To kick off the college campus school year, Ernst & Young launched a campus video competition on 75 U.S. and Canadian campuses that asks students to address the question, "Why professional services?" The winning videos will be shown at future recruiting events and on the E&Y Web site to highlight the benefits of joining the profession to potential accounting and business majors.

Deloitte & Touche is also using film to recruit, but this Big Four firm is turning to its own employees. The Deloitte Film Festival provided volunteers with the filming equipment in their efforts to create a short film answering "What's Your Deloitte?" U.S. offices submitted 370 short films, which are posted on the company's intranet site to be viewed and voted on. The best-rated films will be integrated into campus recruiting programs.

Turning to film to recruit is taken to another level by a regional firm that is hosting a student-to-professional makeover, open to college and finance majors. The video contest sponsored by Mid-Atlantic-area firm Aronson & Company requires entrants to submit a short video that creatively demonstrates where they see themselves after graduation. Contest entries will be posted on YouTube.com for rating. The winner will receive $2,500 in professional image services, clothing, and resume consultations.

In addition to YouTube-like contests, accounting firms are looking at social networking sites such as Facebook to launch corporate sponsored recruitment pages. For more on this story, check out CFO's Sept. 26 piece, "Social Studies."