The ROI of Campus Recruiting: A Data-Driven Guide for Finance Firms

Your firm spent $800,000 on campus recruiting last year. You hired 12 analysts.

That's $67,000 per hire—before you count training, signing bonuses, or the salaries of the 20 people who conducted interviews. When the CFO asks whether it's worth it, what do you say?

Most recruiting teams can't answer that question. They know their costs. They don't know their returns.

This guide changes that. You'll learn how to measure campus recruiting ROI, benchmark against industry standards, and identify where your recruiting dollars actually create value.

Why ROI Matters Now

The Pressure Is Real

Finance recruiting has never been more expensive.

Analyst base salaries have risen 50% since 2019. Target schools expect more lavish events. Candidates demand faster processes. Every firm is competing for the same 1,000 students at the same 20 schools.

Meanwhile, budgets are tightening. Leadership wants justification for every dollar. "We've always done it this way" no longer satisfies.

The Opportunity in Measurement

Most firms don't measure campus recruiting ROI. They track inputs (events held, resumes collected) rather than outcomes (quality of hires, retention, performance).

This means the firms that do measure well gain advantages:

Better resource allocation. Know which schools deliver. Know which events waste money.

Stronger budget justification. Data wins arguments. "Our Wharton hires generate 30% more revenue in their first two years" beats "Wharton is important for prestige."

Continuous improvement. What gets measured improves. Track the right metrics and watch them improve year over year.

The True Cost of Campus Recruiting

Direct Costs

These are the obvious expenses. Most firms track them.

Cost Category	Typical Range per School	Notes
Information sessions	$5,000-$15,000	Venue, catering, travel
Career fair presence	$2,000-$5,000	Registration, materials, swag
On-campus interviews	$3,000-$8,000	Interviewer travel, lodging
Superday hosting	$10,000-$25,000	Travel, hotels, meals for candidates
Recruiting materials	$1,000-$3,000	Brochures, presentations
Sponsorships	$5,000-$50,000	Clubs, conferences, competitions

A typical bulge bracket bank spends $30,000-$100,000 per target school annually.

Indirect Costs

These are frequently overlooked. They're also substantial.

Interviewer time. If 50 professionals spend an average of 20 hours each on recruiting (interviews, travel, debrief), and their blended cost is $150/hour, that's $150,000 in opportunity cost.

Recruiting team salaries. A dedicated campus recruiting team of four people costs $400,000-$600,000 in fully-loaded compensation.

Training investment. Eight weeks of analyst training at an all-in cost of $5,000 per week per analyst. For a class of 15, that's $600,000.

Failed hire costs. An analyst who leaves after six months consumed $150,000+ in recruiting, training, and salary—and contributed little in return.

The Full Picture

When you add direct costs, indirect costs, and training, the true cost per successful analyst hire often exceeds $100,000 at competitive firms.

This number should focus the mind. Every aspect of recruiting deserves scrutiny.

Measuring Return

Cost is half the equation. Return is the other half—and it's harder to measure.

Short-Term Metrics (0-2 Years)

Offer acceptance rate. What percentage of offers get accepted? Industry average is 70-80%. Below 60% signals problems—either with your process, your brand, or your offers.

90-day retention. What percentage of analysts are still employed after 90 days? This catches immediate misfires.

Time to productivity. How quickly do new analysts contribute independently? Track when they can run a model without hand-holding.

Manager satisfaction. Survey managers at 6 months. "Would you hire this analyst again?" Simple but revealing.

Medium-Term Metrics (2-5 Years)

Two-year retention. The industry average is 65-75%. Higher retention means less replacement cost. It also signals you're hiring people who fit.

Performance ratings. Are campus hires outperforming lateral hires? This justifies the premium cost.

Promotion rates. What percentage make associate? VP? Comparison by source reveals which pipelines produce leaders.

Revenue attribution. For roles with measurable output, track revenue generated. For investment banking, this might be deal credit. For sales roles, it's straightforward revenue.

Long-Term Metrics (5+ Years)

Alumni value. Former employees who leave on good terms become referral sources, potential clients, and future senior hires. Track where they go and whether they maintain relationships.

Leadership development. What percentage of your current MDs and partners came through campus recruiting? This measures the pipeline's strategic value.

Brand halo effects. Strong campus presence builds firm reputation. This is hard to measure but real.

The ROI Formula

Basic Calculation

At its simplest:

ROI = (Value Generated by Hires - Total Recruiting Cost) / Total Recruiting Cost

If your campus hires generate $5 million in attributed value over five years, and your total recruiting cost (including training) was $1.5 million, your ROI is:

($5,000,000 - $1,500,000) / $1,500,000 = 233%

The Challenge of Attribution

The value side is tricky. How do you attribute value to individual contributors?

For revenue-generating roles (sales, trading): Direct attribution is possible. Track revenue by individual.

