Recognized for Excellence
Textron received a Campus Forward Award for Excellence in Recruitment Strategies, Tech Innovation, DE&I, and Internship Programming.
This reflects Textron's unwavering excellence and commitment to providing the best experience for the next generation of talent. Textron invests in multi-faceted recruitment strategies, innovative technology, inclusive recruitment practices, and standout internship programs. See below for the highlights of their strategies in each one of these categories.
Excellence in Recruitment Strategies
The university recruiting team at Textron aims to “unlock tomorrow’s talent today” through propelling brand recognition and targeting students whose skills and aspirations align with their organizational needs for opportunities across Textron’s Business Units. Textron’s recruiting efforts concentrates on a select pool of universities, including HBCUs. These efforts consist primarily of in-person events, including career fairs, classroom lectures, DEI panels, informational sessions, company-branded events (Textron Days), and more. Textron utilizes virtual recruiting platforms as an extension of their strategy and to foster additional candidate touchpoints. Textron places the candidate's experience at the forefront of recruitment through various interview preparation and onboarding resources. The recruiting team’s main goal is for each candidate to feel confident and supported in their decision to join Textron’s diverse workforce.
Excellence in Tech Innovation
At Textron, the University Relations teams manage over 900 interns annually, matching them to returning internships or entry-level roles within the organization. This matching process occurs within a condensed 2–3-week period to ensure interns receive a return offer by the last day of their internship. To aid this process, the Textron team developed a machine learning tool to match interns with repeat internships or entry-level roles. This implementation significantly reduced the time spent on the intern matching process by over 50%. The tool leverages advanced technologies, including their ATS, and incorporates survey inputs from interns, intern managers, and hiring managers to enhance matching accuracy. Additionally, the tool provides a visual interface that increases the visibility of roles to recruiters across the organization. As a result, Textron successfully matched approximately 800 interns to returning roles with less intervention from the University Relations team.
Excellence in DE&I
Textron’s D&I initiatives focus on building a diverse and inclusive talent pipeline while fostering a workplace where all employees feel supported and valued. Textron actively recruits at three HBCUs, cultivating strong relationships to engage with talented students. The company also partners with student organizations such as SASE, NSBE, and SWE to broaden outreach to diverse audiences. To retain underrepresented entry-level employees, Textron emphasizes an inclusive culture through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which offer mentorship, networking opportunities, and a sense of community. These efforts underscore Textron’s commitment to attracting, supporting, and retaining diverse talent throughout their early careers.
Excellence in Internship Programming
Textron’s internship program stands out as a transformative experience for early career talent. The company fosters relationship building, soft skill development, and technical proficiency by offering interns a thorough orientation, opportunities to network with executives, and engaging projects. Interns at Textron gain unique insights into each Business Unit through an enterprise exploration series before applying for return roles. Textron fosters a community mindset, actively connecting interns with teams that align with their career aspirations. Serving as a pipeline for entry-level hiring, the program ensures a seamless transition by offering return roles to all recommended interns. Textron proudly anticipates a 68% return rate for the talented individuals in the 2024 internship cohort, underscoring the program’s lasting impact on professional development.
