The sample size is so small that drawing any conclusions from this data seems suspect.<p>Percentage comparisons (hired/applied):
6% JoS fans
4.3% of Columbia job fair
2% Princeton job fair
1.7% of web search
and 0% of everything else
What's valuable in this article: The applicants should know you before you even start looking for new interns. Having a long-term presence in their consciousness is invaluable.
I don't think it's surprising that department emails generated no hires. People who take internship opportunities from emails they receive are usually too lazy to look themselves, which probably shows a lack of drive. I say <i>usually</i>, because this isn't always true.<p>I love these stats though... Would make great presentation material on the importance of being active in a job search. Especially the part about what times to apply... if it's a rolling recruiting basis (which I'm assuming almost every company does), those would probably be advantageous times.