Summer Internship Program

McMaster Carr hosted a successful 6-week virtual internship that gave students the opportunity to grow professionally, work on impactful projects, cultivate relationships with peers and professionals, and gain knowledge of McMaster-Carr. Throughout the program, interns had the chance to do fulfilling work, collaborating with a dedicated manager on both independent and small group projects and presenting their recommendations to senior leaders. Additionally, despite the virtual environment, the team still held weekly intern socials, professional development sessions, and regular coffee chats with senior managers to provide interns with valuable networking opportunities.

Virtual Recruitment

As a recruiting team, McMaster-Carr participated in an increased number of virtual events this year, including SWE’s Virtual Career Fair, several RippleMatch panels, and their own event, “How To Tell if a Company Truly Cares About DEI.” The team also made changes to the interview process to accommodate the new virtual reality. In the first stages of interviewing, candidates choose if they would like to have a phone or Zoom call with a recruiter. In the final stages of interviewing, McMaster-Carr has added a pre-interview call to give candidates a chance to ask any additional questions about the interview and the opportunity. 

Candidate Experience

McMaster-Carr’s top priority is creating a great candidate experience, so the team works around candidates’ schedules and quickly gets back with decisions.  Additionally, the team has put significant time and energy into creating a personalized recruiting experience. Even in the earliest stages, recruiters take the time to answer candidate questions directly. On the interview day, recruiters ensure that candidates meet multiple managers, have made connections across the business, and have gained a solid understanding of the work they would be doing.

Diversity and Inclusion

One way McMaster Carr has been able to recruit a diverse slate of candidates is by hiring for capability rather than skill. That allows the team to recruit all majors and hire students from a huge array of internships and work experiences. The team appreciates a breadth of experiences and a variety of interests, so new hires could join with experience from consulting or investment banking internships, research or fellowship opportunities, or non-profit or government work. McMaster Carr recruits and hires from dozens of colleges and universities, and reaches candidates on a variety of platforms like RippleMatch, Handshake, and Jopwell.