Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

Splunk partners with colleges, universities, and organizations across the world to recruit top talent for all of their regions. This past year, the team hosted and attended over 100 university recruiting events, offering both virtual and in-person options, to showcase Splunk’s innovative technology, welcoming culture, and expansive internship and full-time opportunities. On campus, the team hosted a variety of workshops including resume reviews, interview prep courses, hands-on Splunk product demos, hack-a-thons, and, a fan favorite, the “Boss of the SOC” event - a competition where participants leverage Splunk’s security suite to tackle a real-world security threat. Splunk also proudly partners with Year Up and the Department of Defense’s Skillbridge program to offer internship opportunities for candidates through these organizations.

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

The Splunk Early Talent team prioritizes providing a world-class experience to all of their candidates. From the moment a candidate is selected to interview, the recruiting and coordination team will be in constant contact to support and set them up for success. This includes being transparent on the recruitment process and timeline, and sharing tips and resources to help prepare for interviews - including guides on virtual interviewing and examples of both behavioral and technical questions they may be asked. Splunk strives to provide a personalized interview experience that allows candidates to see exactly what makes Splunk and its culture special. Should someone receive an offer, their future team and recruiter will help make them confident in the decision to join the Splunk team, including connecting the candidate to Splunkers, including those who were former interns, providing a mentor from their team, as well as offering benefits, competitive pay, housing stipend for eligible interns, and more.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) play significant roles in Splunk’s culture and directly influence how they recruit and retain early talent. Splunk's campus recruitment strategy prioritizes building strong partnerships with numerous HBCUs, HSIs, and on-campus student run organizations like SWE. The team partners with national non-profit workforce development organizations, like Year Up and HireMilitary, to better recruit underrepresented early talent from non-traditional backgrounds. Splunk’s Early Talent team works closely with their Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to participate in year-round events geared towards recruiting underrepresented groups such as AfroTech, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, and the NSBE Conference. In 2020, Splunk introduced the annual Splunk HBCU Scholarship which is awarded to high achieving students from HBCUs who demonstrate leadership in their field of study.