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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Akamai was selected as a 2023 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent, their emphasis on diversity & inclusion, and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Demonstrated Investment in Early Career Hiring
Akamai believes that investing in early talent not only will prepare a new generation of leaders to help one day drive the future of the company, but that it is are stronger with a variety of diverse perspectives. Early talent members are working on real world projects that can make a substantial difference within a team, division, or even the entire company. To that end, Akamai is dedicated to providing a best in-house experience for early talent members. Akamai has repeatedly been recognized as a Top100 internship program by WayUp, and consistently voted a top place to work. Akamai is excited to keep growing its global internship programs around the world, and to continue investing in early talent members’ growth.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
In an ever-evolving world, Akamai strives to meet candidates where they are. The Emerging Talent team was thrilled to return to in-person campus career fairs and student group events this fall, and to engage with students from HBCUs, HSIs, and Women’s Colleges, amongst others. The team continues to host strategic virtual events for those students it can’t meet in-person, including a series focused on networking, personal branding, and breaking into tech for interested candidates. Additionally, the Emerging Talent team has invested in ensuring candidates can get an authentic view of life at Akamai. The team launched a student ambassador program this fall to informally connect former interns with interested students on campuses, and also released a series of videos about intern life at Akamai. As Akamai continues to adapt to an evolving recruiting landscape, its mission to ensure a flawless candidate experience is unchanged.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Akamai believes that the development of underrepresented talent begins with inclusive recruitment practices. That’s why it works strategically to recruit underrepresented talent by nurturing partnerships with HBCUs, HSIs, and Women’s colleges, as well as local student chapters of national diversity organizations: NSBE, ALPFA, NABA, and more. Additionally, Akamai has partnered with organizations such as YearUp, Hopeworks, and The Posse Foundation to help break down barriers for underrepresented talent to enter into tech. Once at Akamai, early talent can expect to receive consistent mentorship within their own teams and individualized support from the Emerging Talent team. Early talent members also have the opportunity to sign up for any of Akamai’s 11 employee resource groups, and to attend events and network with fellow members. The Emerging Talent team also hosts events in collaboration with ERGs, such as the #Iamremarkable workshop by Google with the Akamai Women’s Forum to help empower early talent.
Impactful Internship Program
Akamai strives to empower interns to feel confident taking on new challenges, while also providing the support needed to launch their careers. Interns are entrusted with their own project by their teams, which they can expect to have autonomy over for the summer. Interns have the chance to ask questions, get feedback, and receive advice weekly from their managers and mentors as they work on their projects. At the end of the internship, interns present and field questions about their projects from division leaders. Akamai also offers a flexible program, in which students have the option to work in-person, in a hybrid format, or fully remote. No matter what interns choose, they can expect to have access to ample networking opportunities (including meeting Akamai’s CEO on National Intern Day) and social events. Akamai was proud to convert 80% of interns in 2021-2022, and aims to do the same for 2022-2023.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
The Emerging Talent team is focused on not only recruiting talent for internship and entry-level roles, but also growing and developing that talent into future leaders. This development begins early at the internship level, where interns attend a variety of professional development workshops focused on effective presentation skills, career mapping, and work-life balance, amongst others, and continues in Akamai’s rotational programs. Early talent members also have the chance to network with senior leadership at Akamai at fireside chats, which give members a forum in which to ask questions about an executive’s role and career journey. At both the internship and entry-level, Akamai also provides ample weekly mentorship opportunities in which employees can seek advice about career planning and learn new skills. Employees can also take advantage of Akamai University trainings, Akamai Career Expo, and tuition reimbursement as they continue to grow their careers.