Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

In a year of virtual recruitment, the University Relations team knew creativity would be key in keeping candidate engagement high and ensuring students could make meaningful connections with recruiters while balancing pandemic burnout and Zoom fatigue. The team planned a diverse set of virtual events for students across the country, including company info sessions, resume-building workshops and Q&A panels. In addition, Grainger engaged the networks of former interns, recent hires and school leads within the business to build strong on-campus relationships.

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

Grainger's University Relations team knows that creating an inviting, informative and efficient candidate experience is essential to attract top talent. That's why they go above and beyond to ensure students have the best experience with Grainger from the start of their application to their very first day. The Grainger team creates an exceptional candidate experience by communicating frequently to clarify process and timeline expectations and to provide interviewing best practices. During the interview process, interviewers share personal insights about company culture to give candidates a clear picture of life at Grainger. To ensure a consistent experience, Grainger solicits feedback from every candidate through a digital survey with results directly informing enhancements to future application cycles.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

Bringing diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences together across our team is key to Grainger's success. The University Relations team is passionate about engaging with diverse student populations across the country. To recruit a diverse slate of candidates, the team has forged new relationships with HBCUs and HSIs, built strong partnerships with student organizations and created diversity-focused partnerships with national organizations, including Thurgood Marshall College Fund, National Sales Network, Prospanica, Recruit Military and more. Grainger's nine business resource groups offer interns and new grads from underrepresented backgrounds specialized support and a heightened sense of community.