Commercial real estate firm JLL believes offering a comprehensive variety of early career candidate engagement programs is critical to cultivating a diverse pipeline of talent and driving conversion to internship or full-time hire. That’s why the organization created three early career development programs:
- Internship Program
- Achieve Conference
- Ambitions Fellowship Program
In 2021 alone, 448 students engaged through early career development programs.
Program Details
For the Internship Program, 347 interns from across academic disciplines, in both the U.S. and Canada, took part in a 10-week program. During this time, they reported directly to managers in the business and completed various projects related to strategic business objectives.
The program included a kickoff, multiple panel discussions with leaders from across the business, HBDI assessment and interpretation workshop, and instructor-led offerings around personal excellence and inspired storytelling. The program facilitators also held nine office hours for interns to pop in and ask questions throughout the program. A collection of other open-enrollment courses, along with LinkedIn Learning content, was compiled to create an intern-specific playlist. Some examples included: JLL 101, Excel Skills, and Digital Body Language.
For the Achieve Conference, 66 early ID students (freshmen and sophomores) from multiple universities took part in three days (six hours) of live virtual sessions and had 30 days of access to JLL’s LinkedIn Learning content library. This inaugural conference aimed to educate undergraduate students about the commercial real estate (CRE) industry, grow their professional development, and network with JLL. Achieve bridges the gap in interest to JLL and creates a pipeline of diverse talent for the summer internship program or full-time positions. Program offerings included: JLL Introduction, Thinking Styles, Industry Trends Panel, Personal Excellence, Future Trends Panel, and Interview Secrets.
Some 42 students from across Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) actively participated in the Ambitions Fellowship Program over the course of five days. The virtual leadership program conducted in partnership with the HBCU Business Dean Roundtable organization aimed to educate undergraduate HBCU students on commercial real estate and career opportunities within JLL and equip them with skill sets to succeed in the workforce. The program included: a CRE overview, personal branding, storytelling, and mock interviews.
Results
As of August 2021, some 27 percent of interns had already converted to full-time, part-time, internship extensions, or commitment to a 2022 internship program at JLL.
Prior to attending the Achieve Conference, 55 percent of attendees had interest in JLL. After attending, 96 percent expressed interest and 100 percent said they want to pursue an internship or full-time position with JLL. Some 60 percent of the JLL Ambitions Fellowship Program participants are continuing to engage with the firm through mentor programs, internships, and full-time roles.
