Campus Forward Award Winner:
Southwest Airlines
About Southwest Airlines
COMPANY SIZE:
Publicly Traded Large Enterprise (1000+ employees)
INDUSTRY:
Travel & Hospitality (Travel, hotels, and restaurants)
The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
The Highlights of Southwest Airlines' Approach to Early Career Hiring
Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting
Southwest strives to meet candidates where they are and give them tools to succeed at Southwest or wherever their career trajectory takes them. The Campus Reach Team hosts virtual information sessions to focus on providing candidates with tips and tricks on subjects interview prep or resume building. They also provide out interns with digital social media resource kits and celebrate interns on the main @SouthwestAir Instagram account. Internal groups like Women of Color in Technology and external groups like the Southwest Alumni Group also provide support and mentorship to interns during their time with the company.
Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience
The Campus Reach Team at Southwest Airlines understands that providing a best-in-class candidate application, interview, and onboarding experience is crucial to their success. As such, the team works tirelessly to support candidates throughout the full life cycle of their application and throughout their internship. Southwest hiring managers love to be involved in the hiring process by answering candidate questions and providing feedback. The team also strives to provide an accurate picture of what their internship will be like should they be selected for the role. To ensure the team is dedicating their resources effectively, they also collect and analyze survey responses following the conclusion of the candidate’s application.
Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion
The company is committed to providing their Southwest Family a work environment where they can be themselves and be recognized for the unique perspectives they each bring forward. Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords–they’re woven into the way the business is run, and they’re reflected in Southwest's world-famous Culture. The company is focused on engaging a breadth of community partners to ensure the company is leveraging those relationships as it sources diverse talent as the company is dedicated to The Golden Rule–to behave respectfully and to work in ways that reflect and embrace how People want to be treated.
Investing in Impactful Internship Programs
Southwest Airlines interns spend their time working on real business needs that have a direct impact on the company's ability to operate. The program focuses on providing interns with real-world experiences that they will be able to use wherever they may land after their internship comes to a close. In addition to those important projects, Southwest interns are able to take advantage of free space-available travel on any flight that Southwest Operates to any destination!
Supporting the Growth and Development of Entry-Level Talent
Southwest wants to ensure that every new hire has a successful onboarding experience. The company works to showcase their legendary company culture from day one and provides resources like lunch-and-learns and skip-level meetings to promote continued career growth.
Congratulations to the team at Southwest Airlines 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.