Pennymac is the leading financial services firm in the US offering a comprehensive range of mortgage products and services personalized to customers' goals. This customization and purpose-drivenness—which Gen Z looks for from brands—extends into Pennymac’s talent acquisition and development strategy, and is only part of how Pennymac appeals to early talent job seekers.
With 79% of Pennymac’s early talent hires influenced on Handshake, their university recruiting team has been really intentional about solving specific pain points with specific solutions and fully integrating Handshake into their workforce development planning.
Handshake sat down with the Pennymac team—Ian Thompson, FVP, Talent Development; Lisa Pick, VP of Talent Acquisition; and Lauren Di Giovanni, Senior University Recruiter—to learn how Pennymac uses Handshake to scale their campus recruiting, tell their brand story, and drive their strategy with data.
What are the business goals for Pennymac’s early talent programs?
Ian: Our early talent programs support specific business needs; Pennymac has a very clear strategic plan, and our early talent programs exist to support that strategic plan. Every department at the company sees early talent programs as a fantastic way to attract and grow the workforce needed for the future of our business. Because Pennymac’s early talent programs are so well supported, it gives participants a real sense of purpose, meaning, and impact.
We use Handshake to illustrate that vision and purpose, mainly through info sessions and events: we clearly articulate the program to potential candidates, communicating which departments they could work in, examples of the skills they can learn, and what opportunities could exist for them in the future.
What is a recruiting pain for your small team, and how are you solving for it?
Lisa: In the past, it was a challenge to build your brand and create awareness in the market, but Handshake has made that so much easier. We now have access to a system that can directly message jobs to target students at target schools. We can also build brand awareness via our Company Brand Page. We utilize the vast amount of data available to us via Handshake to the fullest and they help us fine tune our strategy every year.
Pennymac has seen a 122% increase in Company Brand Page views on Handshake year over year.
What are some key results that your team has used Handshake to achieve?
Lisa: We’re all about gathering and using data, so we use Handshake Insights data reports to learn how effectively we're recruiting. For example, we can really get granular on who is applying, which messages are being opened, which schools see higher levels of engagement, and the effectiveness of our campaigns.
Year over year, Pennymac increased applications across underrepresented groups, including a 52% increase in women applicants.
We’re a small but mighty team but the volume of effective job marketing that Handshake allows us to accomplish is incredible. If a hiring manager wants specific qualifications, we can enter all the pertinent information into the tool and then target via Handshake.
How do you provide consistent touch points throughout the candidate experience? What would you say are big drivers for converting candidates and standing out to students and new grads?
Lauren: We drive applicants to roles with Campaigns that we send to Segments of students. I set up a follow up message for 2 weeks later to remind them to apply. Even when I get DMs from students, I always respond to acknowledge their message and build that relationship and touchpoint. Once they apply, we keep them updated on next steps so they’re not messaging us with questions.
For the rotational program, students who accept offers don’t start for months so we keep engagement up with touchpoints each month, like virtual engagement sessions to learn about the team or benefits info. This increases retention by the time they start. Building relationships is a key driver to convert to full-time hires.
How do you scale campus recruitment across a team of your size?
Lauren: When we're looking at which career fairs to attend, the ones closest to our offices are most feasible but then we look at: do we have alumni from those schools who could come with us? This adds an additional touchpoint; an alum can message students at those schools to drive traction, and students can build a relationship with someone other than the recruiter for peer to peer support. We message drive potential applicants to invite them to attend webinars, expose them to our culture and programs, and we always follow up with CTA to apply.
Pennymac increased event RSVPs and attendees by 119% through proactive promotion using Campaigns.
What skills do you look for in early talent candidates?
Ian: When you’re a student or new grad with a resume, how do you differentiate yourself other than your degree? We look for critical thinking and analytical skills, effective communication, the ability for a candidate to build rapport and influence others. Do you demonstrate drive, grit and determination? Those are such important soft skills. We also look for digital literacy, and AI skills which are becoming more important.
What’s been a big win for your early talent program?
Lauren: We are open and transparent in terms of timelines, compensation, and growth opportunity, and we have received excellent feedback on the experience of participants in our programs. We’ve conducted informal student surveys asking for candidates’ opinions if we're thinking of making tweaks to our program. We usually do this in July as we start our fall planning. And we’ve taken their feedback literally and actually shifted plans as a result of those student surveys.
Lisa: We are proud of our recruitment process, both in terms of how we’re able to strategize using data, but also in terms of providing a positive candidate experience. We have seen incredible success in our early talent programs.
In 2023-2024 Pennymac used Handshake Talent Engagement Suite + Insights, Advocates + Events + Expert Assist to target, connect with, and engage candidates—converting to 134 hires across full-time, intern, and rotational programs.
Pennymac is building a workforce for the future
Pennymac’s university recruiting team has worked hard to integrate Handshake into everything they do, and have earned the results to prove it. Lisa, Ian, and Lauren are shaping the next generation of professionals who will drive innovation, adapt to changing market demands, and make an impact at Pennymac.