Campus recruiting isn’t what it used to be. Virtual-first campuses, shrinking talent pools, and rising competition from remote-friendly companies have forced a total rethink of how employers show up to early career candidates.
Still, campus recruiting remains a critical piece of the talent pipeline. The question isn’t whether to invest in campus recruiting, but how to do it smarter — especially when you're facing 200+ applications for 10 internship spots and no time to phone-screen them all.
We looked at employer branding examples and strategies shared publicly by teams at Toast, FlixBus, Codility, and IBM.
Here’s what we learned about winning early talent in a changed world.
1. Start with strategy, not logistics
Campus recruiting often starts with a calendar. Which career fairs will we attend? Which cities do we fly into? That’s the wrong starting point.
The best teams begin with two fundamental questions: Who are we trying to hire, and what do they care about?
At Toast, that meant focusing campus efforts on roles with high entry-level conversion, like engineering and sales. At FlixBus, the focus shifted to technical roles in emerging mobility markets. This approach tends to yield stronger conversion rates than blanket coverage across dozens of schools.
It also opens up your recruiting map. Virtual events mean you can tap into universities outside your traditional feeder schools.
Several companies have started experimenting with geographically inclusive strategies, targeting high-potential candidates at schools they previously overlooked due to travel logistics.
2. Show up early and stay consistent
You can’t build a talent pool if candidates don’t know you exist. And you can’t win trust if your first touchpoint is a job posting.
Early talent teams at Toast and IBM found that employer presence on campus begins months before internship applications open. Students who remember your workshop or career panel are more likely to apply later.
But just showing up once doesn’t cut it. Students today are overwhelmed with options. The companies that win attention are the ones that stay top of mind.
That means putting employer branding on autopilot. Think video content, student-led ambassador programs, and repeatable events like office hours or interview prep sessions.
Low-cost touchpoints that build familiarity over time.
3. Prioritize value over volume
Too many campus strategies measure success by the number of schools attended or resumes collected. But the best teams focus on quality of engagement.
FlixBus shared how they stopped attending traditional career fairs entirely. Instead, they leaned into smaller, high-impact events like guest lectures, Q&As with engineering leads, and agile training workshops.
This flipped the dynamic. Instead of a company selling itself to students in a crowded auditorium, it became a two-way conversation.
Students got value regardless of whether they were job hunting, and FlixBus built brand equity without a hiring pitch.
4. Make your culture visible
One of the biggest challenges in campus recruiting today is conveying your culture in a remote environment. You can’t rely on fancy booths, free swag, or in-office visits to tell your story.
Teams that excel at virtual recruiting focus on one thing: showing people, not polish.
FlixBus does this with casual behind-the-scenes videos recorded on employee phones. Toast runs live virtual office tours, pet show-and-tells, and open mic nights that double as recruiting content. IBM sends care packages to interns, who then post about them unprompted
5. Build a memorable candidate experience
Campus recruiting often means high volume. It's easy to default to speed over personalization — or worse, to screen only the top 20% of applicants because you don't have time to review everyone. But students remember how you made them feel, and the ones you never reviewed might have been your best hires.
IBM emphasizes how simple communication habits build trust. A short update. A clear next step. A kind rejection. These small moments matter more than you think.
Toast took this even further. Their recruiting ops team designed custom prep guides for candidate screening, complete with logistics, FAQ sheets, and videos of real employee meetings.
They built in breaks to prevent Zoom fatigue. They even surveyed candidates after every interview to identify experience gaps.
The result wasn’t just smoother interviews. It was a deeper sense of belonging before day one.
6. Invest in peer connection
One overlooked part of campus recruiting is what happens after the offer. How do you keep accepted candidates engaged through long offer windows?
The answer: community.
Toast shared how they created virtual pre-start events for incoming hires. Because they could host more people than in-person mixers, they used that reach to introduce students across teams and cities. These early bonds became support systems once the job started.
