Spotlight for Career Services Professionals
Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals

During its 60th anniversary year, NACE is honoring its service to the profession, in part, by asking its members to look forward to the year 2021 and help model a vision of the future through polls posted on NACEWeb.

The third poll asked members about their predictions for how employers and students will most often make their initial connections in 2021. A total of 139 NACE members responded.

Sixty-five percent of respondents anticipate that initial communication will most often occur directly between employers and students (including online). However, survey respondents were nearly equally split in the direction of the direct contact. Thirty-four percent believe employers will most often contact students directly, while 31 percent anticipate students will most often initiate contact.

Nineteen percent expect that, in 2021, initial contact between students and employers will most often be facilitated by the career center, such as through a career fair or other on-campus program.

Other ways that NACE members predict college students and employers will make initial connections in 2021 include through employee referrals (8 percent), student organizations (6 percent), and faculty (1 percent). (View complete results of the Connecting With Students poll.)

See results of the first poll—which asked members for their insights into several mega-trends affecting our field, including virtual recruiting, higher ed funding, career readiness, graduate outcomes, and academic advising—and the second poll—which addressed the operational challenges members anticipate facing in 2021.

Are you willing to share your outlook on and insights into the profession in 2021? Contact Kevin Gray.