Most colleges and universities have a careers portal where students can search for job postings, and this will be their first stop in looking for an internship.  

Developing relationships with local college career centers and their employees will help you source a broader group of viable intern applicants; college faculty and staff are more likely to recommend students for internships that they’re familiar with and trust.  Visit this list to see which, if any, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are near you.  Visit this list to see which, if any, Hispanic Serving Institutions are near you.  Finally, visit this list to find about the most diverse universities according to U.S. News.  

College athletics could also be a great starting place. Most colleges and universities have coaches' emails on their school website. A note to the coach explaining our internship and asking the coaches to forward to their athletes could be helpful. Setting up on the quad of a local university (with permission) could be impactful! 

Check out when campuses are hosting careers fairs either in person or virtual fairs. Look for opportunities to present Fleet Feet to students in person or virtually at different colleges and universities. 

Community outreach lets our local business partners know we are hiring and the best way to refer applicants to us. Reach out to your local Chamber of Commerce or other community-based organizations and leave business cards with the local representative so that they can share with individuals who may be new to the area. Meeting directly with individuals (Directors, HR) at local non-profit organizations such as the local NAACP is a great place to start. The NAACP often has regular committees on education and community development as well as a list of organizations that they partner with which can also be excellent resources. If you know where candidates hang out in your community, get out there and start talking to them! Whether it’s a local event, certain area of town, gym or the local coffee shop, start making connections and passing out your Fleet Feet recruitment cards. Putting all of the information right in front of your potential interns to make sure they know about your organization and will feel welcome and included throughout their internship. 

Recruitment is a team effort! If your team is aware of our recruitment and internship initiatives, they may have connections or know of individuals at colleges, universities, community organizations and more. Keep in mind, this is not a staff referral, but rather, an opportunity to expand our network and connections. Marketing Managers could take or share their knowledge with other team members on how to build community partnerships and relationships. Posting information about the program including a link to the job description on your store website and posting flyers in your store(s) can help spread the word to customers and the local community. 

Recruiting Gen Z means you need to get on their level and join social media. Although some students may already be using LinkedIn, it’s more likely that they’re surfing Facebook and Instagram for potential job openings. Use social media to show how interesting the workplace can be, and they’ll be intrigued to learn more. Engaging language that can be found in the job posting could be a great starting point. Highlighting that this will be a paid internship will help too! Get creative and engage with your current team to bring the internship to life on social channels. Using hashtags like #summerinternship2022 #fleetfeetsummerinternship #paidsummerinternship.

Students searching for an internship may check well-known internship search websites such as Handshake where you can post for free. Although intern-specific websites may be prospective interns first place to look, they’ll likely also review other common job listing sites like Indeed, so make sure job descriptions are well-distributed across multiple platforms. This is an investment into the future of Fleet Feet and is worth the time, money and effort!!

This is another great way to make local or national connections that can serve as pipelines for future recruitment. If your interns are happy and providing a positive learning experience, they’ll let others know.  As we continue to hire interns, you can ask your interns or past interns for future recommendations. 

Consider advertising and attending events sponsored by organizations focused on diversity.  You can also partner with them to create your own Fleet Feet career event either in person or virtually. Building connections and relationships with Black Greek Organizations included in the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) are an excellent opportunity to focus specifically on the black community. You can typically find an email to reach out to the Council secretary, president, or their advisors through the university website. The students who are a part of the organizations that make up the NPHC must already maintain a high GPA standards and show an active interest in extracurriculars. Chapters will frequently share employment opportunities to current, previous, and nearby chapter members so this is a great long-term recruiting resource. Another example includes a non profit organization called INROADs which focuses on creating career pathways for ethnically diverse college students across the country.  It specifically offers a college level internship program in which organizations have the opportunity to be a sponsor and provide internships to their students. Connecting with organizations like this will help in our efforts to diversify our candidate pool and show Fleet Feet's commitment to diversity.

Franchisees - The content on this document is for education and informational purposes only. Should a franchisee decide to act upon any information on this document, they do so at their own risk. Fleet Feet recommends all franchisees consult with an employment attorney when creating/modifying policies, pay practices or other items related to employment.