly—what do you suspect would stop this pilot before it starts? Options: Lack of university buy-in, Poor mobile UX, Inability to attribute hires, Data access issues, Internal stakeholder resistance, Other
• Tell us about a past pilot or vendor that under-delivered—what specifically went wrong and how did that make you feel?
• How tolerant is your leadership for a 50% conversion target versus a 90% target for early pilot metrics? Options: Very tolerant, Somewhat tolerant, Not tolerant, Unsure
• Which internal processes are least flexible right now (e.g., interview scheduling, offer approvals, background checks)? Options: Interview scheduling, Offer approvals, Background checks, Onboarding paperwork, Other
• What would you say keeps you up at night about running a school-by-school pilot?

The People You'll Need to Convince (Champions, Influencers, Skeptics)

• Who inside your organization will be most excited about this platform and most likely to champion adoption? Options: Campus Recruiting Lead, Recruiters, Program Coordinators, TA Ops, Employer Brand/Marketing, Other
• Who is most likely to raise objections, and what are their likely top concerns?
• How do your university partners typically react to new systems—are they eager collaborators or protective of existing processes? Options: Eager collaborators, Cautious but open, Resistant/protective, Varies by school
• Which stakeholder groups would you like us to meet with early to accelerate alignment (select all that apply)? Options: Career Services/CSOs, Registrar/IT, Student Ambassadors, Faculty/Department Leads, University Procurement
• If you could name one internal person to lead day-to-day adoption for the pilot, who would it be and why?

Integration & Data: The Hidden Yes/No

• If our solution can’t access specific data or systems, would that be a non-starter for you? Options: Yes—non-starter, Depends which data/system, No—workarounds okay, Unsure
• Which systems do we need to integrate with for a successful pilot? Options: Main ATS (name), SSO/Identity Provider, Career Services platform (name), Calendar systems (Google/Outlook), Analytics/BI
• Describe any legal, privacy, or university contractual constraints we should know about (data residency, student consent, FERPA concerns).
• How do you prefer to share data during a pilot (API, SFTP, CSV uploads, manual entry)? Options: API, SFTP, Scheduled CSV, Manual entry by team, Other
• Who on your side will own technical coordination and security reviews?

Budget, Commercial Reality, and Contract Traps

• Budgets rarely appear magically—where would pilot funding most likely come from? Options: Campus Recruiting budget, Central TA budget, Talent Programs/University Relations, Special projects/exec discretionary fund, Other
• What is an approximate pilot budget range that would be acceptable to you? Options: <$10k, $10k–$25k, $25k–$50k, $50k–$100k, $100k+
• Do you have contract thresholds or approval limits we should be aware of (e.g., legal review above $X)?
• Which commercial terms usually create the most friction in your organization (pricing model, data use, renewal terms, liability)? Options: Pricing model, Data use/privacy, Renewal/auto-renew, Liability/indemnity, None of the above
• How flexible is your team on pilot structure—time-limited pilot vs. performance-based payment vs. seat-based licensing? Options: Time-limited pilot preferred, Performance-based open, Seat-based preferred, Open to hybrid

Adoption Reality Check — Who Actually Uses the Tool?

• Who in your day-to-day workflow will use this platform most (list roles and estimated headcount)?
• What mobile expectations do your candidates and campus teams have—how critical is mobile-first UX? Options: Critical (mobile-first), Important but not critical, Nice-to-have, Not important
• How do you normally train recruiters and campus coordinators—live webinars, in-person training, self-serve docs, or a mix? Options: Live webinars, In-person training, Self-serve docs/videos, Blended approach
• What incentives or KPIs will drive actual usage during the pilot (e.g., usage targets, event check-in rates, interview scheduling adherence)?
• Share one behavior or habit your team will resist changing—even if the new way is better.

If This Falls Short — Your Plan B and Minimum Viable Win

• If alignment across all 20 schools isn’t possible, what’s the smallest pilot that would still be meaningful? Options: 1–2 schools, 3–5 schools, 5–10 schools, Selected region only
• Which five schools would you prioritize for a focused pilot, and why those?
• What would you accept as a minimum viable success from that smaller pilot?
• If the pilot shows promise but not full ROI, what incremental step would you be willing to take next season? Options: Expand schools, Add modules (analytics/CRM), Run a second pilot, Pause and reassess
• Who needs to be convinced for Plan B to proceed, and how would you reach them?

