Recruiting Trends, 2012-2013. 42nd Edition
Author: Gardner, Phil
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Recruitment,Employment,Employer Attitudes,Labor Market,Intention,Institutional Characteristics,Regional Characteristics,Industry,Personnel Selection,Salaries,Internship Programs,Cooperative Education,Intellectual Disciplines,Employment Opportunities,Employment Practices,College Students,College Graduates

The new college labor market inches ahead with a 3 percent gain over last year across all degrees. Strong demand for marketing, finance, human resources, and advertising majors as well as the inclusive &quot;all majors&quot; group will push up hiring for Bachelor's degrees by 5 percent. This growth comes despite a softer market for engineers, accountants, and computer science majors than in the previous two years. Some of this sluggishness is attributed to the number of large organizations taking a wait and see approach until after elections and Congressional decisions about sequestration. This year nearly 4,300 employer representatives responded to the survey. Sixty-seven percent (2,864) were full-time hiring managers or recruiters. Their information combined with 444 internship/co-op program managers, 690 recruiters who hire specific majors with work experience, and 249 short-term work and contract recruiters provided in the data we needed for this report. Because of political and economic uncertainty, only 2,057 full-time recruiters could report their hiring targets. The number of employers unable to report their targets is slightly higher than last year. The surprise in this year's results is the strong demand for Associate's degrees -- up more than 30 percent -- in applied engineering, healthcare technology, business, and computer science. This finding mirrors information found in other reports on job growth: Associate's degrees have been outpacing four-year degrees for the past several months. After several years of expansion, the MBA market will contract this year by 6 percent, wiping out last year's gains. Retrenchment is the signal from large employers. One bright spot will be found among financial services companies, particularly banks. This contraction may be painful: more newly minted MBAs -- many who may have remained in school to ride out the recession -- will graduate this year. Employers complain of the shortage of qualified candidates, both new graduates and experienced talent. To circumvent possible skill shortages, employers say they plan to increase training for employees and use technology more effectively especially the newest platforms) to recruit new hires. Moreover, they expect to begin college recruiting programs earlier, identify rising talent, and make more strategic connections with undergraduates before they leave school. Despite these efforts, employers are concerned about the preparedness of college students entering the workplace, especially their lack of work experience in professional settings and their attitudes toward work itself. Even after four years of tight labor conditions for new college graduates, employers encounter candidates who approach the workplace with unrealistic expectations about salary and responsibility. Overall the market continues to improve, clawing its way back to the robust hiring in 2007. The college labor market will remain competitive, but job expansion will mitigate somewhat the problems students have finding work related to their area of study. The opportunities are out there for graduates who know where they want to go, know how to get there and, because of their preliminary work on career goals, have built a network of professional relationships (especially with alumni), they can tap for assistance with their job search. The opportunities are also out there for employers to identify these graduates sooner. The ability of higher education to improve the environment in which both these sides of the college labor market can meet will be crucial for success. [For &quot;Recruiting Trends, 2011-2012. 41st Edition,&quot; see ED590531.]