Attendance numbers reflect the preferences employers and students have for the format of career fairs, results of NACE’s 2024-25 Career Services Benchmarks survey reveal. 

Clearly, both groups prefer to attend career fairs in person. The numbers of employers and students attending in-person career fairs are climbing back to pre-pandemic levels, while the numbers of those attending virtual career fairs is dropping. 

The median number of organizations in attendance at in-person career fairs climbed to 109 from 98.5 in 2021-22. On the other hand, the median number of organizations that attended virtual career fairs has decreased by 37 since 2021-22. (See Figure 1.)

The number of students attending career fairs is following suit. The median number of students attending in-person is climbing back—from 419 in 2021-22 to 700 in 2023-24—while the number of those attending virtually has decreased from 295 in 2021-22 to just 93 in 2023-24. (See Figure 2.)

The data revealing fewer organizations and students attending virtual fairs, paired with the outlook for 2024-25 fairs, perhaps indicate a continued trend in which career centers are favoring in-person fairs. For the 2024-25 academic year, 93.9% of respondents indicated they will hold career fairs in person, while 33.2% of respondents will hold a virtual career fair and 6.3% of respondents will hold a hybrid fair (simultaneously in person and virtual).