University Recruiting and Employer Adaptability

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how employers recruit university students, and determine what methods are most successful. Many companies embrace online recruiting strategies such as Handshake, but some still combine a few strategies such as career fairs, university partnerships, club sponsorships, and other online platforms aside from Handshake in order to recruit students. Research for this study was gathered through the use of two surveys administered to Arizona State University students and corporate recruiters. The student survey focuses on what mediums students find most successful in their job and internship searches, as well as what values they look for in future employers. The corporate survey asks questions related to the efforts used to attract students for future internships and full-time job opportunities. The findings reveal that companies must leverage a variety of available resources, including both online methods and on-campus events in order to find the best-fitting candidates. Likewise, students must focus on branding themselves as adaptable through their materials and continue to utilize career fairs, as well as other resources, in their job search practices. This study has a number of practical implications for employers seeking to understand how to best recruit university students given the most popular platforms used today. Students will also find practical implications from this study as they can better understand how to successfully use the available resources to the best of their ability, and how to successfully get hired by companies recruiting from Arizona State University. Recommendations for change on the students and employers respective behalf are based on survey findings and secondary research.