Do campus reopenings mean a return of the on-campus recruiting event? After a year and a half of online meetings, a majority of college students are ready to bring back in-person events.
A new College Pulse survey of 1,500 undergraduates finds that about 7 in 10 (73%) juniors and sophomores and 6 in 10 (63%) seniors say they are likely to attend an on-campus career fair or other recruiting event this fall. By comparison, 57% of seniors, 59% of juniors, and 57% of sophomores say they are likely to attend a virtual career fair or other recruiting event this fall.
Students who don’t want to attend on-campus events worry about potential exposure to COVID-19, while students who don’t want to attend virtual events prefer interacting in person.
“I have a compromised immune system that prevents me from getting the vaccine,” says a student from the University of Texas at Dallas. “There is no way I am going to expose myself to COVID and its variants when I don’t have to.” Similarly, a New York University student expresses concern about on-campus events usually taking place in crowded rooms. “With the Delta variant being quite transmissible, going there in person is a risk,” they say.
On the other hand, many students are tired of doing everything online and struggling to read other people’s body language through a screen. “I feel like I have done enough virtual things the past year and a half that a recruiting event doesn’t sound very appealing to sit and watch,” a University of Utah student says. “I’d prefer to be there in person to better interact.”
Percentage of students who say they’re likely to attend a _______ career fair or other recruiting event this fall.
Students are concerned about finding jobs after witnessing the effects of a global recession for the past year and a half. Overall, 86% of students say they’re concerned about coronavirus’ impact on the American economy and 84% say they’re worried about the pandemic’s impact on the American job market. However, Black students are more concerned than their classmates. Half (51%) of Black students say they’re very worried about coronavirus’ impact on the American job market, compared to 41% of white and Asian students and 42% of Hispanic/Latinx students.
Black students are also the most likely to say they’re very worried about finding a job after graduation. Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) Black students say they’re very concerned about finding a job after graduation, compared to 35% of white students, 46% of Asian students, and 47% of Hispanic/Latinx students. Overall, 41% of students are very concerned and 32% are somewhat concerned about finding a job after college.
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted in July among a sample of 1,500 full-time and part-time students attending colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
