Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

The Hormel Foods campus recruiting team thought differently this season, meeting the candidates where they are. The team merged both virtual and in-person career fairs, class presentations, and personal development workshops. Hormel also took on an opportunity to Title Sponsor conferences i.e. the Big XII Conference on Black Student Leadership, giving access to the development of 400-600 diverse candidates. Targeted ad campaigns; hiring "blasts" on campus with collegiate partners with crafted marketing materials/e-mail templates to send out to professors and career centers; Hormel specific interview days (pre-selects) where they targeted school and specific candidate profiles to have a more streamlined approach; and Text Recruit campaigns round out a few strategies employed by Hormel to meet candidates where they are, building life-long connections.

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

The early careers team at Hormel Foods truly understands the importance of culture and candidate experience at every step of the process. They go above and beyond to be authentic; making candidates feel comfortable enough to be their authentic selves. The team connects candidates to Employee Resources Groups (ERGs) during the interview process as well as personal connections with their recruiter the morning of the interview to calm any nerves. The team surveys the candidate prior to their interview to ensure we meet their timeline, compensation, and follow-up requests as efficiently as possible. The team communicates an effective timeline and action items of events to the candidate, ensuring everyone is aligned at every step of the process. The goal of the team is to provide a best-in-class, authentic experience to candidates to ensure they have an honest view of the culture and the dedication to development at Hormel Foods.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

Hormel Foods prioritizes accurate diverse representation at campus events and well as throughout the interview process. The team will partner with Employee Resource Groups (9 groups) for coffee breaks/connections during the recruitment process. Hormel has a HBCU recruitment strategy as well as partnership built with diversity organizations that may include, but are not limited to, SWE, MANRRS, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the UNCF. Hormel is also connected to on-campus alumni chapters of diversity organizations to ensure relationships and representation is seen at every step in the recruitment and career process. At Hormel there is an Inclusion & Diversity Guiding Coalition and Director focused on DEI efforts across the family of companies under the Hormel Foods umbrella.