My Fantastic Talent Acquisition Analyst Internship

Having the opportunity to Intern for a company such as Riviera Advisors has opened my eyes to the world of Talent Acquisition. Throughout my college career, I had a keen interest in Human Resources, but the vastness of the profession was something I struggled with. I was interested in many facets of Human Resources, from compensation & benefits, compliance, People Ops, and of course, Talent Acquisition. During my time at Riviera Advisors, I’ve gotten an in-depth look at how world-class Talent Acquisition teams are built, maintained, and optimized for success.

At Riviera Advisors, I’ve been able to analyze and present data to top-ranking Executives and HR Leaders in various Fortune 500 companies. I’ve provided my insights and suggestions on how to optimize Talent Acquisition teams for long-lasting success better. One of my favorite and most rewarding projects at Riviera was with Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health (A comprehensive private university along with an extensive healthcare system with 14 hospitals in the Philadelphia area). Within this project, I was able to analyze all of Jefferson’s hiring data and find patterns in ways they can improve their TA structure. I had the opportunity to present my findings to the Jefferson steering committee, and the Riviera Advisors advised them on how they could implement some of the suggestions based on findings identified during my research. I also was able to assist Riviera’s team in optimizing the conclusions and recommendations for Jefferson. We concluded this project by taking a trip to Philadelphia and presenting this to Jefferson’s entire TA team. Opportunities like these are what set this internship apart from any other. Showcasing my skills and abilities to established HR professionals is an invaluable experience. Throughout my time, I’ve been able to grow my network of HR professionals, which has helped me get my foot in the door of other organizations for future opportunities.

During my internship, I was fortunate enough to be able to work alongside Riviera’s talented team of consultants, all of which have their niche and expertise in different industries and areas of Recruiting. They are well established and well connected with many large global organizations. The Riviera team took me under their wing, mentored me throughout my internship, and taught me the potential I have within Human Resources. I am grateful for the guidance and mentoring from all of the Riviera team, and I’m excited to be able to pass the torch to our next Intern.

Shifting Back to Reality

Coming into this internship, the world was in a very uncertain state. Covid restrictions were easing, but new variants seemed to pop up every other week. Because of this, I could genuinely get a hybrid experience during my time at Riviera. Starting off my internship, everything was virtual; we would have training academies with recruiters across the globe who would join us on Zoom for a few hours every day. This allowed me to become an expert in Microsoft Outlook because, in this role, I was responsible for all of the invitations and schedule changes for every training cohort. I also served as our Virtual Training Producer on Zoom, which allowed me to learn how to properly conduct interactive and fun Zoom training sessions. This, while hectic, was an invaluable learning experience as I am now highly fluent in almost all aspects of Outlook and Zoom. Another bright side of conducting virtual training was networking with recruiters across the globe. Seeing how Talent Acquisition functions differently in China, Mexico, Brazil, etc., was an eye-opening experience and certainly is something I could not gain at any other internship.

As restrictions continued to ease, Riviera slowly transitioned back to in-person training, events, etc., and I was able to attend some fantastic in-person events. One of which would be the SHRM Talent conference in Denver, where I was fortunate enough to assist in all of the speaker sessions by our Riviera Advisors team, Tara, Jeremy, and John. The SHRM Talent conference was a fantastic experience where I could network with some of HR’s brightest thought leaders. I could make some great connections and sit in some excellent sessions, which I can leverage throughout my career. I was able to network with various HR-oriented tech companies that can make life in recruiting much more manageable. Along with the SHRM Talent conference, I was also able to help facilitate training in-person at client sites with the Riviera team. This allowed me to gain a different perspective of our training and how knowledge-packed they are. Through all the training academies I’ve been able to facilitate, I’ve been able to learn some fantastic techniques and skills as a recruiter, such as advanced sourcing techniques, outlook optimization, relationship management, and how to be seen as an expert in the labor market, and so much more.

Seeing what companies need in recruiters is something I can bring with me to any company down the road. With this internship, I’ve been able to get a wide variety of industry knowledge, from tech start-ups to multinational pharmaceutical and consumer products organizations and everything in between. I look forward to leveraging this knowledge throughout my career to build successful TA teams. One area Riviera has taught me in-depth about would be how vital Candidate Experience is. In the later stages of my internship, I saw poor candidate experience firsthand. I was approached by a mid-sized Pharmaceutical Company headquartered in Seal Beach, California. I was treated like a star candidate and fast-tracked through the interview process because of my previous experience. After meeting with everyone in the organization, I was left in the dark for about a month. I tried multiple times to contact the organization that month but was ultimately ghosted by this company. This would be a prime example of a bad candidate experience and something I would see as a huge red flag as an HR Professional.

Wrapping up my internship, I got a chance to do some campus recruiting myself. I visited many student clubs and organizations to attract potential new intern candidates for Riviera to replace me when I graduate eventually. We hosted an Information Session with the Human Resource Management Association (HRMA) at California State University, Long Beach, where I discussed all the internship offers in detail. Overall, having this hybrid experience with Riviera has been one of the most fulfilling and insightful experiences I’ve had. This internship is packed with a lifetime of knowledge. It will equip university students interested in a Talent Acquisition career with skills they can use throughout their professional careers.