Walmart Targets College Students With Promise of $200,000 Salaries as Shares Plummet Over 11% The retailer will launch its new College2Career program this summer.
By Emily Rella Edited by Amanda Breen
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Landing a job right after college can be a stress-inducing experience for new grads, to say the least.
From countless interviews and applications to choosing what city to live in to figuring out the starting salary, the process can seem daunting and difficult.
Leave it to Walmart to try to find a way to alleviate all of these issues with its new College2Career program, complete with a very competitive salary.
The new initiative, set to launch this summer, will place recent college graduates (or students set to graduate within a 12-month period) in a training program that will set them up for managerial positions in stores.
"Participants go through a comprehensive mix of classroom training, hands-on experience and one-on-one mentoring with company leaders as they learn the ins and outs of Walmart and train to be a salaried member of management at a local store," Walmart's Senior Vice President of Global Talent and Workforce Strategy Amy Goldfinger and Senior Vice President of Learning and Leadership Lorraine Stomski, explained in a statement. "At the end of the program, top performers are offered the newly-created management job of emerging coach – with a starting wage of at least $65,000 a year."
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Participants can begin the program immediately upon graduation.
The company outlined that the "emerging coach" position is meant to be a stepping stone for the aforementioned manager position, which racks up an average salary of around $210,000.
College students who are not within the 12-month graduation period will also have the opportunity to take part in Walmart's Home Office internship program, which the company estimates will grow by 30% in 2022.
"Projects are designed to align to specific skill sets and interests, allowing interns to make an impact on the company, our customers, members and associates," Goldfinger and Stomski said. "Interns can also connect with senior leaders and build relationships. The goal is to have the majority of these interns transition to full-time roles at Walmart after they graduate."
The retailer reported less-than-stellar Q1 2022 earnings on Tuesday after estimates missed due to inflation and shortages, skyrocketing the prices of food and fuel.
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"Bottom-line results were unexpected and reflect the unusual environment," Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillion said in a company statement. "U.S. inflation levels, particularly in food and fuel, created more pressure on margin mix and operating costs than we expected. We're adjusting and will balance the needs of our customers for value with the need to deliver profit growth for our future."
Still, the company saw a 2.4% quarterly increase in revenue, coming in at a solid $141.6 billion.
The mixed news was worrisome for investors, however, as Walmart stock plummeted over 11% on Tuesday before market close.
