Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

Autodesk had a school agnostic approach to intern recruitment before it was a trend. They first target students through the Diversity Partnerships such as Students Rising Above, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, AfroTech, TAPIA and NACME, to name a few, to build a diverse talent pipeline for intern and full-time opportunities. They promote jobs to all schools. They use a skills-based approach to assessing candidates. Last year, they had 115 US interns from over 70 different universities. School doesn’t matter when getting hired at Autodesk. Talent Acquisition also participates in bi-weekly inclusive sourcing hours that help educate recruiters and scouts on inclusive sourcing topics and dedicated time to expand sourcing pools.

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

Candidate experience is top priority at Autodesk. It starts with a school agnostic sourcing approach. They host Candidate Connect virtual info sessions during fall and spring semesters. Students learn about tech and non-tech roles and gain valuable advice from hiring managers, recruiters, and recent interns about what to expect in the interview process and the internship itself. Once candidates are in the interview process, Autodesk commits to candidate prep calls to all candidates to explain what to expect and to provide insights about who they are meeting during interviews. Post offer acceptance, candidates are included on a keep-in-touch campaign to keep them engaged until they start. In 2022, AutoDesk will start surveying candidates from the interview process to gather more insights on how the team can continue to improve their candidate experience.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

The team aligns with Autodesk’s 3-year strategic goal to increase representation of women in tech, women in sales, and underrepresented people of color in the US employee population. Through partnerships with diverse organizations like Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, Power to Fly, Students Rising Above, AfroTech, TAPIA and NACME, along with outreach and program engagement with HBCUs and organizations for women and ethnic minorities, Autodesk has been successfully building a diverse talent pipeline for intern and full-time opportunities. In addition to recruitment, they provide access to training and development courses, employee resource groups and a mentorship program offering 1:1 support.