Commitments, Next Meetings, and Small Bets to Move Forward

• If we finish this discovery and align on a pilot plan, who must be on the kickoff call from your side? Options: Decision-maker/Executive Sponsor, Campus Recruiting Lead, TA Ops/Analytics, IT/Security, University Partner rep
• What are your preferred communication channels and cadence for working through pre-pilot tasks? Options: Weekly video calls, Bi-weekly calls, Email + Asana/Jira, Slack/Teams, Ad hoc
• What would feel like a reasonable next milestone within the next two weeks? Options: Stakeholder alignment meeting scheduled, Data/access checklist completed, Pilot school list confirmed, Budget pre-approval obtained
• What concerns would you like us to proactively address in the next conversation to make it easier to say yes?
• Finally, what is the best way for us to earn your trust quickly—what do you need to see or hear now?

Tell the Story of Your Last Season

• Walk me through your most recent campus hiring cycle from first outreach to the final accepted offer—what happened, in your words?
• Who on your team was responsible for outreach, events, candidate follow-up, and offer coordination during that cycle? Options: Campus Recruiting Manager, University Relations Director, Early Talent Program Lead, Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Hiring Manager, Career Services/School Rep, HR/Operations/IT, Other
• How many schools, events (virtual + in-person), and hires did that season roughly include? Options: 1–5 schools / events, 6–10, 11–20, 21–50, 50+
• On a scale, how satisfied were you with that season’s outcomes versus what you expected? Options: Very satisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Mixed results, Disappointed
• What single moment from that cycle still makes you wince when you think about it?

Are Top Candidates Quietly Slipping Away?

• How often do you lose preferred or ‘must-have’ candidates to competitors before internal approvals or offers are completed? Options: Almost every cycle, Often, Occasionally, Rarely, Never
• Tell me about the last time that happened—what sequence of events allowed a competitor to close the candidate?
• When offers are delayed, where does the delay usually come from (internal approvals, scheduling interviews, reference checks, compensation sign-off, other)? Options: Internal approvals, Interview scheduling, Reference/background checks, Compensation/comp committee, Candidate response window, Other
• How does it feel for your team when a top candidate accepts elsewhere—what’s the real impact beyond the headcount?
• If you had to estimate, what percentage of lost candidates would you attribute to process friction versus employer brand or compensation? Options: >75% process, 50–75% process, 25–50% process, <25% process, Mostly brand/compensation

Where Processes Quietly Unravel

• Which parts of your campus hiring process do you suspect are being tolerated rather than intentionally designed?
• How often do you encounter missed follow-ups, duplicates in tracking, or hires that never make it back into your systems? Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Rarely, Never
• Give an example of a hiring event or outreach where the process failed—what went wrong and who felt the consequences?
• When those failures happen, how long do they typically take to detect and correct? Options: Same day, A few days, Weeks, Until season end, We never detect them
• How much time does your team spend manually reconciling lists, follow-ups, and candidate statuses each week? Options: <5 hours, 5–10 hours, 10–20 hours, 20–40 hours, >40 hours

What’s Holding Your Tools Together (and What’s Ripping Them Apart)

• Which tools are central to your campus hiring today—and which ones feel like temporary duct tape? Options: Spreadsheets (Excel/Sheets), ATS (Greenhouse, Lever, Workday), Paper sign-up sheets, CRM or outreach tool, University career portal/SIS, Custom internal DB, Event platforms (Handshake, Brazen), Other
• Which system do you treat as the single source of truth for a candidate’s status, if any? Options: ATS, Spreadsheet, CRM/Outreach tool, Career services portal, No single source, Other
• Where do manual handoffs happen most often (e.g., event check-in → recruiter follow-up → interview scheduling)? Options: Event check-in, Recruiter follow-up, Referrals/internal routing, Interview scheduling, Offer orchestration, Onboarding paperwork, Other
• Which integrations exist today (two-way ATS sync, exports, calendar links, career services APIs) and which would you like to have? Options: Two-way ATS sync, One-way ATS export/import, Calendar / scheduling integration, Career services / SIS API, Email / outreach tool integration, None / manual only, Other
• How often do manual data errors (missed rows, duplicate contacts, wrong school) cause a candidate to be lost or misrouted? Options: Frequently, Sometimes, Rarely, Never, Not sure

Events: Choreographed Strategy or Last-Minute Fire Drill?

