During the height of the pandemic-era labor market, U.S. employers embraced a simple mantra: talent is everywhere. With hiring needs urgent and remote work normalized, companies widened their entry-level recruiting nets to dozens of campuses and leaned heavily on virtual events.
That approach is now receding.
As hiring slows, budgets tighten, and in-person work returns, many employers are reverting to a far more traditional strategy—recruiting primarily from a small, carefully curated list of universities.
From Broad Access to “Target Schools”
GE Appliances offers a clear example of the shift. Rather than making one or two visits each year to 45 or 50 campuses, the company now concentrates on just 15 select universities, including Purdue and Auburn. Recruiters attend multiple events per semester at these schools, offer next-day interviews, and rely heavily on alumni to support on-campus engagement.
Other employers are making similar moves. Bill, a financial technology firm, has narrowed its focus to colleges near its offices in San Jose, California, and Draper, Utah, largely to reduce recruiting and relocation costs. McKinsey & Co., which had broadened its recruiting well beyond elite universities following George Floyd’s murder, recently removed language from its careers page stating, “We hire people, not degrees,” signaling a recalibration of priorities.
Data suggest these are not isolated cases. A 2025 survey of more than 150 companies by Veris Insights found that 26% now recruit exclusively from a shortlist of schools, up from 17% in 2022. Nearly all others still accept applications from a wider pool—but in practice, candidates from prestigious or nearby universities receive priority.
As Veris vice president Chelsea Schein put it, “Everyone’s not starting from the same place if some people have access to on-campus engagement and some don’t.”
Diversity Efforts Lose Ground
One of the most striking changes is the deprioritization of diversity-driven recruiting. In 2022, nearly 60% of surveyed employers said diversity influenced their choice of recruiting schools. By 2025, that figure had dropped to 31%.
Recruiting experts say the current landscape closely resembles pre-pandemic norms. William Chichester III, who has led entry-level recruiting at companies such as Target and Peloton, notes that most firms historically recruited from no more than 30 out of roughly 4,000 U.S. colleges—starting with top-ranked institutions, then adding a handful of local schools.
For students outside those categories, he is blunt: success increasingly depends on referrals, LinkedIn outreach, and relentless networking.
Why Companies Are Pulling Back
Employers cite several reasons for narrowing their focus:
Cost control: In-person recruiting is expensive, and visiting dozens of campuses is no longer seen as efficient.
Application overload: Recruiters report being flooded with near-identical, AI-assisted résumés, making school affiliation a convenient screening tool.
Return-to-office mandates: Companies prefer candidates who already live nearby, as fewer employers are willing to cover relocation.
Preference for in-person interaction: Both students and employers say virtual recruiting lacks the relationship-building value of on-campus events.
At the same time, many Gen Z graduates are less willing to move far from home, reinforcing employers’ emphasis on local talent pipelines.
The Graduate Experience: Fewer Doors Open
For students, the shift has been sobering. Dorrah Martin, a 2025 graduate of the University of Louisville, recalls that when she enrolled in 2021, recruiters promised opportunity for “anyone and everyone.” By her senior year, those opportunities had narrowed dramatically, especially outside her region.
After unsuccessful attempts to land a corporate role elsewhere, she accepted a teaching position in Madrid and now faces the challenge of restarting her job search.
Career centers are feeling the impact as well. “A lot of those employers who were new to us didn’t stick around,” said Bill Fletcher, who leads the University of Louisville’s career center. While local companies such as Yum Brands and GE Appliances remain active, national employers are far less visible on campus.
A Selective—but Not Closed—System
Some firms insist the door is not fully closed. McKinsey now concentrates its “high-touch” recruiting on about 20 core schools, hosting in-person events and alumni networking opportunities. Still, the firm ultimately hired from around 80 universities last year.
Recruiters say they are increasingly using AI to identify standout students at non-core campuses who resemble top performers—based on majors, leadership roles, or extracurriculars. Interestingly, McKinsey’s internal data show that hires from non-core schools often outperform those from its traditional target list.
“We know that distinctive talent is not only centered at a handful of elite sources,” said a McKinsey partner overseeing recruiting.
What This Means for Students
For students at smaller, regional, or less prestigious universities—particularly first-generation college students—the odds feel increasingly long. As one career-services professional put it, applying to certain companies can feel “like playing the lottery.”
The advice from recruiters and career counselors is consistent: start early, think strategically, and look beyond the most obvious employers. Research deeper into industries, build networks aggressively, and pursue opportunities others may overlook.
The message is clear: while talent may still be everywhere, access to opportunity is once again becoming far more concentrated.