Prior to 2020, the vast majority of the campus recruiting process was in-person. After all, what better way to meet students and get to know a little bit about them than to do so face to face. Then came the pandemic and fear of the unknown, and employers and students alike were forbidden to gather on campus.
Having a few months before the Fall 2020 recruiting season to come up with a plan of action, after some quick research, colleges ultimately landed on utilizing the technological benefits of video or virtual recruiting to replace the known career fairs. From career fairs to information sessions to interviews, to the best of their ability, institutions of higher learning put into place a structure that they hoped could simulate the long-known campus recruiting process.
Career fairs ranged from chat rooms to video one-on-ones and everything in between. Information sessions via Zoom resembled an expanded opening of the Brady Bunch. Interviews were by video and one never really knew what sights and sounds would be in the background for both the candidates and the employers.
Both students and employers persevered, honing their approaches toward the virtual process in 2021, making some of their new practices a regular part of their recruiting routine. Effectiveness varied depending on the Q-Factor of the organization and the personality of the student. In 2022, most campuses welcomed back in-person gatherings, but students and employers seemed to retain some of the accidental advantages they gained as a result of the need to go fully virtual.
Now, in 2023, both parties appear to have integrated the best of both worlds – a hybrid model, if you will. We have paired the use of in-person gatherings to build rapport and the use of virtual technology to expediate the process. Like many things post-pandemic, the hybrid model is one that seems to satisfy both sides, especially those unwilling to go fully one way or the other. While the new hybrid model will continue to evolve, one thing seems certain: the way things were done just a few years ago is a thing of the past.
