‘Our Goal Is a 100% Hire Rate’ — A Conversation about the Corporate Fellowship at Wells Fargo Advisors

In August 2019, Wells Fargo Advisors welcomed 22 fellows. This is the largest group of fellows for a corporation’s first cohort in Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program’s history.

Listen in as Diane Gabriel, head of Next Generation Talent at Wells Fargo Advisors, explains the behind-the-scenes preparation that went into making this fellowship experience a successful one for both Wells Fargo and its fellows.

Top Takeaways from “Our Goal Is a 100% Hire Rate:”

1. Nearly 60 senior leaders at Wells Fargo Advisors worked together to develop the curriculum for this fellowship program.

“If you want to make this a fantastic experience, you need to think about what is that experience going to be like every single day. Our goal is a 100% hire rate. That takes a lot of dedication and effort, but it’s well worth it, in my opinion.” – Diane Gabriel, head of Next Generation Talent at Wells Fargo Advisors

2. The Wells Fargo fellows had two different learning track options for the 12-week program. One track focused on a client-facing curriculum while the other track focused on a service and support curriculum.

“But we keep telling them that we want them to learn as much as possible about all the opportunities so that when they are ready to apply, they can apply across a number of different disciplines, regardless of which track they choose.” – Diane Gabriel, head of Next Generation Talent at Wells Fargo Advisors

3. The fellows attended networking opportunities with business leaders, operating committee leaders, and hiring managers. Each one was also connected with a recruiter.

“We want to make sure that we gave them the resources that they needed to ensure that their resumes were corporate ready.” – Diane Gabriel, head of Next Generation Talent at Wells Fargo Advisors

4. By pairing each fellow with a recruiter, the transitioning service member has a point of contact at Wells Fargo to help them navigate the hiring process at the conclusion of their fellowship.

“This includes helping them highlight their stellar military record to make sure that (their military experience) jumps out on a corporate resume.” – Diane Gabriel, head of Next Generation Talent at Wells Fargo Advisors

5. Wells Fargo Advisors has committed to hiring 20,000 team members who are veterans. Currently, there are 8,500 veterans working there and more than 50% of the veteran team members have been with the company for five or more years.

“We feel that the fellowship creates a strong pipeline of military veterans to our business. And keep in mind that Wells Fargo is a corporation that has 80 different businesses, so our vision would be that hundreds of fellows would be working for 80 different businesses across the country and we would really be able to have a meaningful impact on that 20,000 number.”– Diane Gabriel, head of Next Generation Talent at Wells Fargo Advisors