Report overview
Key Findings
This second annual report, part of the BestColleges research series, presents trends in college student hiring and recruiting within the U.S. Out of 1,000 business leaders surveyed this year, 624 shared how their companies and organizations currently recruit and hire college students from both online and campus-based programs. Survey participants also shared their perceptions of online education, details about how they partner with academic institutions to provide education and training incentives to employees, their recruiting strategies, and the continued impact of COVID-19 on their work.
- Over half (56%) of business leaders who recruit students and grads said that online is better than or equal to on-campus learning, up slightly from 49% in 2020.
- Older business leaders who recruit students and graduates were more likely to say online education is worse than learning on campus.
- This year, 44% of business leaders from organizations that recruit students said that they do not offer online education or training opportunities to employees, compared to only 23% in 2020.
- More than half of the 1,000 business leaders surveyed (59%) said their organizations engage in college student recruiting and hiring, with many specifically targeting online students and programs.
- Only 30% of organizations recruiting college students participated in career center employment portals.
- The number of companies and organizations that slowed or halted college student hiring due to COVID-19 is decreasing, although most don't anticipate a return to prepandemic levels in the next few years.