• How predictable is your event calendar—for each school, do you have a repeatable cadence or is it scheduled ad hoc? Options: Standardized cadence per school, Mostly standardized with exceptions, Mostly ad hoc, Entirely ad hoc
• Tell me what ‘running an event’ looks like for you from promotion to attendance tracking to post-event follow-up.
• How do students typically register and check in at your events today? Options: Third-party event platform, Paper sign-in, Manual spreadsheet check-in, Career services manages it, Other
• What percentage of event attendees do you successfully convert into engaged applicants or next-step interviews? Options: >50%, 30–50%, 10–30%, <10%, We don’t measure
• Which part of event execution causes the most anxiety for your team (logistics, attendance capture, follow-up, or measurement)? Options: Logistics, Attendance capture, Follow-up cadence, Measurement/analytics, Stakeholder coordination, Other

Can You Tell Which Activities Actually Drive Hires?

• What signals do you currently track to judge success (time-to-offer, event-to-hire, application completion, diversity outcomes)? Options: Time-to-offer, Event-to-hire attribution, Application completion rate, Offer acceptance within 72 hours, Conversion by school, Diversity metrics, Engagement rate (messages/opens), Other
• How confident are you that your metrics reliably attribute a hire back to a specific event or outreach? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Not confident, We don't attempt attribution
• Describe a time when analytics told one story but the real outcome looked different—what was misleading?
• Which reports or dashboards would change stakeholders’ minds if they were clean and trusted?
• What data sources are missing today that would make attribution and ROI clear to your stakeholders? Options: Event attendance logs, Individual candidate touchpoint history, Offer/acceptance timestamps, Diversity demographics per school, Career services event metadata, None / unsure, Other

Where Hand-offs Turn Into Heartburn

• Who are the non-negotiable stakeholders we must align with for a pilot to succeed (internal and at the university)? Options: Campus Recruiting Manager, Talent Acquisition leadership, Hiring Managers, University Career Services, IT/Security, Legal/Privacy, Finance/Procurement, Other
• When a school or career services office is slow to respond, what typically breaks next in your workflow?
• Have you run pilots or new tooling with career services before? What helped or hurt adoption on the university side?
• Do you have named owners at the university for events, data sharing, and technical access? If yes, list roles or schools.
• How do stakeholders outside recruiting (hiring managers, finance) usually react to data showing school-by-school ROI? Options: Supportive and curious, Skeptical / ask for proof, Indifferent, Hostile / pushback

Imagine a Season That Runs Itself (If You Could Be Ruthless)

• If 72-hour offers were the norm for your top candidates, what three operational changes would need to be true for that to happen?
• Which measurable success signals would make this season feel unquestionably successful to your stakeholders? Options: Time-to-offer under X days, Increase in event-to-hire rate, Higher completion rates on mobile, Improved diversity by school, Clear attribution to events, Pilot acceptance by named schools, Other
• What parts of the candidate experience must feel different to students for you to see improved conversion? Options: Faster responses, Simpler mobile flows, Clearer employer branding, Personalized messaging, Easier event registration and check-in, Other
• What would you need to see during a pilot (metrics, stories, screenshots) to feel comfortable recommending platform adoption?
• What are the emotional wins you'd want your team to feel after a successful season? Options: Less firefighting, Stronger relationships with schools, Data-driven credibility, Higher team morale, Clear ROI to defend budget, Other

Small Bets That Prove the Case

• Which five to ten schools would be ideal for a focused pilot—why those schools (logistics, diversity goals, hiring volume, existing relationships)?
• What data and technical access can you provide within 4–6 weeks (candidate lists, event calendars, ATS sync credentials, career services contacts)? Options: Candidate lists, Event calendars, ATS credentials / API access, Career services contact list, No access currently, Other
• What would be a reasonable minimum viable success for a pilot (e.g., 10% lift in event-to-hire, time-to-offer cut by 30%)?
• What internal blockers could derail a four-to-six week setup (data privacy, IT capacity, procurement, school approvals)? Options: Data privacy / legal, IT bandwidth, Procurement / contracting, Career services approvals, Hiring manager buy-in, Budget, Other
• Realistically, how soon could you commit to a pilot timeline that aligns with your next recruiting season? Options: Immediately, 4–6 weeks, Next quarter, Next recruiting season, Unsure

