This report of job recruiting trends affecting 1997-98 college graduates is based on survey results from 477 businesses, industries, and governmental agencies. It notes that employers anticipate an increase of 27.5 percent in job prospects for new college graduates and that there is a high demand for technical graduates, including majors in computer and information sciences, engineering, business management and administrative services, and the health professions. Factors affecting the job market include steady growth of the economy, and low inflation and low unemployment rates. Also included are discussions of: estimated starting salary averages and ranges for new college graduates, employment opportunities by U.S. geographic region, demand for new hires with real-world work experiences, factors affecting job opportunities for new graduates, job outlook by industry, high demand skills, campus recruitment activities expected by employers, importance of overseas educational experiences, overseas employment opportunities available for new graduates, foreign language competencies required by employers, trends in hiring liberal arts graduates, the key factors considered when interviewing, effectiveness of Internet and Web sites for recruiting, and work environment changes expected by employers during the next 5 years. Other report sections cover survey procedures and types of and geographic locations of employer respondents. (SW)