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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Cleveland Guardians 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
The Cleveland Guardians are dedicated to prioritizing the candidate experience right from the inception of role development within the organization. To create an excellent experience for student job seekers, the team implements a comprehensive interview process, allowing prospective teammates to interact with a diverse array of colleagues from various departments, levels, and backgrounds. The team helps facilitate informal connections with potential peers and encourages interaction with past participants in the early career programs. Throughout the early careers program, the team maintains continuous touchpoints and offers ongoing programming, ensuring that the team can consistently generate and adeptly navigate feedback at a beneficial pace.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
The Cleveland Guardians are dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment that values diversity in all its forms, enriching their core values, strengthening competitive position, amplifying their impact, and nurturing a strong sense of belonging among their employees. In job postings, The Cleveland Guardians explicitly require the ability to work with diverse populations and having a demonstrated commitment to social justice. Application language is inclusive, encouraging individuals from underrepresented groups to apply despite checking every qualification box. This year, The Cleveland Guardians had the privilege of hosting students from local Ohio HBCUs for a day at the ballpark, featuring panels, a tour, and time spent with the recruitment team during the game. The team is excited about the ongoing expansion and development of initiatives that exemplify this commitment.
Impactful Internship Program
Being a smaller organization has its advantages for interns at the Cleveland Guardians, as they get to fully experience the life of a full-time teammate within a professional sports organization while receiving the training and development building a foundation for success. Interns engage in impactful projects offering them extensive exposure to problem-solving, relationship-building, and critical thinking. The internship program also includes opportunities for job-shadowing, mentorship, and personalized career coaching. The Cleveland Guardians emphasize that the success of the internship program goes beyond the time spent at the ballpark, providing support at the conclusion of internships to help interns prepare for their next career chapter, whether within or outside the organization.