The final round of interviews is probably the first time interviewees start thinking about your company and what it would be like to work for you, says Chris Resto, Ian Ybarra, and Ramit Sethi in their book, Recruit or Die: How Any Business Can Beat the Big Guys in the War for Young Talent (Portfolio, 2007). These recruits often start questioning things such as, what will a typical workday encompass? Will I really like living in this city?

If you want to hire and retain them, it’s up to you to paint a realistic picture for them. According to the authors, there are four main criteria your candidates will use to evaluate you during their on-site interviews:

1. The people: "Students can never get enough exposure to the people at your company because they have to decide whether those are the people they want to work with every day," say the authors.

   What you can do: Appoint a host for the candidate – a host can help make your candidate feel welcome and comfortable. The host doesn’t have to be someone from human resources; just make sure the person will take his or her job seriously and introduce the candidate to as many people as possible so they can get a good idea whether your company is a true culture fit.

2. The actual work. Candidates will want to know what they will be doing during the day – what projects will they be working on? What will a typical workday be like?

   What you can do: Every company has the opportunity to show candidates something in motion, even if it’s only loosely related to what they will be doing as part of their job. For example, you can have the candidates tour the manufacturing plant or shadow someone on the job.

3. The career path. "Students want to know what a role at your company will do for their careers, and, of course, what you do to actively support your employees’ professional development – from mentoring programs to special training," say the authors.

   What you can do: Introduce your candidate to at least three people, suggest the authors. "One of the three people should be relatively senior and one of them should be a peer, perhaps a new hire from the previous year who can offer another person’s perspective on career paths within the company," say the authors.

4. Life outside of work. This is a huge concern for young recruits as well as seasoned candidates. All candidates will wonder about cost of living, things to do, and making new friends.

   What you can do: The authors suggest taking the candidate to dinner or a reception the night before the interview – a good chance to show off your city and its culture. The authors also advise having the candidates stay at a nice hotel near your work.

Other things recommended in the book include making logistics as smooth as possible, making sure candidates interview with at least one senior person, setting expectations about the next steps, and sending them off in style.