Quick Wins, Uncomfortable Truths, and Next Steps

• What would you refuse to compromise on for a pilot or platform adoption (data control, candidate privacy, student experience, integration with ATS)? Options: Data control, Candidate privacy (FERPA/GDPR), Student mobile experience, Seamless ATS integration, Minimal changes to career services workflow, Other
• What are the practical constraints (people, budget, policy) that would make you pause before saying yes?
• If we could deliver one immediate, visible improvement in the first 30 days, what should it be to build momentum? Options: Faster event check-in & capture, Automated follow-up sequences, Clear event-to-hire dashboard, Mobile-friendly application flow, Named owner assignment per school, Other
• Who needs to be in the room for a planning session to turn this conversation into an executable pilot plan? Options: Campus Recruiting Manager, VP/Head of Talent Acquisition, Talent Operations/HRIS, Career Services lead (university), Hiring Manager representative, IT/Security, Procurement/Finance, Other
• What final questions or concerns would you want answered before we draft a pilot scope and timeline?

Getting Ready — Quick Snapshot

• Which recruiting season and approximate launch window are we planning this pilot for? Options: Fall 2026, Spring 2027, Summer 2027, Custom (enter below)
• Please list the pilot schools, the primary contact at each school, and their preferred contact method (email/phone).
• How many schools will be active in the pilot? Options: 1–2, 3–4, 5–7, 8–10, 10+
• Who internally will be the primary sponsor, day-to-day owner, and technical contact for this pilot? (Names and roles)
• Which single metric would you say is the most important headline for the pilot? Options: Time-to-offer, Event-to-hire attribution, Candidate completion rate (mobile), Conversion to interview, Diversity of hires, Other

If This Fails, What Keeps You Up at Night?

• What would make this pilot feel like a clear failure to you and your stakeholders?
• When a pilot has gone poorly in the past, which downstream consequence hurt the most—lost candidates, wasted budget, damaged campus relationships, or something else? Options: Lost top candidates, Wasted budget/time, Strained university relationships, No measurable ROI, Other
• How do those failures typically present themselves in your reporting or leadership conversations? Options: Lower conversion rates, Negative stakeholder feedback, Missed timelines, Incomplete data, Other
• If we ran into early problems during the first two weeks, how long could you tolerate them before escalating or pausing the pilot? Options: 48–72 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, Would pause immediately
• Who on your team would have the authority to pause, renegotiate, or cancel the pilot?

Where Your Data Really Lives

• How confident are you that the data sources we need can be accessed without a prolonged procurement or legal delay? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Not confident, We don’t know yet
• Which systems currently hold candidate, event, and campus engagement data for the pilot schools? Options: Internal ATS (Greenhouse/Lever/etc.), Career center platforms (Handshake/Symplicity), Spreadsheets/Google Sheets, SIS (Banner/PeopleSoft), Event management tools, No central source / ad hoc
• Which integration methods are available from your side and the schools’ side: API, SFTP/CSV, manual export, or none? Options: API, SFTP/CSV exports, Manual CSV upload, Database replica, Other / unknown
• Who is the named data steward or security contact for each school and for your team (include name, role, and email)?
• What regulatory or contractual constraints should we plan around (e.g., FERPA, GDPR, vendor data agreements, PHI), and how strict are the schools about them? Options: FERPA, GDPR, SOC2 / security audits, Vendor DPA required, No special constraints, Other

Career Services: Ally or Roadblock?

