Current State of College Recruiting

We have been monitoring the current market for college talent since mid-March and providing a weekly sense of what’s really happening from employer and student perspectives. We have seen the market stabilize the last few weeks. We will pivot to focus on what’s next after this week’s summary.       

Internships

• 45 percent of firms are continuing programs as virtual internships in a condensed timeframe. 
• 40 percent are canceling their programs. 
• The remaining 15% are either on the fence, or in one of the other two categories. We have not been able to confirm the plans of this grouping.
• Some firms are using the condensed duration to “up skill’ their interns with the hopes of offering FT employment at the end of the virtual internship. Some have already offered FT roles to interns.
• Similar unofficial reports from a crowdsourced site of nearly 700 intern programs paint a similar percentage for cancelled internship programs with nearly 44% listed are cancelled.

Full-Time

• These have remained constant over the past 4 weeks as 76% of firms remain committed to FT hires, but many are beginning to delay the start dates. About 12% have cancelled or rescinded FT offers and another 12% remain on the fence without clarifying a decision.
• These figures align with reports from this crowdsourced site of 7,000 companies (for all positions not just entry level college hiring), which categorized 51% as still hiring, 29% implementing a hiring freeze, 6% laying off, and the remainder (14%) reporting two or more of the categories, thus inconclusive. 

Student Engagement

• Measured on Handshake (logins and applications), student activity took a sharp dive the first few weeks of the crisis, stabilized the next couple of weeks, and last week, applications and logins were sharply higher than the previous year. 
• As virtual classes and finals conclude this week, we anticipate these sharp increases in engagement to continue. 

Job Postings

• Activity on Handshake for Wake Forest students was quite resilient the first 3 weeks of the pandemic, but in each of the past 17 days (ending April 30) postings have been lower than the previous year. 
• Burning Glass reports nationwide a 25% decline in entry level job postings for college graduates. Chmura Economics reports a similar decline at 22%.
• More postings are disappearing on company sites, yet recruiters are not taking down postings on aggregators like Handshake. Therefore, increased attention is being placed on securing accurate links. As a result, seekers must apply quickly when viewing. 

Industries with Openings

• Non traditional - food and health retail, supply chain
• Traditional - more of these report hiring than not - IT, financial services, business software, consulting/government

Companies Hiring

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/heres-whos-hiring-right-now-andrew-seaman/

https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6655839593960660992/

Employer Activity Moving Forward

• Most employers are using Zoom, and those concerned with security are WebEx users. 
• Most employers are more interested in individualized virtual sessions, rather than large scale virtual fairs.
• Employers are aware that many students will not be able to have an internship for Summer 2020, and will have that in mind when looking at resumes. 
• Most of the employers appear to be maintaining their current group of core schools, rather than expanding or changing where they recruit. 
• 50% of employers would definitely be interested in participating in professional development sessions for students over the summer. 
• There is no consensus among employers as to when they would need schools to announce decisions regarding Fall Recruiting. 

Career Center Activities Moving Forward

• Most centers are planning a face-to-face fair with plans to switch to virtual if necessary.
• Most centers have not shared their registration info with employers.
• Most centers will have a fee for virtual events, but it will be less than onsite.
• Most centers have not conducted a virtual fair previously.
• Most centers are undecided on virtual platforms.

Next Steps for Seekers

• Data suggests seekers wanting a job or internship, must apply more, as competition increases for these positions.
• The market is changing by the hour and opportunities are subject to change. Act now. 
• Plan A is no longer on the table, seekers must be open to Plan B and Plan C. 
• Employers say students should get creative with filling the gap by learning a new skill, organizing a summer business endeavor, and/or taking on projects, etc. 
• Employers suggests that students practice telling their story around their experiences and how they adapted during this time. 
• Employers encourage students to be open-minded and flexible with virtual recruiting options. In-person interactions are obviously preferable, but may not be possible at this time. Students should still work to network and build relationships with employers. Those students who show adaptability during this time will be the ones to stand out.