Cities want college grads to stay. Here's Cleveland's pitch.

If you want to pitch Cleveland to a bunch of younger people, you’re going to do it at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Between displays of fabulous outfits and instruments that belonged to Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie, hundreds of recruiters in polos and button-downs peddle entry-level jobs at places like Progressive Insurance, Sherwin-Williams, and The J.M. Smucker Co.

“In places like Cleveland, jobs are plentiful. And for our employers, the single greatest challenge for growth right now is talent,” said Baiju Shah, CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership, which is the regional chamber of commerce that puts this whole thing on.

Shah said that five years ago, most of greater Cleveland’s 190,000 college students left the area after they graduated. Now, just over half stay.

“That might not sound like a huge jump, but that's a couple thousand extra students each year that become graduates and become residents of our region,” he said.

This is College Fest’s third year. Nearly 900 students registered to listen to 82 employers pitch them on why they should work in Northeast Ohio.

But they aren’t just pitching their companies. They’ve got to pitch Cleveland, too.

“Engaging with the talent early is a huge part of our strategy,” said Hannah Walsh, a recruiter at an IT firm called Park Place. “Cleveland is a great place to be. I think it's a very affordable city. I think we have a lot to offer when it comes to good people, the Rock Hall, good music, arts, culture, things like that.”

And a lot of the students are familiar with Walsh’s pitch.

“It's encouraged to stay in Cleveland. I've seen a lot of pushes like that recently,” said Cleveland State freshman Catherine Long. Another example of that push: She’s on a scholarship called “Choose Ohio First.”

Long showed up tonight on a whim, with her classmate Kaylee McDermott. Neither of them are worried about finding jobs in the area.

“I'm a medical engineer, so maybe I'll be at the Cleveland Clinic or something of that sort,” McDermott says.

The two of them are clear-eyed about their city. They wish there weren’t so many empty storefronts downtown, and they want more people walking the streets. But they like the concerts and the sports teams. Plus, homes are cheap, jobs abound, they both have family here, and Long feels loyalty toward this place.

“It's not worth it to just go like, ‘Oh, this entire state is trash. Let's chuck the whole thing,’” she said. “I think it's important to be here for what's here.”