Trends & Predictions

  1. An HR department reviews current recruiting benchmarks.
    Recruiting Benchmarks: Budgets, Early Offers for Internships, and Retention of College Grads

    There are interesting data points from NACE’s 2024 Recruiting Compensation Report in terms of budgets, internship offers, and retention that provide insight into the operations and approaches of URR functions.

  2. A man works at a laptop.
    As Employers Push Out Time From Interview to Offer, Student Response Time Holds Steady

    Recruiters are taking more time to extend an offer to a candidate following an interview, but the deadline for acceptance remains close to two weeks.

  3. Student activists protest.
    NACE Quick Poll: Potential for Campus Unrest Has Little Effect on Fall Recruiting, Hiring Decisions

    The political and social unrest seen on college campuses last spring and that may potentially reignite this fall has little impact on college recruiting, according to results of a recent NACE quick poll.

  4. A data chart showing a line graph rising upward.
    Salaries Climb for All Levels of Recruiting Professionals

    Lifted by average increases that ranged between 3.5% and 4.4%, salaries for all recruiting professionals increased in 2023, while the majority of respondents at all levels received bonuses.

  5. A campus protest.
    NACE Quick Poll on Campus Protests and University Recruiting for Fall 2024

    NACE is conducting a quick poll and would like your input to assess ways that campus recruiting may be impacted. Last spring, we saw increased campus protests and lockdowns in response to student activism. As we prepare for the fall semester and campus recruiting, there is a potential for increased campus unrest in response to global and national events (i.e. Presidential election, war in Middle East). This Quick Poll is intended to get an overall understanding of the ways university recruiters and campus career centers are preparing for possible campus unrest related to the recruiting process.

  6. A group of interns in a brainstorming session.
    Intern Conversion Rate Fell, Fueled by Lower Offer Rate

    The conversion rate for interns fell, fueled by a lower offer rate. The lower rate could reflect lower-than-expected hiring needs or could signal an issue with the intern selection process.

  7. A group of different colored pencils with faces drawn on them.
    Quick Poll: Do NACE Members Feel Like They Belong at Work?

    Belonging at work—feeling that one is valued, accepted, and supported—helps to ensure a healthy, productive, and positive work environment. NACE surveyed its membership to better understand their experiences with belonging in the profession.

  8. A recruiter interviews a college student.
    Employers Slower to Make Offers, but Students Quicker to Accept Them

    Employers were slower in making offers to their candidates for their full-time positions than they were prior to the pandemic, although students who accepted the offers were quicker to do so.

  9. Young professionals in the office attend a virtual meeting with coworkers who are working remotely.
    Hybrid Work Modality for Entry-Level Hires Matches Student Desires

    Despite calls to “return to the office” from employers and the prevailing media narrative, the hybrid work modality appears here to stay.

  10. An illustration of a stack of books.
    The Value of Higher Education

    NACE President & CEO Shawn VanDerziel shares NACE research, which indicates that both employers and college students and graduates view higher education and the college degree as valuable.

  11. A woman works on a project.
    Employers Confirm Their Belief in Value of Higher Ed

    Employers confirmed their belief in the value of higher education and higher education institutions in NACE’s latest benchmark survey.

  12. Graphs showing the results of NACE's latest quick poll.
    Fall 2023 Affirmative Action and Internship Quick Poll

    As we enter the new school and recruiting season, NACE is conducting a Fall Quick Poll. The focus of our poll is on two important issues– the impact the end of Affirmative Action is having on our work and state of unpaid internships.

  13. An abstract connection of dots and lines.
    SPRING QUICK POLL ON AI

    This is a Quick Poll on AI (ChatGPT, DALL-E 2, and Bing AI). NACE is interested to see if and how you are using AI, as well as your thoughts on the growth of AI in the future. This research will help us understand its use among members. The polls run May 2, 2023 through May 19, 2023, and results are offered in real time.

  14. A group of diverse women.
    GAUGING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FORMAL DIVERSITY RECRUITING EFFORTS

    Slightly more than 85% of employers reported having formal diversity recruiting goals, according to NACE’s 2022 Recruiting Benchmarks Report, but how effective are these efforts?

  15. A recruiter interviews a job candidate.
    CYCLE TIMES SHIFT AS INTERVIEW TO OFFER GROWS, WHILE OFFER TO ACCEPTANCE DIPS

    The amount of time for students participating in a job interview to receiving an offer has increased over the past several years, but the time they take to accept the offer dropped in 2022.

