PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION
Tapping into untapped talent in tech.
In 2008, Salesforce partnered with Year Up United to create an alternative pipeline of entry-level talent as a way to augment their more traditional hiring practices and help keep up with the company’s rapid growth. Salesforce quickly realized that Year Up United interns were a natural fit for the dynamic, innovative environment at Salesforce and could be leveraged throughout the company. Today, Year Up United plays a significant role in Salesforce’s talent sourcing strategy and organizational culture, with Year Up United talent engaging with Salesforce business units across the country. Salesforce continues to scale the partnership and invest in Year Up United talent by sourcing internship positions that are thoughtfully linked to in-demand career pathways and offering professional development opportunities for interns, including onboarding training, workshops, and access to mentors.
Alumni Spotlight: Kim Alejos
"For over 10 years, I have had the honor of sponsoring and hiring many Year Up United interns in the Content Experience department at Salesforce," says Sue Warnke, Senior Director of Content and Communications Experience at Salesforce and a huge champion of the Year Up United program. "These talented young adults, like Kim, have delivered top-notch documentation, training, videos, communications, and user assistance that help our customers successfully use our products. Bottom line: Year Up United provides our team with talented writers who have helped drive customer success."
At Year Up United, Kim specialized in Project Management Support and earned an internship at Salesforce, where she thrived, and was soon identified for hire as an Associate Technical Writer.
Today, Kim continues to grow her career at Salesforce as a Senior Technical Writer and supports the incoming Year Up United interns at the company—an exemplar of Year Up United's "lift while you climb" model.
Year Up United's Corporate Changemakers play a critical role in helping Year Up United close the Opportunity Divide for young adults in this country. Changemakers understand that employers must think differently about who is talented to address pervasive hiring challenges that affect their businesses. These impactful companies have demonstrated their commitment to Year Up United's mission through generous philanthropic contributions that help to create substantive systems change and professional opportunities for talented young adults.