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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Autodesk was selected as a 2024 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of diverse talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Standout Candidate Experience
Autodesk's standardized interview process ensures fairness and consistency, creating a positive candidate experience. Hiring managers and interviewers receive bias mitigation interview training. Intern candidates receive valuable resources to prepare for interviews, including information on Autodesk and technical interview practices. The automated scheduling tool guarantees a consistent experience, with candidates informed of interviewer names and titles in advance for optimal preparation. Feedback surveys contribute to ongoing improvements, making the interview process even more candidate-friendly.
Innovative Use of Technology
The team uses Airtable to efficiently manage the intern program. With interns from 14 different countries and varying start and end dates, Airtable serves as the intern list, calendar, feedback surveys, communication plan, and results tracker. The automated emails integrated with Outlook and Slack are particularly helpful. The team can set up triggers to send messages to interns, such as midpoint feedback surveys and weekly prompts in Slack for community engagement. Airtable has saved time and improved consistency and efficiency in program management.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Autodesk prioritizes a school-agnostic approach to sourcing student talent through established diversity partnerships. Autodesk actively engages with these partners through various avenues like live and virtual events, sponsorships, and sessions on resume preparation and career panels. Their aim is to attract underrepresented talent early on by offering internships and fostering their retention as full-time employees after graduation. Students sourced from diversity partnerships also receive the unique opportunity to participate in Autodesk's EPIC program. This program provides mentorship and internship preparation for up to 4 months before their Autodesk internship commences, ensuring ongoing support throughout and beyond. The team prioritizes networking opportunities to help students enhance their social capital and thrive in their professional journeys.