  16. Employers conduct an in-person interview.
    Employers Committed to In-person Recruiting, but Virtual Remains Part of Employer, College Strategies

    Employers are strongly committed to in-person college recruiting activities this fall as they are largely unencumbered by travel restrictions that organizations imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to results of NACE’s Quick Poll on Fall Recruiting and Career Services.

  17. An illustration of people holding on to a line graph.
    Preliminary Poll Results Highlight Resolve in College Recruiting Despite Potential Impact of Recession, Surge in Viruses

    Based on their forward-looking staffing plans for the upcoming year, it appears employers are expecting similar or higher levels of recruiting activity this year, according to preliminary results of NACE’s Summer 2022 Quick Poll on Fall Recruiting and Career Services.

  18. Recruiters shake the hand of a job candidate.
    As Offer Rate Climbed, Acceptance and Early Retention Rates Fell

    The percent of interviews resulting in a job offer has climbed to its highest level of the past five years, but acceptances and retention rates for the first three years of employment fell.

  19. University Relations and Recruiting professionals discuss their Fall 2022 recruiting strategy.
    Summer 2022 Quick Poll on Fall Recruiting and Career Services

    To facilitate planning and benchmarking for both employers and career centers, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) is conducting a quick poll that looks at fall recruiting as well as how career services offerings will be delivered.

  20. An employer works with a group of interns.
    Employers Cite Internships as Recruiting Strategy With Highest ROI; Strongly Prefer In-person Career Fairs

    Employers overwhelmingly believe hosting internships is the recruiting strategy that yields the highest return on investment leading to entry-level hires.

  21. Winter 2022 Quick Poll on Spring Recruiting and Career Services

    This is a quick poll on spring recruiting and career services. Specifically, we want to learn about the ways you are planning for internships and recruitment and ways that may have shifted over time, and insights you also learned from this fall. This research will help us all prepare for the new year. The polls run December 12, 2022 through January 15, 2023, and results are offered in real time.

  22. An illustration of people standing on a stack of dollar bills.
    As Employer Recruiting Budgets Grew in 2022, Their Overall Staffing Numbers Fell

    The average number of full-time URR staff members that organizations employ decreased to 13.5 from 14.3 last year.

  23. A composition of avatars and profile pictures.
    The Average Number of Recruiters Per Recruiting Department

    On average, there were 8.5 full-time recruiters per recruiting department within organizations replying to NACE’s 2021 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey.

  24. A fortune cookie.
    Predicting Interns’ Intentions to Convert

    Internships provide employers an opportunity to identify talent early: Indeed, according to NACE’s 2019 Recruiting Benchmark Survey Report, nearly all respondents (94 percent) said it was very or extremely important to identify talent early through internships.1

  25. A university relations recruiter gives a business presentation about calculating and using an interview-per-hire average.
    Calculating and Using an Interviews-Per-Hire Average

    Interviews-per-hire average (IPHA) is the average number of interviews conducted with each college hire. IPHA is a deeper analysis to determine the variation of recruiting processes across positions or sourcing channels.

  26. Recruiters discuss how to calculate an applicant-to-hire ratio.
    Calculating and Using an Applicant-to-Hire Ratio

    The applicant-to-hire ratio (AHR) is the average number of applicants for each college hire. AHR can be used to determine the relative interest for various jobs. In general, a higher AHR reflects the general interest in an organization’s opportunities; however, a low AHR may indicate a better efficiency for applicant conversion.

  27. Three university relations and recruiting professionals discuss how to calculate and use an intern to full-time conversion rate.
    Calculating and Using an Intern-to-Full Time Conversion Rate

    Tracking, analyzing, and acting on key metrics is critical to the success of a recruiting operation. One of these key measures for assessing the effectiveness of your organization’s internship program is tracking its intern-to-full time conversion rate.

  28. A team of recruiters discuss how to calculate Interview-to-Offer and Offer-to-Acceptance rates.
    Calculating and Using Interview-to-Offer, Offer-to-Acceptance Rates

    Tracking, analyzing, and acting on key metrics is critical to the success of a recruiting operation. Some of the most basic metrics are the interview-to-offer and offer-to-acceptance rates. These can help you identify problems—and successes—in your recruiting operations both with full-time hiring and intern/co-op programs.

  29. An illustration of people silhouettes and data symbols.
    NACE Quick Poll: Employers Cautious About Using AI in Recruiting Efforts

    Uncertainty surrounds the use of artificial intelligence among university relations and recruiting professionals and, to a lesser extent, among career services practitioners.

