Is It Too Late to Hire College Grads for Entry Level Jobs?

An corporate recruiter recently posted a question to discussion list in which he expressed concern that it may be too late in the school year for him to recruit college seniors who are completing their civil engineering program. Is it?

Even in the red hot employment years of 1999 and 2000, most college students graduated without employment. For some it wasn’t their choice as they weren’t looking hard enough or in the right places or right ways. For others it was their choice as they were confident that the credentials they brought to the table would allow them to find a great job when they were ready to look. The situation now is similar, although the market is hot yet not quite as red hot.
It is probably too late to try to schedule on-campus interviews, but it is never too late to find them in other ways. Network through social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Use the college and engineering job boards, especially those which are used by recent graduates and not primarily those who are currently enrolled. The college job boards which have a higher percentage of graduates include sites such as AfterCollege and CollegeRecruiter.com.
Finally, don’t make the mistake that too many recruiters make by only posting a job or searching the resume bank of the job boards you use. Talk with them about newer, far more effective products such as targeted email campaigns.