Launch Your Career with Hormel Foods Internship Programs

Hormel Foods Corporation, a Fortune 500 global branded food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, offers a range of internship programs designed to provide college students with invaluable real-world experience. With annual revenues exceeding $12 billion across more than 80 countries, Hormel Foods boasts a diverse portfolio of beloved brands, including Planters®, Skippy®, SPAM®, Hormel® Natural Choice®, Applegate®, Justin’s®, Wholly®, Hormel® Black Label®, Columbus®, and Jennie-O®, among others. Recognized as one of America's most responsible companies by Newsweek and TIME magazine as one of the World’s Best Companies, Hormel Foods is committed to corporate responsibility and community service. The company lives by its purpose statement - Inspired People.

Why Choose a Hormel Foods Internship?

Completing an internship at Hormel Foods could be the best career decision you’ll ever make. The experience-based internship program is designed with your growth in mind, providing meaningful work with iconic brands and developing your professional skills. As an intern, you’ll apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to real-life work situations. The likelihood of you later accepting a full-time job with benefits is high. On average, 70% of Hormel Foods interns become full-time team members at the company!

Hands-On Experience and Competitive Wages

Hormel Foods internships provide hands-on experience and competitive wages, allowing interns to earn while they learn. These internships offer a chance to make connections that could lead to a job after graduation.

Locations and Duration

Internships may be located at the corporate office in Austin, Minn., or at one of the manufacturing plants or sales offices around the United States. Hormel Foods offers 3-month summer internships. Expect your internship to be primarily on-site.

Compensation and Housing

This is a paid internship program. Wages vary by position and are included in job postings. Austin, MN-based interns are provided housing for the duration of their internship. Housing may be an apartment-style dorm on the local community college campus OR a local apartment. The cost of this is covered by Hormel Foods. In most cases, interns are provided their own room within the apartment, but the apartment is typically shared with 2-4 other interns. Plant and sales office interns based outside of Austin, MN will be provided a one-time lump sum prior to your start date. The actual amount varies by location.

Training and Development

Hormel Foods wants to help all our team members grow and achieve their professional goals. Your supervisor trains and coaches you on job specific responsibilities and projects. Near the end of the summer, all interns are brought together for a week of celebration at the corporate headquarters in Austin, Minn. The week is a mix of networking, fun, and appreciation, and interns are able to showcase their learning through presenting their capstone projects to senior leadership.

Potential for Full-Time Employment

Upon successful completion of your internship, you may receive an offer for permanent employment. Open positions for entry-level careers vary depending on the business needs of Hormel Foods at the current time. Whether you’re looking for an internship or your first job out of college, our early career opportunities have you covered.

Internship Opportunities

Hormel Foods internship programs span various departments, offering diverse experiences. Talented students are immersed in real business scenarios across all functional groups of the company, including sales, food science, engineering and marketing.

Brand Management Marketing

Interns will gain real-world experience in Brand Management Marketing, developing and executing marketing plans. Will work with the Brand Fuel Consumer Insights team on category and brand assignments to develop consumer engagement plans.

Engineering and Operations

Interns will work in various departments and throughout the plant to identify opportunities for improvements by performing ergonomic job surveys, analyzing operations, reviewing job loads, and making recommendations. They will identify improvements to work methods by reviewing the methods and analyzing potential method/design changes, analyze operations and create AutoCAD layouts, evaluate downtimes and methods to increase efficiency, and review production processes against the current Process Specification Summary. Additionally, they may assist Production Supervisors with information gathering to optimize performance and document job descriptions for key positions, identifying major accountabilities.

Production Supervision

Interns may assist with the supervision of a staff of approximately 15-30 employees.

Poultry Management

Interns will gain real-world experience in poultry management, including daily management of a poultry flock where you’ll analyze capital and labor expenses to ensure flock costs are met.

Food Safety & Quality

Interns will gain real-world experience in the successful manufacturing of food products by performing the duties of their full-time Food Safety & Quality counterparts.

How to Apply

Internship opportunities are posted in the fall at the start of the academic year for the following summer. Teams from Hormel Foods visit universities across the country during the fall and spring semesters to find top talent to join the organization.

A Launchpad to a Rewarding Career

Hormel Foods has consistently been recognized for hosting one of the best internship programs in the nation by Vault, a leader in career research, exploration and discovery for professionals and students. In 2024, the company's internship program was honored with a category award, named among the country's "Best Internships for Engineering, Sales, Marketing and Communications."

Read also: Schreiber Foods Career Launch

An internship with Hormel Foods isn’t your typical summer job. In fact, the majority of these talented collegiates, who will hone their skills on everything from sales and food science to engineering and marketing, will very likely receive a full-time job offer to join the Fortune 500 global branded food company.

Hormel Foods: An Award-Winning Employer

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters®, Skippy®, SPAM®, Hormel® Natural Choice®, Applegate®, Justin’s®, Wholly®, Hormel® Black Label®, Columbus®, Jennie-O® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of “The 100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for multiple years, recognized on Fast Company’s list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators, received a perfect score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement - Inspired People.

Recognition and Awards

Austin, Minn. Hormel Foods Corporation, a Fortune 500 global branded food company, was once again recognized by Vault as having one of the top 150 internship programs in the country. “We are honored to be recognized among the top 150 best internship programs in the nation,” said Amy Sheehan, director of talent acquisition at Hormel Foods. “This year, we had the privilege of welcoming nearly 100 college students into our program. At Hormel Foods, our focus is on providing an inclusive and meaningful experience for every intern. “We typically convert 70% of our interns into full-time team members,” said Makinna Lee, manager of talent acquisition at Hormel Foods.

tags: #hormel #foods #internship #programs