For advisory roles (banking, consulting): Attribution is harder. Consider:

Deal participation and credit allocation
Client satisfaction scores
Manager assessments of contribution
Peer rankings

For support roles: Focus on retention, performance ratings, and manager satisfaction rather than revenue.

Comparative ROI

Sometimes the useful question isn't absolute ROI but comparative ROI.

Campus hire ROI vs. lateral hire ROI
School A ROI vs. School B ROI
Event type A ROI vs. event type B ROI

These comparisons reveal where to shift resources.

Benchmarking Your Metrics

Industry Standards

Metric	Strong Performance	Average	Needs Improvement
Offer acceptance rate	>85%	70-80%	<60%
90-day retention	>95%	90-95%	<90%
2-year retention	>75%	65-75%	<60%
Cost per hire	<$50,000	$50,000-$100,000	>$100,000
Time to productivity	<3 months	3-6 months	>6 months
Manager satisfaction	>85% positive	70-85%	<70%

These benchmarks vary by firm type. A boutique hiring 5 analysts has different economics than a bulge bracket hiring 200.

Establishing Your Baseline

Before optimizing, measure where you are. Track for one full recruiting cycle:

All direct costs by school and activity
All indirect costs (estimate conservatively)
Conversion rates at every stage
First-year performance of new hires
Retention at 90 days, 1 year, 2 years

This baseline reveals your current state. Future improvements measure against it.

Optimizing School Selection

The Core Question

You can't recruit everywhere. Which schools deserve your resources?

The answer isn't simply "the most prestigious schools." The right schools are the ones that produce the best hires for your firm.

Factors to Consider

Historical performance. Which schools have produced your top performers? Your current leadership? This data is gold.

Fit with your culture. Some schools produce candidates who thrive in your environment. Others don't. Track retention by school to understand fit.

Competition intensity. At ultra-target schools, you're competing against every firm. Your offer acceptance rate might be 40%. At a less obvious school, it might be 90%.

Cost efficiency. A $20,000 investment yielding 3 strong hires beats a $100,000 investment yielding 4 strong hires.

The Tier Strategy

Most successful firms use a tiered approach:

Tier 1 (Core targets, 5-8 schools): Full presence. Information sessions, multiple events, deep relationships with faculty and clubs. These are your primary pipelines.

Tier 2 (Secondary targets, 8-12 schools): Selective presence. Partner with clubs. Attend key events. Don't build permanent infrastructure.

Tier 3 (Opportunistic, unlimited): No active recruiting. Accept applications from anywhere. Let standout candidates find you.

The mistake is treating all schools the same. Concentrate resources where ROI is highest.

Challenging Conventional Wisdom

"We must recruit at Harvard and Wharton" may feel obviously true. But is it true for your firm?

Case study: A middle-market PE firm tracked performance over five years. Their top performers came disproportionately from Big Ten schools, not Ivies. Their Ivy hires had higher turnover and demanded more compensation.

They shifted resources. Expanded at Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Reduced at Harvard and Yale. Cost per hire dropped 40%. Performance held steady.

The lesson: measure before assuming.

Optimizing Events and Activities

What Actually Works

Not all recruiting activities are equal. Some generate hires. Others generate expense reports.

High ROI activities:

One-on-one coffee chats with high-potential candidates
Small-group dinners (10-15 candidates)
Technical workshops that demonstrate your expertise
Alumni panels featuring relatable recent hires

Low ROI activities:

Large generic information sessions (everyone attends, few are seriously interested)
Expensive swag that attracts freebie hunters
High-profile sponsorships that boost brand but not hiring
Career fairs where you're one booth among fifty

Measuring Event Effectiveness

For each event, track:

Cost (all-in, including travel and time)
Number of attendees
Number who entered your pipeline
Number who received interviews
Number who received offers
Number who accepted

Calculate: cost per hire attributable to this event.

This reveals which events drive results and which you should cut.

The Personal Touch Premium

The most effective recruiting is personal. A genuine conversation with a relevant professional outweighs any event.

Consider reallocating some event budget to enable more one-on-one interactions:

Fund coffee chat programs
Train junior professionals to be recruiting ambassadors
Create incentives for employees who source successful hires

Optimizing the Candidate Experience

Why It Matters for ROI

Candidate experience affects offer acceptance. If candidates have a poor experience, they decline offers. You've paid to find and evaluate them. Then you lose them at the finish line.

Every declined offer represents wasted resources.

What Top Candidates Care About

Speed. Slow processes lose candidates. Top candidates have multiple offers. If you take three weeks to extend an offer, they've already accepted elsewhere.

Communication. Radio silence breeds anxiety and resentment. Update candidates weekly, even if there's nothing to report.

Professionalism. Unprepared interviewers, chaotic schedules, and hostile questioning hurt your brand. Every touchpoint should be excellent.

Genuine interest. Candidates can tell when they're being processed versus when they're being courted. Show authentic interest in their backgrounds and goals.

