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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Palo Alto Networks 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
Palo Alto Networks believes that fostering early-in-career talent across the organization is a business imperative, not just the right thing to do. Palo Alto Networks values what early-in-career employees bring to the table, and trusts students and new grads to execute meaningful work that builds a secure future for the world. The Early Talent team is committed to finding top underrepresented talent through diverse recruiting tools, information sessions, networking events, campaigning, and conferences. Setting them up for success in the Internship and New Grad Programs is just as important as getting them to the company. This is shown through the award-winning internship program Palo Alto Networks offers (WayUp’s Top 100 Internship Programs - 3 years in a row, and URx’s Intern’s Choice Award).
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
The Early Talent team has established a school-agnostic strategy and leads with diversity-focused events whenever possible. With this approach, the team has leaned heavily on hosting general info sessions to give overviews on the company culture and open roles, as well as attending larger conferences such as SHPE, HACU, SACNAS, and AfroTech to source talent. The team’s campaigning strategy to advertise upcoming events is crucial in order to obtain high attendance, especially at larger conferences. The Early Talent team is also cognizant of promoting a positive candidate experience for those candidates that engage with the company. The team will utilize sourcing sessions after these events to source qualified candidates. Every role the team fills has a pipeline goal of 80% URT moving past the recruiter screen. Once identified, moving quickly to secure this top talent is vital when the market is aggressively hiring diverse new grads and interns.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion are embedded into everything Palo Alto Networks does as a company. Inclusion is one of five core values, and the Early Talent team is relentless in its pursuit of diversifying the intern and new grad cohorts. The team partners with diversity partners like TMCF, CodePath, HACU, SHPE, WayUp, and RippleMatch to attract, source, and hire underrepresented talent. Once entry-level talent is hired, the programs provide opportunities to join the company’s Employee Network Groups to attend intersectional events to show the many dimensions of employees and to celebrate diversity. In addition, Palo Alto Networks is proud to offer interns peer mentorship groups for underrepresented talent to turn to for guidance, motivation, emotional support, and help setting goals.
Impactful Internship Program
Palo Alto Networks' 12-week internship program offers a career-defining experience. Last summer, 99% of interns were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with the program. This hybrid program offers 1:1 mentorship, meaningful hands-on experiences, fun & engaging events, and networking opportunities with employees/leaders across the company. The Early Talent team is also very involved in the intern experience. There is a detailed check-in process that allows the team to build strong relationships with the interns. If they receive an offer to come back full-time, (88% of eligible interns & 95% accepted) these relationships carry on to their new grad program experience at the company. Even if they don’t accept their full-time offer with Palo Alto Networks, the relationships are lasting.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
PANWs offers a robust New Grad Program, LEAP, designed to ramp and retain a talented pool of early in career employees. LEAP provides a variety of learning opportunities to help “new to the workforce” professionals excel in their careers. Each cohort has a series of onboarding events to cover important topics such as benefits, ESPP, goals & milestones, etc. Additional learning is woven into their first year related to performance management, time management, and navigating their careers. The Early Talent team also hosts community activities that build their networks with peers and leaders. The final element is supporting managers as they coach and elevate this group. Retention is key and managers play a big role in making employees feel well cared for and supported. At the end of their first year, the company has an internal mobility program that allows early in career talent to explore different career paths internally.