Spotlight for Career Services Professionals

When it comes to when employers recruit college students on campus, they continue to prefer to do so during the fall, according to NACE’s Job Outlook 2017 report. This is no surprise as employers have steadily moved more toward fall recruiting in recent years.

In 2012, employers reported 65 percent of their college recruiting in the fall and 35 percent in the spring. (See Figure 1.) This year, the percentage of college recruiting employers anticipate conducting in fall is 72 percent, an all-time high. Conversely, this means that at 28 percent, spring recruiting will drop to a record low.

Those employers that will be recruiting on campus in spring 2017 have plans that are very similar to employers’ plans last spring. In both years, two-thirds of respondents indicated firm or tentative plans in place for the spring recruiting season. (See Figure 2.)

Data for the Job Outlook 2017 survey were collected from August 5, 2016, through October 4, 2016. A total of 169 surveys were returned—a 17 percent response rate. The Job Outlook 2017 report is available at www.naceweb.org/surveys/job-outlook.aspx or through the MyNACE area at www.naceweb.org/job-outlook/index.aspx.