In a better position might be those seniors who took advantage of on-campus recruitment programs.

WSJ: College Graduates Likely to Face Long Job Hunt

Colleges and universities have a major role by introducing educated candidates to potential employers through on-campus recruitment.

FORBES: College and University Educated Women Outpace Men

Amazon focuses its campus recruitment on schools with analytics and entrepreneurship programs, including Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

WSJ: What It's Like to Interview at Amazon