As baby-boomers retire and the resulting shortfall of 32 million workers becomes an increasingly acute problem for employers in the coming years, these types of arrangements will not only be considered and discussed, they will most likely become a reality in one form or another. They may not happen everywhere, and certain institutions will resist the temptation of easy money, but companies will undoubtedly become extremely aggressive in establishing exclusive access to pools of talent as a means to assure they find the employees they need to compete. The issues around privacy, competition, open access to employment opportunities, commercialism, and the role schools play in helping their students find employment are complex and multi-faceted. As the issues take shape in the years ahead, students must pay close attention to what their schools are doing in this area and become active and vocal to make sure their needs and interests are being attended to. And as is always the case, the more responsibility students assume for their own career development, the more immune they will be to what is happening in the world of recruitment advertising.

-- Toby Dayton is the Chief Operating Officer and President of Minneapolis-based JobDig, an employment-focused media company that helps business of all sizes within any industry lower the cost and improve the effectiveness of their hiring and recruitment advertising. JobDig does this through classified advertising and integrated multimedia solutions involving print, radio, television, and the web.