Other companies are experimenting with Discord channels, alumni AMA panels, and Slack groups to create similar experiences. The goal isn’t just to fill the role. It’s to help new grads feel like they’re joining something bigger.
7. Treat interns like future hires
Internship programs have always been talent feeders. But in today’s market, the stakes are higher. Many students will only complete one internship before graduating. That experience shapes their entire perception of your brand.
That’s why top employers invest in internships as conversion pipelines. At IBM, interns received structured mentorship, exposure to real projects, and feedback loops that mirrored full-time roles. Many interns converted to full-time roles — not just because they were qualified, but because they wanted to return.
FlixBus took a similar approach. Many of their full-time hires started as interns who brought fresh technical knowledge into engineering teams. Instead of siloing interns into special projects, they gave them real business challenges and encouraged them to challenge norms.
Students don’t just want experience. They want impact.
8. Rethink measurement
Traditional recruiting metrics often fall short when applied to campus programs. Application volume and acceptance rates matter, but they don’t tell the full story.
More nuanced teams are tracking:
- Engagement per school or region
- Time from application to first review (and how many applicants actually get reviewed)
- Offer acceptance rates by candidate source
- Intern conversion rates to full-time
- Post-hire satisfaction among new grads
- Campus branding lift via social shares or referrals
Some are even mapping career progression over time to see which campus sources yield future leaders. It’s not about perfection, but about learning what’s working and what’s not.
9. Use platforms that match your audience
Today’s students aren’t on email all day. They’re not waiting for handshake requests. And they’re definitely not refreshing your careers page.
To reach them, you have to meet them where they are.
That might mean:
- Launching a TikTok channel focused on behind-the-scenes work culture
- Running LinkedIn Live sessions with interns and recent grads
- Creating a student-friendly landing page with FAQs, videos, and salary transparency
- Sending curated newsletters through tools like Substack or Notion
- Hosting short-form events through Instagram or Discord
FlixBus even launched a “Best Home Office” challenge during lockdown, turning employee photos into content that was shared across social platforms and career pages.
The TL;DR
Campus recruiting isn’t what it used to be. Virtual-first campuses, shrinking talent pools, and rising competition from remote-friendly companies have forced a total rethink of how employers show up to early career candidates.
Still, campus recruiting remains a critical piece of the talent pipeline. The question isn’t whether to invest in campus recruiting, but how to do it smarter — especially when you're facing 200+ applications for 10 internship spots and no time to phone-screen them all.
We looked at employer branding examples and strategies shared publicly by teams at Toast, FlixBus, Codility, and IBM.
Here’s what we learned about winning early talent in a changed world.
1. Start with strategy, not logistics
Campus recruiting often starts with a calendar. Which career fairs will we attend? Which cities do we fly into? That’s the wrong starting point.
The best teams begin with two fundamental questions: Who are we trying to hire, and what do they care about?
At Toast, that meant focusing campus efforts on roles with high entry-level conversion, like engineering and sales. At FlixBus, the focus shifted to technical roles in emerging mobility markets. This approach tends to yield stronger conversion rates than blanket coverage across dozens of schools.
It also opens up your recruiting map. Virtual events mean you can tap into universities outside your traditional feeder schools.
Several companies have started experimenting with geographically inclusive strategies, targeting high-potential candidates at schools they previously overlooked due to travel logistics.
2. Show up early and stay consistent
You can’t build a talent pool if candidates don’t know you exist. And you can’t win trust if your first touchpoint is a job posting.
Early talent teams at Toast and IBM found that employer presence on campus begins months before internship applications open. Students who remember your workshop or career panel are more likely to apply later.
But just showing up once doesn’t cut it. Students today are overwhelmed with options. The companies that win attention are the ones that stay top of mind.
That means putting employer branding on autopilot. Think video content, student-led ambassador programs, and repeatable events like office hours or interview prep sessions.
Low-cost touchpoints that build familiarity over time.
3. Prioritize value over volume
Too many campus strategies measure success by the number of schools attended or resumes collected. But the best teams focus on quality of engagement.
