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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
CLA 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
CLA is committed to the future of the firm through creating inspired careers for those joining from campus. This is a key part of CLA’s strategy to not only develop and grow talent, but to create a pipeline which allows employees the ability to continue to advance in their careers. The firm demonstrates aggressive hiring goals from local colleges and universities, which span in some cases three years in advance through both internships and entry-level positions. Further, in the past year, CLA has committed to this effort by creating a sizable campus talent acquisition team solely focused on recruiting top talent from campuses nationwide, with plans to expand that team in early 2023.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
CLA takes a personalized approach, providing each person a first-rate experience, by offering flexibility for in-person and remote events, providing one-on-one time with hiring teams, and hosting committed hire events throughout the year that allow committed hires to stay connected to CLA while attending school. CLA currently participates in Meet the Firms, Beta Alpha Psi meetings, classroom presentations, amongst others. Additionally, CLA hosted a virtual nationwide CLA Experience Program, which provided information about CLA and prepared students for what to expect when working at a professional services firm. Local Summer Experience events are also hosted, where students get a taste of the office culture, learn about primary industries, and have mock interviews to assist them with honing their interview skills. CLA has also created a campus recruiting video aligned with its social media strategy, as well as digital recruiting efforts that allow a greater, more inclusive reach.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
CLA welcomes and cares for the whole person, supported by its culture of inclusion, belonging, and acceptance, with an emphasis on building relationships. CLA’s DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Council works directly with firm leaders and more than 250 local DEI ambassadors to guide efforts and engage the whole CLA family. The firm believes including different perspectives makes it better and that everyone who joins the CLA family should feel welcome. This also applies to campus recruiting efforts. CLA provides training to campus teams related to unconscious bias and inclusive recruiting. CLA continually expands relationships on current campuses, and identifies new schools with which to start building relationships that can offer more diverse talent. CLA continues to elevate its efforts while increasing its presence at minority-serving institutions. CLA is a corporate sponsor of NABA and interacts with NABA’s various student chapters.
Impactful Internship Program
CLA’s internship program offers real-life experiences, as interns work alongside experienced professionals to serve clients. Interns have the opportunity to interact directly with clients regularly while gaining experience, exposure, and knowledge of audit and tax procedures, workpapers, and systems. Interns also have the opportunity to work with clients in different industries and service lines, allowing them to gain depth and have a more meaningful experience. Each intern is provided a peer advisor prior to joining CLA, which creates an instant, direct connection to an associate. The peer advisor is responsible for integrating the intern into CLA’s family culture through a guided 8-week playbook and training schedule. The peer advisor is also accountable for connecting interns to actionable feedback that is provided in real time, in accordance with CLA’s culture of feedback.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
Upon joining CLA as a campus hire, an individual begins a relationship with a peer advisor. The peer advisor is someone who is at the same career level, with a similar level of experience. The peer advisor frequently and proactively creates impactful connections to help foster a sense of belonging, answers questions, gets the individual plugged into the firm’s social fabric, and ultimately helps the individual understand how they can achieve their potential at CLA. Soon after joining CLA, individuals choose a career coach. The career coaching process is designed to be forward focused, always looking ahead — as opposed to a traditional process primarily rooted in digging in the past. This approach fosters ongoing conversations about CLA’s future and dreams, to help employees reach their full potential. New employees are also enrolled in LEAP, a foundational learning experience series for those in the first four years of their career.