NACE is the National Association of Colleges and Employers, whose members are mostly recruitment and career services professionals. The organization recently held a Face2Face forum to share trends, job outlook information, and research findings. It was one of the best meetings I have been to due to the interactive nature of the program and the amount of information I walked away with. 
Trudy Steinfeld, Assistant Vice President of NYU has a catchphrase that was often used in this meeting: ‘Data is the New Bacon.’ You have to love it, understand it, and utilize it to be successful as a company or a college. Data empowers our decision making process and often acts as a catalyst for change. It keeps us accountable. The information I manage and collect at the university I work for, feeds into the information NACE shares. Marilyn Mackes, NACE Executive Director did an excellent job of facilitating a great workshop and sharing the complete research findings. Here are some key pieces I wanted to share from the meeting:
Class of 2013: Expectations, Preferences, & Outcomes
- Top resources for job search: employer websites, friends, parents, faculty, career fairs
- Linkedin grew in usage from 32% in 2011 to 62% in 2013
- More than 63% of participating students reported having an internship or co-op
- Greatest influencers in job search success are major and experiential experience
2013 Employer Recruiting Benchmarks
- New college grads account for 57% of new hires
- Social Media Usage: 64% Twitter, 70% Facebook, 92% Linkedin
- Use of video interviewing steadily increasing and used by 25% of employers
- 75% of employers have active diversity and inclusion programs
2014 Job Outlook
- Preferred attributes of candidates: communication skills, leadership, analytical skills, strong work ethic, teamwork
- Trends in recruitment methods: 51% using more social media, 49% using more technology tools, 38% changing branding, 33% attending more career fairs
- Top Majors in demand consistent with 2013 results: finance, computer science, accounting, engineering
- 75% prefer hiring candidates with relevant work experience
- New Developments in 2014: increased interest in international students and associate degree graduates with degrees in business, engineering, and computer science
Technology and the ability to collect and process data faster-better has changed the demands we place on ourselves. Data tells us what to do, where to do it, and how others are doing it better. A key point Dan Black, NACE Board President ended our Face2Face with was ‘ROI’ (Return on Investment). Big Data tells us where our time, energy, resources needs to be spent in order to yield better results. If you are a hiring professional, working in higher education, or looking to make your next career transition; remember to do your research and use data to empower your outcomes.
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