• If a career services office isn’t fully engaged, what single part of the pilot is most likely to break?
• How would you describe the current level of partnership with career services across these schools? Options: Fully partnered and engaged, Open but limited bandwidth, Mixed (some engaged, some not), Generally resistant, Unknown / haven’t reached out
• Who are the named contacts on the career services side for each pilot school, and what decision-making authority do they hold?
• Which career services integrations would be required for success: calendar sync, event listing, single sign-on, on-campus room booking, or real-time attendee sync? Options: Calendar sync (iCal/Google/Outlook), Event listing sync, Single sign-on (SAML/OAuth), On-campus room/venue booking, Real-time attendee/check-in sync, None required
• What engagement approach tends to work best with your university partners—formal MOU, a one-hour workshop, a pilot kickoff meeting, or hands-on tech support? Options: Formal MOU, Kickoff meeting with stakeholders, Hands-on tech workshop, As-needed emails and calls, Other

Mobile Experience — When Seconds Decide Candidates

• Roughly how many candidates do you estimate abandon campus application or event flows due to a poor mobile experience? Options: <10%, 10–25%, 25–40%, 40–60%, >60%
• Which mobile experience KPIs matter most to you for this pilot (select up to 3)? Options: Completion rate, Time-to-complete, Push/open rate, Event check-in conversion, Profile completion, Referral/share rate
• Do you currently capture mobile device analytics (OS, app version, completion funnels)? Options: Yes — full analytics, Some analytics available, No, only basic logs, Not sure
• Are you willing to use SMS and push notifications to drive candidate action during the pilot? If yes, what messaging constraints exist? Options: Yes — SMS allowed, Yes — push notifications allowed, No — only email, Needs university approval
• Describe the mobile experience non-negotiables for you (e.g., <2-minute apply flow, single-tap event check-in, offline support).

Operational Ownership — Who's Actually Doing The Work?

• Who will be accountable if a specific school misses its onboarding or configuration deadline? Options: Corporate campus lead, Program coordinator, Career services contact, IT/Integration lead, Other
• Please provide a row-by-row view of owners per school (name, role, email, and the percent of their weekly time they can allocate).
• How many hours per week should we expect from school-side owners during the 4–6 week setup window? Options: <2 hours, 2–5 hours, 6–10 hours, 10–20 hours, 20+ hours
• What is your preferred way to assign and track onboarding tasks: shared spreadsheet, project management tool (Asana/Jira/Teams), weekly calls, or something else? Options: Shared spreadsheet, Asana/Trello/Jira, Microsoft Teams/Planner, Weekly status calls, Other
• What escalation path should we follow if a school misses a milestone (who to contact and the order)?

Risk and Readiness — Let’s Be Brutally Honest

• What single issue would force you to delay or cancel go-live even if everything else seemed on track?
• Which of these technical or operational blockers are you most concerned about? Options: Integrations incomplete, Data privacy/legal hold, Low candidate opt-in, Career services withdrawal, SSO/authentication problems, Mobile drop-off
• How many weeks before the intended launch date do integrations, training, and verification need to be completed for you to feel comfortable? Options: 1 week, 2 weeks, 3–4 weeks, 5–6 weeks, More than 6 weeks
• If candidate flows or event check-in fail at launch, what contingency should we execute immediately (rollback, phased launch, manual registration, other)? Options: Rollback to previous workflow, Phased launch by school, Manual registration/check-in, Delay and fix, Other
• On a scale of 1–10, how confident is your team that the pilot is technically ready in its current state? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Acceptance & Success — What 'Good' Looks Like

• If this pilot is a success, what three statements would your CEO, campus recruiting lead, and a student each make about it?
• Which KPIs must be met for a pilot to be accepted (choose all that apply)? Options: Time-to-offer target, Event-to-hire attribution accuracy, Mobile completion rate, Offer acceptance within 72 hours, Pilot school NPS/CSAT
• Please specify numeric targets for the KPIs you've just selected (e.g., completion rate %, time-to-offer days).
• What acceptance process do you want at the end of the pilot—per-school signoff, centralized go/no-go, or conditional extension? Options: Per-school signoff, Centralized go/no-go, Conditional extension with fixes, Other
• Assuming success, what is the desired timeline for scaling beyond the pilot (next season, next year, phased over multiple seasons)? Options: Immediate next season, Next year, Phased over 2+ seasons, Undecided

Logistics — The Fine Print That Wins or Loses

• What legal, security, or data-sharing terms have caused problems in previous vendor pilots?
• Which compliance or audit requirements must we meet for your organization or the partner schools? Options: SOC2 Type II, FERPA compliance, GDPR / Data subject rights, Vendor security questionnaire, No formal requirements, Other
• Do the schools provide a test environment or sandbox for integrations and QA? Options: Yes — full sandbox, Limited test access, No test environment, Unknown
• Is single sign-on (SAML/OAuth) required for student or staff access during the pilot? Options: Required, Preferred but not required, Not needed, Unknown
• How often can data be synced during the pilot—real-time, hourly, daily, or weekly? Options: Real-time, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Batch only on request

Commitment & Timeline — Do We Really Have a Launch Date?

