Campus Forward Award Winner:
Mohawk Industries
About Mohawk Industries
COMPANY SIZE:
Publicly Traded Large Enterprise (1000+ employees)
INDUSTRY:
Hardware, Manufacturing, & Construction
The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
The Highlights of Mohawk Industries' Approach to Early Career Hiring
Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting
With Covid still being a concern at the beginning of 2021, Mohawk's university relations team had to get creative in recruiting strategies and to battle "Zoom fatigue." Mohawk hosted "TED Talks" and worked with other employers to host industry panels for college partners. During the fall semester when Mohawk was allowed back on campuses, they ramped up tabling sessions, resume reviews, mock interviews, and guest-lectured in career development classes. When career fairs were back in person, Mohawk utilized their past and current interns as Ambassadors on-campus to promote the company and network with students at fairs since they know peer-to-peer engagement has more of an impact on Gen Z.
Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience
The university relations team at Mohawk Industries understands this may be the first time students are interviewing for a job and go above and beyond to ensure they have the best experience. From the initial phone call to students, they explain the recruitment process from start to finish and coach students on resume writing and interviewing if needed. They consistently call and connect with them throughout the process to answer any questions and keep them abreast of where they are in the process. The team also completes the offer letters, onboarding, and orientation for new interns so they keep the same contact throughout the whole process, keeping it as uncomplicated for candidates as possible.
Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion
Mohawk Industries understands the benefits of bringing diverse talent into entry level roles to expand upon new ideas, innovation, and creativity. To assist with bringing diverse talent to Mohawk, the university relations team created a strategy around targeting and partnering with HBCUs and partakes in HBCU Career Development Marketplace Inc.'s Annual National Conference which brings together students from across 40 plus HBCUs. Mohawk has also partnered with specific student organizations to target talent including Association of Latino Professionals for America, Latino American Student Organization, Society of Women Engineers, and Black Student Alliance.
Investing in Impactful Internship Programs
Mohawk Industries makes a dedicated effort to bring interns the most beneficial experience possible that includes working on real and impactful projects that increase cost savings, process efficiencies, and sustainability efforts for Mohawk while receiving professional development around the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) Competencies, informational sessions with the executive leadership team, and fun events outside of work that interns get to vote on for team building. Mohawk conducts mid- and end- of semester surveys with students and supervisors to improve the program and professional development opportunities each year. This all leads to high conversion rates.
Supporting the Growth and Development of Entry-Level Talent
Mohawk Industries sets up entry-level employees for success starting at orientation and continuing with on-the-job training, supervisor check-ins, professional development training, community engagement events, and opportunities for upward mobility. Mohawk's ASPIRE program, a rotational, leadership development program, offers additional support through a cohort feel, mentorship, and leadership training to springboard associates into supervisory roles. Mohawk also offers tuition reimbursement after a year of service for employees to return to school and further their education and development.
Congratulations to the team at Mohawk Industries for being selected as one of the winners of RippleMatch's 2022 Campus Forward Awards!
RippleMatch's Campus Forward Awards recognizes the top early career teams and programs in the nation. Through a detailed application process, early career teams shared their approach to recruitment, candidate experience, D&I, and internship & entry-level programming. The programs picked for this award represent the best of the best, selected from applications submitted by campus recruiting teams across industries.
See all Award Winners for the category of Mid-Size Early Career Programs below
Learn more about RippleMatch, the company behind the Campus Forward Awards, by clicking here.