FlixBus shared how they stopped attending traditional career fairs entirely. Instead, they leaned into smaller, high-impact events like guest lectures, Q&As with engineering leads, and agile training workshops.
This flipped the dynamic. Instead of a company selling itself to students in a crowded auditorium, it became a two-way conversation.
Students got value regardless of whether they were job hunting, and FlixBus built brand equity without a hiring pitch.
4. Make your culture visible
One of the biggest challenges in campus recruiting today is conveying your culture in a remote environment. You can’t rely on fancy booths, free swag, or in-office visits to tell your story.
Teams that excel at virtual recruiting focus on one thing: showing people, not polish.
FlixBus does this with casual behind-the-scenes videos recorded on employee phones. Toast runs live virtual office tours, pet show-and-tells, and open mic nights that double as recruiting content. IBM sends care packages to interns, who then post about them unprompted
5. Build a memorable candidate experience
Campus recruiting often means high volume. It's easy to default to speed over personalization — or worse, to screen only the top 20% of applicants because you don't have time to review everyone. But students remember how you made them feel, and the ones you never reviewed might have been your best hires.
IBM emphasizes how simple communication habits build trust. A short update. A clear next step. A kind rejection. These small moments matter more than you think.
Toast took this even further. Their recruiting ops team designed custom prep guides for candidate screening, complete with logistics, FAQ sheets, and videos of real employee meetings.
They built in breaks to prevent Zoom fatigue. They even surveyed candidates after every interview to identify experience gaps.
The result wasn’t just smoother interviews. It was a deeper sense of belonging before day one.
6. Invest in peer connection
One overlooked part of campus recruiting is what happens after the offer. How do you keep accepted candidates engaged through long offer windows?
The answer: community.
Toast shared how they created virtual pre-start events for incoming hires. Because they could host more people than in-person mixers, they used that reach to introduce students across teams and cities. These early bonds became support systems once the job started.
Other companies are experimenting with Discord channels, alumni AMA panels, and Slack groups to create similar experiences. The goal isn’t just to fill the role. It’s to help new grads feel like they’re joining something bigger.
7. Treat interns like future hires
Internship programs have always been talent feeders. But in today’s market, the stakes are higher. Many students will only complete one internship before graduating. That experience shapes their entire perception of your brand.
That’s why top employers invest in internships as conversion pipelines. At IBM, interns received structured mentorship, exposure to real projects, and feedback loops that mirrored full-time roles. Many interns converted to full-time roles — not just because they were qualified, but because they wanted to return.
FlixBus took a similar approach. Many of their full-time hires started as interns who brought fresh technical knowledge into engineering teams. Instead of siloing interns into special projects, they gave them real business challenges and encouraged them to challenge norms.
Students don’t just want experience. They want impact.
8. Rethink measurement
Traditional recruiting metrics often fall short when applied to campus programs. Application volume and acceptance rates matter, but they don’t tell the full story.
More nuanced teams are tracking:
- Engagement per school or region
- Time from application to first review (and how many applicants actually get reviewed)
- Offer acceptance rates by candidate source
- Intern conversion rates to full-time
- Post-hire satisfaction among new grads
- Campus branding lift via social shares or referrals
Some are even mapping career progression over time to see which campus sources yield future leaders. It’s not about perfection, but about learning what’s working and what’s not.
9. Use platforms that match your audience
Today’s students aren’t on email all day. They’re not waiting for handshake requests. And they’re definitely not refreshing your careers page.
To reach them, you have to meet them where they are.
That might mean:
- Launching a TikTok channel focused on behind-the-scenes work culture
- Running LinkedIn Live sessions with interns and recent grads
- Creating a student-friendly landing page with FAQs, videos, and salary transparency
- Sending curated newsletters through tools like Substack or Notion
- Hosting short-form events through Instagram or Discord
FlixBus even launched a “Best Home Office” challenge during lockdown, turning employee photos into content that was shared across social platforms and career pages.
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