College Recruiting in Large Organizations: Practice, Evaluation, and Research Implications

Directors of college recruiting for 145 Fortune 1,000 corporations were surveyed about a broad set of college recruiting practices and college recruiting effectiveness measures. The participants completed questionnaires designed to obtain information on such things as organizational characteristics, recruiting communication, recruiters, applicant qualification levels, and recruiting outcomes. Descriptive results indicate that most college recruiting programs diverge from normative prescriptions. Step-wise regression reveals several statistically significant relationships among organizational characteristics, recruiting practices, and perceived recruiting effectiveness. Some of the findings are consistent with conventional wisdom; others are not. Overall, college recruitment is not typically regarded as a major strategic function by the firms surveyed, as evidenced by: 1. the low emphasis on program evaluation, 2. the only moderate status of recruiters, 3. the low top-executive involvement, and 4. the low attention to recruiting procedures.