• If we set a target go-live date now, what is the most likely reason that date would slip?
• Which launch window do you prefer for the pilot? Options: Begin of term (weeks 0–2), Mid-term, Pre-term/setup window, Around career fair week, Rolling/phase-by-school
• List the must-hit milestones and their ideal completion dates (technical integration, career services signoff, training, dry-run, go/no-go).
• Who will provide the final sign-off for go/no-go at each school and centrally (names and roles)?
• Are you available for a 90-minute pre-deployment readiness workshop in the next 10 business days to validate integrations, owner roles, and a runbook? Options: Yes — within 5 business days, Yes — within 10 business days, Need to schedule later, No

Quick Campus Snapshot — A 60-second view

• How many schools will you actively include in the upcoming pilot or season? Options: 1–4, 5–10, 11–20, 21–50, 50+
• Roughly how many intern/new grad hires do you target across those schools this season? Options: 0–25, 26–100, 101–250, 251–500, 500+
• What are the hard calendar dates we need to know (first event, offer deadlines, campus blackout windows)?
• Who on your team will be the primary point of contact for pilot coordination?
• Which single metric would make this pilot feel like an unqualified win to you? Options: Faster time-to-offer, Clear event-to-hire attribution, Higher event conversion rate, Improved diversity metrics, Better candidate experience / NPS, Other

Who's Really Holding the Keys? — Decisions, owners, and hidden vetoes

• If one stakeholder could block the pilot, who is it — and why might they say no? Options: Corporate recruiting lead, Finance/Budget owner, Legal/Data privacy, University career services, IT/Security, Other
• Which people or teams must be aligned for day‑one of the pilot (names/titles or functions)?
• How aligned are those stakeholders today on objectives and timeline? Options: Aligned and committed, Mostly aligned, few questions, Divergent views, needs negotiation, Not aligned at all
• Tell us about a past time when stakeholder misalignment cost you a candidate, event, or timeline — what happened?
• What format of stakeholder engagement works best for you (executive review, working session, written brief, weekly standup)? Options: Executive review, Working session, Written brief/email, Weekly standup, Ad hoc calls

Show Me Your Current Playbook — How you run campus now

• Where do most candidate records originate today? Options: Spreadsheets/CSV, ATS, Career services sign‑ups, Event QR/check‑in lists, Email/manual capture, Other
• Describe how an event is planned and executed — who does what and which tools they use?
• What systems do you currently rely on for scheduling interviews and tracking offers? Options: Primary ATS (name), Calendar + spreadsheets, Specialized campus tool, No system / manual
• How do you currently track follow‑ups after an event (timing, owner, content)? Options: Automated sequences, Manual outreach, Recruiter notes only, No formal tracking
• Which parts of that playbook feel like they consume the most time or energy?

When Candidates Slip Through the Cracks — The moments that hurt

• How often do you lose top candidates because internal approvals or processes were too slow? Options: Very often, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
• Tell me about a recent hire or loss that still frustrates you — what exactly failed?
• Which failure modes matter most to you (missed follow‑up, misattributed hires, no mobile registration, data loss)? Options: Missed follow‑up, Misattributed hires, Poor mobile UX, Duplicate records, Career services integration gaps, Other
• How long have those failure patterns been happening, and what have you tried to fix them?
• When these things happen, how do they impact your team’s confidence or brand with students? Options: Significant harm, Noticeable but recoverable, Minor annoyance, No impact / unsure

If This Season Went Perfectly — Outcomes that actually move the needle

• What are the top three outcomes you absolutely must demonstrate in the pilot? Options: Faster time‑to‑offer, Event→hire attribution, Higher candidate conversion, Improved diversity conversion, Seamless student UX, Lower admin time
• Which numeric targets would you set for the pilot (example: reduce time‑to‑offer by X days; increase event conversion by Y%)?
• What acceptance criteria will your stakeholders use to greenlight expansion after the pilot? Options: Meets numeric targets, Positive student feedback, Career services signoff, Integrations complete, Budget approval
• If we meet those outcomes, what would expand the relationship next season (more schools, full funnel integration, custom features)? Options: More schools, Full ATS integration, Custom analytics, Dedicated success manager, Other
• What would still make you hesitate to sign up for year two even if the pilot hits metrics?

