Every spring, Parker Dewey surveys thousands of college students to gain a deeper understanding of how emerging professionals want to connect with employers and what they value most in their journey from classroom to career.

This year’s results echo a consistent theme we’ve seen in past surveys: students are hungry for real-world, hands-on experience to make informed career choices. It’s no secret why early-career talent signs up in droves to Parker Dewey—we connect them with paid, flexible, meaningful opportunities to explore careers, build their professional network, and gain experience necessary to land the right first job.

But this year’s findings also reveal some surprising shifts that could change the way employers approach early-career recruiting. New this year: more than half of college students report starting their job search on Parker Dewey, while fewer than 0.5% of Gen Z job seekers said their first stop is a traditional job board or employer website. That means if you’re relying on job board postings and sponsored ads to reach candidates, you’re potentially missing out on over 99.5% of the next graduating class.

Why the Disconnect?

This shift likely reflects a broader trend we’ve been tracking for years: students are getting more intentional about their careers earlier than ever. 72% of students report that they begin mapping out their career paths before the beginning of sophomore year, with more than half starting even before setting foot on campus. Yet, data from the National Survey of College Internships highlights a critical gap: only 7.5% of freshmen and 10.5% of sophomores have participated in internships. Not only are high-potential students missing out on the critical experiences that can help them build confidence and develop essential skills, employers are missing a valuable opportunity to engage prospective hires when they are most interested.

Confidence Gaps and the Experience Dilemma

While many employers express frustration over receiving too many unqualified applications, this year’s results suggest that the real issue might be a confidence gap rather than a lack of qualified talent. Nearly half of students hesitate to apply for professional roles because they feel underqualified, despite 83% wanting to gain meaningful, skills-based experience. This means that the students employers most want to reach are frequently self-selecting out of the process before they even hit "apply."

This tension between ambition and confidence underscores a key challenge for employers trying to attract emerging talent. Rather than simply widening the top of the funnel, employers should focus on creating pathways that give early-career talent the confidence to see themselves as viable applicants.

Understanding the Full Picture

As legislative challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs continue to rise, it's more critical than ever for employers to recognize that the next wave of top talent isn’t confined to the "typical" student profile. With 26% of today’s students identifying as nontraditional learners, balancing work, family, or other significant responsibilities, traditional recruiting methods risk overlooking a large, capable, and motivated segment of the early-career talent pool.

Why This Matters for Employers

For companies looking to build stronger, more inclusive talent pipelines, these insights are a powerful reminder that the future of campus recruiting is about more than just posting jobs. It’s about understanding the evolving expectations of a new generation and designing experiences that meet them where they are, whether that's through early career exploration, confidence-building opportunities, or flexible pathways for nontraditional students.

The full report dives deeper into these insights, offering a clear view into how today’s students are thinking about their careers and what employers can do to engage this critical talent pool more effectively. We invite you to join us for our upcoming webinar, Gen Z’s New Rules for Hiring: Student Sentiments on Campus Recruiting, on Thursday, May 29, at 1 PM ET, where we’ll further explore these findings and discuss what they mean for your recruiting strategy.