Recognized for Excellence
adidas received a Campus Forward Award for Excellence in Recruitment Strategies, Candidate Experience, DE&I, and Internship Programming.
This reflects adidas' unwavering excellence and commitment to providing the best experience for the next generation of talent. adidas invests in multi-faceted recruitment strategies, thoughtful candidate experience, inclusive recruitment practices, and standout internship programs. See below for the highlights of their strategies in each one of these categories.
Excellence in Recruitment Strategies
The adidas Early Career team employs an innovative approach to sourcing and recruiting early career talent, combining multiple strategies to reach a diverse pool of candidates. Their efforts are allocated to strategic role profile alignment, NCAA school partnerships, and diversity initiatives, particularly through HBCUs and HSIs. Their strategy blends school-agnostic outreach with core school engagement, featuring virtual info sessions, alumni panels, interview prep, and hiring manager panels for interactive, dynamic campus experiences. Additionally, they leverage adidas Unlimited, a unique program designed to break down barriers for internal retail talent, offering career paths into corporate roles through internships for retail employees. This holistic approach ensures they attract and support a diverse range of early career candidates.
Excellence in Candidate Experience
The Early Careers Team at adidas creates a positive candidate experience by clearly outlining available roles and offering guidance on how candidates can stand out, including submitting a creative brief instead of a traditional cover letter. This creative brief prompts candidates to showcase their storytelling skills and motivation. adidas ensures timely communication throughout the process, setting clear expectations for feedback deadlines. Interview teams are trained to effectively engage with early career talent, and prospective interns are offered interview prep sessions covering what to expect in final-round interviews. Additionally, adidas provides candidates with a list of questions for the first-round interview. Feedback calls are offered to finalists and candidates who complete recruiter screens, providing valuable insights. adidas focuses on potential over experience, emphasizing transferrable skills, motivation, and adidas’ people values.
Excellence in DE&I
The adidas Early Career team is committed to diversity and inclusion (D&I) in early career recruitment, rooted in the United Against Racism initiatives, which focus on fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within the company, talent processes, and communities. The Early Career Talent Acquisition (ECTA) team works to attract, recruit, and retain underrepresented talent, reflecting adidas' diverse workforce goals. In 2021, they launched an HBCU strategy to increase HBCU candidates in their internship pipeline, partnering with the HBCU Career Development Marketplace, which continued into 2024. Additionally, in Fall 2024, the Early Careers team expanded their D&I efforts by directly engaging with Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) across the nation, most notably in California, Texas and Florida, hosting workshops on resume reviews, interview prep, and alumni panels to support underrepresented students.
Excellence in Internship Programming
At adidas, the bar for the internship experience continues to rise. Each summer, interns are assigned a one-on-one project that allows them to provide a fresh perspective on an industry problem. Interns also participate in the Intern Immersion, a week-long program held at the North America Headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Interns from across the North America business travel to Portland to engage in team bonding, problem-solving, and networking with leadership. The program culminates on National Intern Day, where each intern presents their business case solution to the adidas community. Additionally, interns dedicate 10% of their internship to professional development, which can include participating in Employee Resource Groups, exploring courses through LinkedIn Learning, or pursuing technical skills in the MakerLab, such as shoe making. As adidas employees, interns benefit from the hybrid work environment, summer excursions offered by the fitness center, like stand-up paddleboarding, and the adidas employee discount.
