The absence of many of the high-flying information technology (IT) firms whose big signing bonuses and starting salaries gave them first shot at the brightest job candidates in past years will make it easier for employers seeking to hire college seniors and aspiring interns this summer.

Students seeking jobs and internships this spring will face a much tougher job market as layoffs continue. Even with the widely expected second-half economic rebound, employers are planning to hire about 20% fewer new graduates than they did in 2001, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Positions in nearly half the job fields that will draw recruiters to campuses this spring will pay lower starting salaries than last year, says NACE. Signing bonuses, which last year were a normal part of firms' recruitment packages, will be harder to find. Only about 37% of firms are offering them, down from more than 55% last year. Reflecting a sharp drop in recruiting premiums offered in the past by IT and telecom firms located in the West, only 25% of employers there will be offering signing bonuses. Last year, 62% of western firms said they planned to offer them.

Although students won't be courted as diligently as last year, that doesn't mean companies will be able to take their pick. Recruiters from firms whose names aren't instantly recognizable will still have to sell students on their prospects, says Marilyn F. Mackes, executive director of NACE. And smaller companies that lack the budgets to compete for the best and brightest students will find that some still have unrealistic expectations about starting salaries, she adds.

The job outlook for grads won't be uniformly bleak. In an effort to beef up national defense and intelligence capabilities, the federal government and defense-related industries will offer more jobs than they have in past years. The government's increased presence is also evident in recruiting for interns. Anticipating a wave of retirements from the federal workforce as baby boomers hit retirement age, the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, plans to take on more interns over the next few years.

Colleges report a strong rise in government recruiting and an enthusiastic response from students. At Tulane University in New Orleans, government recruiters are a "very visible presence," according to Jamie Lax, assistant director of the university's Career Services Center. In fact, the State Department and the Office of Personnel Management were so interested that they invited the center's director to Washington, D.C., for an in-depth look at their career offerings.

At Texas A&M University, meanwhile, the CIA and the FBI are mounting strong recruitment drives, as is the Department of Labor, a newcomer to the college, says Gail Vermillion of the college's career center. The university's Workforce Recruitment Program provides a channel into civil service positions for disabled students.

Overall student attendance at job placement events is way up, according to Vermillion, despite a drop-off this year in participation by recruiters from telecom, consulting and IT firms. Recruiters from energy and civil engineering firms and schools needing teachers are helping make up for their absence, she says. College placement offices are seeing a broader range of employers pitching jobs to students, including elementary and high schools seeking teachers, smaller private accounting firms and big retailers staffing up in anticipation of the impending recovery.

Even in a sluggish economy, internships remain the most popular way for companies to recruit new employees, notes NACE's Camille Luckenbaugh. Internships give students a chance to test the waters at a company before committing to full-time employment, and firms get to see whether a student will fit in. Many companies report lower turnover among employees who start out as interns.

-- By Sally Martin O'Briant; Gerry Moore; Researcher-Reporter Nicole Bonnell