College Students Wanted

Angelique Nelson is a recent college graduate with a job. She was hired as a food service manager with Sodexo’s Currey Ingram Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee, less than a month after graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in event management. Although her mother worked for the company for 25 years, most recently as a general manager at North Carolina Central University, Nelson’s interest was piqued at a college career fair. “The recruiter made me want to pursue it more because of her enthusiasm and interest,” says Nelson. “Once I started doing research and found out [Sodexo’s] mission and values, I just knew this was somewhere I wanted to go.”

Sodexo, one of B.E.’s 40 Best Companies for Diversity, hired 70,000 employees in 2008, 38,000 of them ethnic minorities. The company has been actively recruiting college students and recent graduates like Nelson, 22, for entry-level positions at conferences and job fairs; through employee referrals, online job boards, and minority trade journals; and at 29 colleges and universities, which are networked with various company mentoring programs and its Future Leaders Internship Program.

Sherie Valderrama, senior director for Sodexo’s Talent Acquisition Group, says that the company has been able to

extend its outreach to younger applicants through social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
“Sodexo believes that college hires are the future leaders of our company,” says Cassandra D. Caldwell, Ph.D., director of college and strategic relations. “College graduates bring fresh perspectives to our business lines, which gives us a competitive advantage.”

The food and facilities  services company also has a variety of programs to support the growth and advancement of new hires. At press time, Nelson was halfway through the Come Alive with Sodexo training, which provides new managers with tools and knowledge needed to flourish in their

first year. Other training assistance includes Sodexo University and an Educational Assistance Program that reimburses employees for outside job-related education. Intergenerational Network Group (iGen), is its newest initiative, which provides a learning exchange of work and life issues between different generational groups of employees within the company. The Spirit of Mentoring IMPACT is a formal program that encourages cross-divisional, culturally diverse partnerships; Peer2Peer, which is exclusively for Employee Network Group members, provides professional development; and BRIDGE is a mentoring initiative for employees within Sodexo business lines.

Through Sodexo’s Future Leaders Internship Program, Nelson was assigned a mentor and learned professional skills

such as giving constructive feedback, adhering to company policies and labor laws, and conducting food and safety trainings, which she continues to use. “I feel prepared and ready to do my job,” says Nelson of the internal training and mentoring support. “They are going to tell you when you’re right and help you when you’re wrong. [They] have your best interest and the company at heart.”

Sodexo has nearly 800 management and executive-level positions open throughout the U.S. Visit www.sodexousa.com/usen/careers/careers.asp to learn more about career and networking opportunities. E-mail Internships.USA@sodexo.com for an application for the Sodexo Future Leaders Internship Program.