How Students Really Experience You — Candidate journeys you may not see

• When students first encounter your brand, what channels do they use most (career fair, socials, mobile app, email)? Options: Career fairs (in‑person), Virtual events, Instagram/TikTok, Email, University career portals, Peer referrals
• Walk me through the ideal student flow from discovery → registration → application → offer. Where do you see drop‑off today?
• Have you measured mobile completion rates for event registration or applications? If yes, what are they? Options: Yes — high (>75%), Yes — moderate (50–75%), Yes — low (<50%), No data
• Do you collect student experience feedback (NPS, surveys)? How often and how? Options: NPS post-event, Short surveys, Ad‑hoc interviews, No formal feedback
• Share an example of a student complaint or praise that revealed an unexpected insight about your process.

Tech, Data & Integration Reality — What your systems actually allow

• Which ATS or HR systems must we integrate with for the pilot (name all that apply)?
• What level of data access will IT/security approve for the pilot? Options: Full API access, Limited fields via CSV, Read‑only views, No external data — manual imports, Unsure / need to ask
• Do you support SSO/SAML and can we onboard pilot users with existing credentials? Options: Yes — SSO available, No — SSO not available, Unsure / need to confirm
• List the minimum data elements we must capture to attribute hires to events (e.g., event_id, candidate_id, source, timestamp).
• How long does your IT/security team typically take to approve a new integration or data access request? Options: <2 weeks, 2–4 weeks, 1–2 months, 2+ months, Varies widely

Pilot Practicalities: What Would Make or Break It?

• What is a non‑negotiable constraint for the pilot (budget cap, SLA, data residency, school exclusions)?
• Which schools should be prioritized for the pilot and why (diversity goals, high yield, strategic relationships)?
• Who are the named owners at each pilot school (recruiter or career services contact)?
• What is your preferred pilot length and timeline from setup → live → review? Options: 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8–12 weeks, Full recruiting season
• If the pilot shows early problems, what escalation path will you use (pause, iterate, cancel)? Options: Pause and fix, Continue with mitigation, Cancel pilot, Escalate to execs

Before We Flip the Switch — A practical pre‑go checklist

• Have you mapped the candidate flow for each pilot school end‑to‑end and documented happy/path and failure scenarios? Options: Yes — fully mapped, Partially mapped, Not mapped yet
• Which registration and check‑in method do you want to test (QR scan, mobile check‑in, manual badge, pre‑registration)? Options: QR scan, Mobile app check‑in, Manual badge entry, Pre‑registration only, Hybrid
• Have you identified 3–5 test candidates and scenarios we can use to validate analytics attribution before go‑live? Options: Yes — ready, Partially — need help, No — need assistance
• Who will own the final go/no‑go decision on launch day and what time horizon will they use?
• Which training materials or runbooks must be in place before launch (recruiter scripts, career services guide, student FAQs)? Options: Recruiter playbook, Career services guide, Student FAQs, Check‑in runbook, All of the above

What Would Make Us Partners for Year Two — Governance and continuous learning

• Assuming success, what governance model do you prefer for ongoing expansion (quarterly reviews, dedicated CSM, joint steering committee)? Options: Quarterly reviews, Dedicated CSM, Joint steering committee, Ad hoc planning
• How would you like learnings captured and shared (playbooks, recorded sessions, shared channel, analytics reports)? Options: Playbooks, Recorded demos, Shared Slack/MS Teams channel, Regular analytics reports, All of the above
• What are the most likely reasons you would not expand after a successful pilot? Options: Budget constraints, Stakeholder resistance, Integration complexity, Insufficient ROI, Other
• What timeline would you expect for a decision about expansion if pilot targets are met? Options: Immediately after review, 1–2 weeks, 1 month, Longer / multi‑quarter
• Who should be on a shared channel for rapid post‑pilot issue resolution and feature requests?