Recognized for Excellence
PepsiCo received a Campus Forward Award for Excellence in Early Career Recruitment Strategy, Innovation in Action, and Excellence in Candidate Experience.
This award celebrates the team’s strong dedication to fostering forward-thinking campus recruiting programs that convert top student talent, investing in advanced technology and AI transforming early career recruiting, and championing a standout candidate experience with authentic branding and transparent communication. See below for the highlights of their innovative approach to early career recruitment.
Excellence in Early Career Recruitment Strategy
The team streamlined its geo preference survey to highlight states with open roles, enabling prioritization of candidates for locations with fewer applicants and our national field roles. A new review and sourcing process ensured candidates for sales and supply chain positions were assessed within two business days, with prompt notifications regarding application status. This transformation reduced organizational response times, allowing over 9,000 candidates to receive updates within 48 hours of applying, which helped improve candidate experience across field roles.
Innovation in Action
PepsiCo enhanced its data-driven recruitment strategy by creating a Power BI dashboard that monitors demand fulfillment percentages, intern conversions, offer acceptance and decline rates, university and conference hires, and more across all regions, functions, and job requisitions. Access to this data enables real-time adjustments to sourcing strategies. The team launched targeted pre-career fair campaigns, improving early candidate engagement and streamlining event registration. By leveraging their CRM, the team built a dynamic underclassmen pipeline that delivers year-round candidate engagement, pre-education, and career preparation, automatically assessing participation to support future hiring classes.
Excellence in Candidate Experience
PepsiCo introduced a virtual onboarding dashboard for incoming interns, offering a comprehensive platform for both interns and managers. Communications begin as soon as a candidate accepts an offer. 90 days before their start date, interns can complete onboarding tasks, access information about PepsiCo, receive details about their assigned mentor, review Urbanbound relocation steps, and obtain Day 1 instructions. Satisfaction with the onboarding experience reached 90% among candidates and 95% among intern managers. Most campus roles at PepsiCo are in Field Sales and Supply Chain. To prepare candidates, the Talent Team conducts targeted prep calls featuring intern spotlights, allowing students to hear firsthand experiences and engage directly with Campus Ambassadors.