  30. report title over blue wave background
    NACE Report: COVID-19 Quick Poll Series

    From March through June 2020, NACE conducted a series of monthly quick polls among its members to gauge how their operations and plans—including job offers and plans for summer internships—were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This report compiles poll results.

  31. silhouettes of business people with geometric shapes overlayed
    Fall Quick Poll: Virtual Career Fairs

    NACE is conducting a quick poll of its college and employer members October 19, 2020, through late November; the poll focuses on how career fairs—long a mainstay of fall recruiting—fared in the virtual environment for students, career services, and employers, and also looks at member mobility.

  32. A highway outside of a city.
    URR Functions in Transportation Industry Hit Particularly Hard by Pandemic

    Throughout the spring, the URR functions of employers in the transportation industry were particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

  33. NACE’s environmental scan
    NACE Environmental Scan

    NACE’s environmental scan for 2024 incorporates insights and data to inform strategic thinking and planning.

  34. Abstract Grid
    Report Shows Larger Employers More Likely to Recruit Virtually in 2020-21

    Larger companies are more likely to recruit virtually during the 2020-21 academic year, according to a forthcoming report from NACE.

  35. abstract head
    Employers Made Changes to 2020 Summer Internships Due to COVID-19

    By the end of April, more than half of employers planned to move their internship programs to virtual and nearly half expected to delay intern start dates in responses to the pandemic.

  36. The Use of and Attendance in Virtual Career Fairs Climbs Sharply

    The percentages of career centers offering virtual career fairs and employers taking part in them has climbed steeply this fall.

  37. Picture of a laptop with a graph
    Spring 2021 Quick Poll on Internships and Fall Recruiting

    NACE is polling employer members and nonmembers about their plans for their summer internship programs and fall 2021 recruiting. The poll, which runs April 6 – April 30, 2021, looks at internship format, e.g., in person, virtual, hybrid.

  38. Computer generated image with laptop
    Employers Divulge Plans for Summer Internship Programs, Fall Career Fair Attendance

    More than 40% of employers are planning to hold a hybrid internship program this summer. Also, the highest percentage prefer to attend both in-person and virtual career fairs.

  39. Person on a video call
    Employers Move Toward Offering Programs, Attending Events Both Virtually and In Person

    More than 40% of employers will offer a hybrid internship program this summer, and approximately 45% prefer and expect to attend both in-person and virtual career fairs this fall.

  40. Computer generated image of people talking
    Trends in One-Year, Five-Year Intern Retention Rates

    One of the benefits of employers converting their interns to full-time hires is evident in employee retention rates.

  41. Person looking at laptop screen
    NACE Quick Poll: Employers Will Hold Own Virtual Recruiting Events This Fall

    This fall, the majority of employers will be hosting their own virtual recruiting events, such as Zoom sessions, virtual tours, and virtual career fairs.

  42. Interns sitting if front of a computer
    NACE Quick Poll: Employers Holding Hybrid Internships This Summer

    In response to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, employers are most commonly offering a hybrid internship program this summer.

  43. Person talking to another person on a laptop
    What Will You Keep From These Creative Times?

    After the pandemic forced major changes to recruitment and talent acquisition, the question of what changes were temporary and which are here to stay remains.

  44. Person sitting with a laptop
    Quick Poll Results Show Virtual Internship Format Likely to Become Permanent

    Many employers that shifted their internship programs to virtual during the pandemic plan to make virtual assignments part of their internship programs in the future.

  45. Picture of a laptop
    Good Intentions, Ethics Washing, and PR in the Hiring Tech Market

    Technology has a place in that future, but whether the tools we use truly promote good or reinforce a damaging status quo depends on the choices we make now.

  46. Picture of classroom
    If We Kill Career Fairs, Then What?

    While many schools have seen fewer students attend both virtual and in-person career fairs, schools must consider other options to foster employer-student relationships.

  47. Abstract image girl using telescope
    Future Forward: Key Issues and Recommendations for Success in 2022

    In this look forward, Shawn VanDerziel, executive director of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, addresses disruptions to our professional lives and the opportunities these present for redefining how college career services and employment professionals operate.

  48. Candidate shaking hand
    Offers, Acceptances Climb for Class of 2020

    After declines in offer and acceptance rates in recent years, both increased for Class of 2020 new college graduates.

  49. Person looking at laptop screen
    Recruiting Process Cycle Times Remain Consistent in Recent Years

    Cycle times during the recruiting process—from interview to offer and from offer to acceptance—have remained steady in recent years

NACE JOBWIRE