The Post-Interview Follow-Up

What happens between final interview and offer affects acceptance rates.

Best practice:

Call within 24-48 hours with the offer
Connect candidates with relevant team members
Answer all questions promptly
Maintain warmth throughout the decision period

Worst practice:

Radio silence for two weeks
Offer delivered via cold email
No opportunity to ask questions
Pressure tactics and exploding offers

Reducing Costly Mistakes

The Wrong Hire Problem

A bad hire is extraordinarily expensive:

$100,000+ in recruiting and training costs
Months of underperformance
Disruption to the team
Manager time spent managing issues
Potential damage to client relationships
Recruiting cost to replace them

Avoiding one bad hire can save more than optimizing ten good events.

Where Assessment Goes Wrong

Overweighting credentials. Perfect GPA from Harvard means someone can perform academically. It doesn't guarantee they can work well under pressure with clients at 2 AM.

Underweighting soft skills. Technical skills are easier to assess. But most analyst failures are interpersonal, not technical.

Interview bias. Interviewers favor candidates who remind them of themselves. This creates homogeneity and blind spots.

Rushing. In competitive markets, firms make quick decisions. Speed is important, but not at the cost of proper evaluation.

Improving Assessment Quality

Structured interviews. Use consistent questions and rubrics. This reduces bias and improves prediction.

Multiple perspectives. Different interviewers catch different things. Ensure diversity of perspectives in the interview panel.

Work sample tests. Modeling tests and case studies reveal actual capability better than hypothetical questions.

Reference checks. Actually call references. Ask specific questions. "Would you enthusiastically rehire this person?" reveals more than a polished recommendation letter.

Building the Business Case

What Leadership Wants to Know

When presenting to senior leadership or budget holders, focus on:

Current state. What does campus recruiting cost today? What does it produce?
Comparative value. How do campus hires perform versus lateral hires? What's the ROI difference?
Improvement opportunity. Where can we do better? What's the projected ROI of proposed changes?
Risk of underinvestment. What happens if we cut the budget? Lost access to top talent has long-term consequences.

Framing the Investment

Reframe campus recruiting from cost to investment:

"We're investing $1.5 million annually to secure a pipeline of talent that generates $8 million in value over five years. The alternative—hiring laterally—costs 40% more per head and produces lower retention."

This framing changes the conversation.

The Competitive Context

Recruiting is a competition. If you cut back, competitors don't. They absorb your best candidates.

Benchmark your spending against competitors:

Are you under-investing relative to peers?
Are you over-investing in low-ROI activities while peers invest smarter?
Are there untapped opportunities (non-target schools, diverse pipelines) that competitors are missing?

The Long View

Building Employer Brand

Campus recruiting isn't just about this year's hires. It's about building reputation.

Students talk to each other. They talk to students in the years behind them. A reputation for excellence—or for poor treatment—compounds over time.

Invest in brand even when you're not hiring. Stay visible. Maintain relationships. The goodwill pays off when you need to ramp up hiring.

Developing Recruiting Capability

The best recruiting organizations treat recruiting as a strategic capability, not an administrative function.

Invest in your team. Experienced recruiters understand candidate psychology, market dynamics, and process optimization. They're worth paying for.

Train interviewers. Most professionals have never been trained to interview. They default to pet questions and gut instincts. Training improves consistency and accuracy.

Build systems. CRM for candidate relationships. Analytics for performance tracking. Process documentation for consistency.

Alumni as Assets

Every analyst who leaves becomes an alumnus. They could be:

A future source of referrals
A potential client at their new firm
A senior hire who returns years later
An ambassador for your brand

The ROI of a campus hire extends beyond their tenure. Invest in maintaining relationships after departure.

Taking Action

Immediate Steps

Establish your baseline. Calculate current cost per hire. Document current metrics.
Track the right data. If you're not tracking performance by source school, start now.
Cut one low-ROI activity. Every firm has an event or sponsorship that continues through inertia. Find it. Cut it.
Improve one high-impact area. Speed to offer? Interviewer training? Personal outreach? Pick one and improve it.

Medium-Term Initiatives

Implement attribution tracking. Connect recruiting source to downstream performance.
Optimize school mix. Shift resources toward high-performing schools.
Build employer brand. Invest in content, visibility, and reputation.
Develop recruiting capability. Train the team. Build systems. Treat recruiting as strategic.

The Bottom Line

Campus recruiting is expensive. But it's expensive because it works.

The alternative—waiting for talent to find you, competing in the lateral market, or settling for whoever applies—is often more expensive in the long run.

The goal isn't to minimize recruiting cost. It's to maximize recruiting ROI. Know your costs. Measure your returns. Invest where it matters.

The firms that measure recruiting well consistently outperform those that don't. Measurement turns intuition into insight. Insight drives better decisions. Better decisions compound over time.

Start measuring. Start improving. The returns are worth the effort.