ALKU is a Campus Forward Award Winner

ALKU is a specialized consulting services firm focused on deploying highly skilled consulting resources in the Technologies, Healthcare IT, Life Sciences, and Government sectors. Each of their niche divisions consists of dedicated personnel who focus on a single specialty in each industry they serve. Organizations and the ALKU's highly skilled network choose to work with them because of their commitment to people, process, and technology. ALKU is constantly growing and expanding to meet the needs of their employees, clients, and consultants all over the U.S.

Visit ALKU's Career page here.

Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

The College Relationship Development Team at ALKU made its return to campus this fall semester. The team jumped right back into on-campus recruitment, staying busy hosting dual-school sales competitions, attending career fairs, guest-speaking engagements, and networking events, sitting in on panels, and getting creative to offer a variety of professional development topics to present on. The College Relationship Specialists also kept up with the virtual demand to connect with students seeking employment. They were able to host job shadows, collaborations between the company’s ERGs and student organizations, resume reviews, mock interviews, and beyond. Totaling over 340 events with more than 40 college campuses, ALKU received almost 1,000 applications to its entry-level job openings and, as a result, hired just under 100 students (to date).

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

ALKU believes that the best way to find the best talent is through sincerity and connection. Their application and hiring process is personal; beginning with screening phone calls from Internal Recruiters to the majority of applicants, relationship-driven updates and feedback, and phone calls to close the loop no matter the candidacy decisions that are made. Candidates interviewing for internship positions will meet with between 1 and 3 managers, and candidates for entry-level positions will meet with 6-8 managers. The process moves quickly and candidates can expect urgent follow-up. ALKU has always hired with a heavy emphasis on candidates’ character traits. Focusing on who the candidate is, what motivates them, and what they are looking for allows ALKU to put the right person in the right seat.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

Within ALKU’s DE&I Council is the Attraction & Recruitment subcommittee, which is responsible for brainstorming, spearheading, and executing on initiatives that are meant to ultimately increase diversity in the talent pipeline. ALKU has been able to reach out to over 100 diversity-focused student organizations and over 40 avenues within HBCUs in addition to sponsoring a diversity scholarship with the University of Tennessee Knoxville. When it comes to retention, ALKU is always on the pursuit of feedback from its population in order to retain its valued employees. Throughout the past year, there has been regular surveying to give employees the opportunity to express how they are feeling.

Investing in Impactful Internship Programs

Throughout the year, ALKU welcomes interns into all seven of their office locations, as well as virtually. ALKU’s Internship Program allows students to dive into their full-time careers while still in college. Students are given the ability to make money, develop professionally, and work alongside motivated, supportive peers. This training is implemented with the hope that interns will ultimately become full-time employees. Each intern is paired with a mentor—a seasoned and proven full-time employee. Their mentor works as a point of reference, guidance, and support throughout the intern’s time at ALKU. For mentors, this offers them the chance to participate firsthand in ALKU’s mentoring initiative, working to develop invaluable professional skills and gain insight into leadership roles.

Supporting the Growth and Development of Entry-Level Talent

ALKU goes above and beyond to set up their new full-time hires for long-term success at the company. As a new hire with any company, the first year is always the hardest. Compared to other companies, ALKU gets new hires into the mix right away. They have the opportunity to close deals within their first 6-12 months, all while working through the entire sales life cycle right from the start. All new hires are given the chance to work hard, prove themselves, and if shown leadership abilities, jump into ALKU's “Futures” program, which is designed for the next layer of ALKU leadership. ALKU has a home for anyone who is willing to be challenged and work hard.

Congratulations to the team at ALKU for being selected as one of the winners of RippleMatch's 2022 Campus Forward Awards!

RippleMatch's Campus Forward Awards recognizes the top early career teams and programs in the nation. Through a detailed application process, early career teams shared their approach to recruitment, candidate experience, D&I, and internship & entry-level programming. The programs picked for this award represent the best of the best, selected from applications submitted by campus recruiting teams across industries.

See all Award Winners for the category of Large Early Career Programs, Small Team below