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Early talent trends

Why are Leading Employers Going All-in on Digital?

More access to students, pipeline equity, and stronger relationships are a few reasons employers go 100% virtual.

As students prepare to go back to school this fall, these leading employers are adopting a 100% virtual strategy to evenly distribute access to their jobs, unlock equity in their recruiting funnel, and build quality relationships with qualified, diverse candidates.

Let’s explore the factors that went into their decision to go all in on digital.

First, they understand that in order to win early talent’s consideration, they must support students during one of the most defining moments of their career—the onset. When it comes to helping Gen Z, employers relying on on-campus recruiting methods they used with millennials, Gen X, and even baby boomers, are likely to fall short. The employers on this list know that.

Gen Zs want to avoid the risk of waiting in line to vie for an employer’s attention, encounter interrupted conversations, and experience in-person biases—virtual fairs mitigate these risks and disadvantages.

For these employers, the inverse is true. And they're planning to attend virtual career fairs because the benefits are significant: they motivate more students of color to apply and bring greater visibility to the majority of Black students who say they feel more seen virtually.

As a result of this innovation, some have landed a coveted Handshake Early Talent Award and are now a top workplace for early talent.

Want in? Download our fall recruiting cheat sheet to turn around an all-digital strategy in time for fall.

With virtual, budgets are saved and recruiting potential is unlocked. Teams who once depended on travel to meet students can now scale engagement digitally and build meaningful relationships through personalized outreach and 1:1 virtual information sessions in as little as 10 minutes on Handshake.

This allows employers to open the door to connect more students with more team members, including the people students want to hear from most—hiring managers, employees in a similar role, alumni, and recruiters. With virtual, these employers are able to engage more of their people in creative experiences like virtual bootcamps, DEI-focused panels, and resume-building workshops.

What’s more is that they’re even paying it forward, guiding up-and-coming workplaces on the tips and tricks they could be replicating to succeed this fall. Now that we know what defines these employers' decisions to go 100% virtual, who are they?

Leading Employers Going All In on Digital

Why were these employers featured?

We reviewed platform activity to find Handshake Premium and Core Fortune 500 employers who've elected to participate in 100% virtual career fairs this fall. Jump to our methodology for more.

Methodology

To spotlight leading employers adopting a 100% virtual strategy this fall, we reviewed platform activity across Handshake's network of over 550k employers through December 31, 2021 and selected a handful of Fortune 500 Handshake Premium and Core employers who've only signed up to participate in virtual career fairs on Handshake. As a result, they are scaling their programs for greater access, equity, and impact.

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