The People Behind POLARIS: Employee Spotlight – October 2022 Early Talent

Tell us a little bit about the role of the Early Talent team at Polaris?

Polaris has robust internship and early career development programs for college students and recent graduates.  Our team is responsible for recruiting for and leading those programs from first interaction on campus or otherwise, all the way through DP Graduation. Whether we are spending time at career fairs, creating relationships with universities, or actively recruiting, we are constantly promoting the Polaris brand and sharing what makes opportunities with Polaris unique.  What does make Polaris unique? Our products, our people – our values!  Therefore, our goal is to ensure early talent has meaningful experiences, while developing personally and professionally through planful experiences.

Your team is in the middle of fall recruiting craziness for next summer’s intern program. Where has the team been so far and what types of opportunities have you been recruiting for?

We have been crisscrossing campuses with visits, as well as participating in virtual programming! We’ve had stops at Purdue, the University of Minnesota, Michigan Tech…just to name a few. Many universities now have opportunities to interact with students both online and back at school.  This year, more than ever before, we are working directly with an increasing number of student groups from the Society of Women Engineers to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and more.  In terms of roles, we are recruiting for about 150 positions across our Internship and Development Programs, which span a variety of areas: Sales, Marketing, Digital & Informational Technology, Finance, Human Resources, Engineering and Operations.

Some of the students may not be as familiar with Polaris or the powersports industry, how do you bring the brand to life when telling students your Polaris story?

Some students we interact with know and love powersports, others may be less familiar. At the end of the day, our team is focused on the experiences and opportunities that Polaris provides to our interns and employees. No one tells that story better than our own employees, so we intentionally tap on a cross-section of interested employees from the areas we are recruiting to participate in recruitment events and campus visits. Though each campus rep’s story is unique, when a student talks with one of our employees about Polaris, the culture, people, and opportunities to create and innovate are consistent themes that resonate across candidates. It is the most rewarding thing to see a student’s eyes light up when they hear about the adventure they might embark on at Polaris.

What is your #1 tip for young professionals hoping to enter a career at Polaris?

Our advice would be to try something new - join the club, sign-up for the class, take the interview, network now (build a LinkedIn profile)!  You have so many opportunities in college to expand and grow, and those experiences could help you discover a new interest or passion you hadn’t even previously considered.  Almost more importantly, they can inform what you don’t like.  Regardless, they will provide a vast array of experiences for you to learn from and draw from in the future!

What’s the Early Talent Team’s favorite way to #THINKOUTSIDE?

Together! Any opportunity we can get to ride together, we take it. In fact, one of our team’s favorite days are our Intern and Development Program Ride days, where we host those groups for a special day of riding and collaborating.  Nothing this team does can happen without the support and partnership across the organization – from the WOTT Team, to HR Partners, Steering Teams, and intern and DP Coaches – together is the only way we know how to #THINKOUTSIDE!

Looking for Early Talent Opportunities? Click here!