Apply for Abode's first-ever Early-Career Engagement Awards. Learn More
Abode is proud to recognize The J.M. Smucker Co. for excellence in crafting intentional keep-warm strategies, building community, fostering mentorship, and successfully converting interns to full-time roles. There is a significant amount of effort and intention that takes place between candidates accepting an offer and showing up on their first day. In their application, The J.M. Smucker Co. demonstrated how hard work and strategy benefits the individuals joining their program. Below, you’ll find the highlights of their early-career engagement strategy from their standout application.
Abode is proud to recognize The J.M. Smucker Co. for their strong approach to early-career engagement.
Read what this organization had to say about their winning strategies.
“Our team hosts an Intern Welcome Call each December following the conclusion of our fall recruiting season. This event serves as an early touchpoint to connect with incoming interns, provide an overview of the summer internship experience—including key expectations—and create space for meaningful networking. By engaging months in advance, interns have the opportunity to begin building relationships with their peers before officially joining the organization, fostering a stronger sense of connection and community from day one.”
“Our Emerging Talent team delivers a robust series of professional development and networking experiences throughout the internship program. These offerings include employee panels, interactive icebreakers, hands-on taste panels, and targeted development sessions such as LinkedIn optimization, Elevator Pitch coaching, and an Imposter Syndrome workshop. In addition, each function organizes its own intern-specific networking event or outing (i.e., go-karting, mini-golf), creating more personalized touchpoints. Importantly, connection-building begins even before the summer starts—interns are encouraged to engage with peers within their function and with those attending the same university, helping to establish early relationships that carry into the program and enhance the overall intern experience.“
“Each intern is thoughtfully paired with a mentor prior to the start of the summer program. Mentors are typically early-career professionals—many of whom are former interns themselves—bringing relatable perspective and experience. Pairings are made based on both the intern’s functional area and their expressed interests across the organization, helping to create meaningful and relevant connections. To set mentors up for success, we provide an Intern Mentor Guide ahead of the summer that outlines expectations, recommended engagement cadence, and ideas for impactful interactions. Beyond their formal mentor relationship, interns are also encouraged to schedule coffee chats throughout the summer. These informal conversations offer valuable opportunities to build organic connections, expand their network, and identify additional mentors across the organization.”
This organization had one of the top internship to full-time conversion rates among their peers.
“Our internship program is designed to provide a meaningful opportunity for interns to learn, grow, and lead throughout their experience. A cornerstone of the program is the opportunity to work on real, business-critical projects that deliver tangible impact—often helping to save the company time, money, and resources. These hands-on experiences give interns an authentic view of what it’s like to contribute as a full-time employee, which plays a significant role in our strong intern-to-full-time conversion rates.
In addition to project work, interns are intentionally integrated into the organization and encouraged to build relationships across all levels (even with our leadership team). They have the opportunity to network with both employees and senior leaders and are treated as valued contributors and peers throughout their time with us. Many interns also choose to engage with our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), participating in events and initiatives that deepen their sense of connection and belonging. Together, these experiences—impactful work, meaningful relationships, and exposure to our culture and benefits—provide interns with a well-rounded view of life at our company and are key drivers in their decision to return as full-time employees.”
