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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Target was selected as a 2024 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of diverse talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Multi-Faceted and Thoughtful Approach to University Recruitment
The university recruiting team at Target goes above and beyond to connect with the next generation of talent both on and off campus. Adopting a hybrid approach to recruitment, the Target team participated in over 480 events across 98 unique colleges and universities across the USA – 40 events at HBCUs and over 30 events at HSIs. The team also hosts several virtual, early ID events and competitions for underclassmen to build future pipeline in addition to sponsoring several national diversity conferences. Once students enter the pipeline, the team prioritizes candidate experience by offering Target Tuesdays to ensure candidate readiness for the interview process.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Representation at the entry-level can move the needle on diversity across the company. That's why the university recruitment team at Target is so passionate about finding and connecting with a diverse range of students across the country. To recruit a diverse slate of candidates, the team has forged new relationships with HBCUs, HSIs, community colleges and public universities as well as built out a robust set of diversity-focused partnerships with national and regional organizations. Some of these partners include NBMBAA, NSBE, HSF, UNCF, Grace Hopper, SHPE and SWE. In addition to recruitment, Target is proud to offer interns and new grads from underrepresented backgrounds specialized support when they join the company in the form of mentorship, employee resource groups, and development programs. This Fall 2023, the Target team participated in over 480 events across 98 unique colleges and universities across the USA – 40 events at HBCUs and over 30 events at HSIs. The team also hosts several virtual, early ID events and competitions for diverse underclassmen to build future pipeline. Over the last few years, Target has doubled down on its investments in HBCUs. In 2021, Target partnered with UNCF to launch a scholarship program that supports 1,000 students at more than a dozen HBCUs. Each student receives a $15,000 scholarship, plus mentoring, internship opportunities, networking and more throughout their college career. In addition, the retailer launched the Sprite Zero Sugar x Target HBCU STEAM Challenge which celebrates students’ creativity, became a founding supporter of PENSOLE Lewis College of Business & Design (the country’s first design-focused HBCU) and hosted a number of activations featuring Black designers and creators.