Work with The Home Depot’s internal departments to gain market research skills, experiential learning, and networking opportunities.
The Home Depot has launched its Historically Black College & Universities externships under the Retool Your School program in partnership with its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team. Internal departments will provide HBCU students an opportunity to work on an actual organizational challenge faced by The Home Depot. Externs will conduct a detailed analysis of their assigned project and suggest best practices, actionable insights, and thoughtful strategic solutions for The Home Depot.
We are seeking ambitious sophomores, juniors, and seniors from accredited HBCUs with a strong interest in exploring business strategy and market research. We are interested in students that want to learn to collect data to build effective growth strategies that could impact the organization.
Shape The Home Depot’s brand strategy to reach the next generation of home buyers and enthusiasts.
Build your industry research skills with HD Ventures by analyzing companies disrupting home improvement.
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Craft best-in-class store experiences to enhance The Home Depot’s appeal to Millennial and GenZ consumers.
After sending in your application, we'll reach out if we think you're a good fit. You'll send in a "Get to Know You" video and then participate in a live interview.
During the first week of the program, you'll be setting goals for what you want to achieve in the upcoming weeks and familiarizing yourself with the industry, our platform, and your cohort.
During the regular programming of the Externship, you will receive training and complete projects through our student platform. These exciting weeks are filled with weekly meetings, company meetings, student-led workshops, and virtual events like speaker series and networking sessions.
Top students will be selected to present their projects and findings to company leads and other senior leadership.
We partner with leading brands to curate six to eight week programs designed for student success. By dedicating 10 hours a week, you’ll receive training, work on real problems, and network with professionals — all from the comfort of your own home.
View All ExternshipsAt The Home Depot, we are committed to advancing education for all. We proudly support HBCUs and recognize the incredibly talented students these colleges and universities prepare and graduate into the workforce. That is why we strive to give back to HBCUs what they have so generously given their communities: a strong foundation, renewed purpose, and distinctive character. We have a longstanding partnership with HBCUs, dating back to 2009. The Home Depot Retool Your School program has been Powered by Purpose for thirteen years, committed to uplifting HBCUs through campus improvement grants. Through the remote externships, we are proud to be expanding our Retool Your School program to support HBCUs in additional ways beyond campus improvement grants. We are proud to now provide individual student career development opportunities to prepare students for the workforce with the necessary skills for success.
“My favorite part about working with The Home Depot was the feedback I was able to receive from the executives at The Home Depot. They were honest but empathetic. The expectation was excellence but it was communicated with grace. Being in those meetings proved to be paramount in learning how to receive feedback and the implementation of said feedback.”
“My externship opportunity with The Home Depot was my first experience working with a company. This was the first company that gave me a chance, and I was able to walk about with confidence and intelligence. My biggest takeaways were the importance of time management and how imperative it is in the real world. My favorite part of my externship was receiving mentorship and assistance from the Home Depot case managers.”
“This externship helped me get a better understanding of Fortune 500 loyalty programs. I was able to gain skills such as analytical skills, trends analysis and even consulting. My favorite parts of the program were the supportive managers, a flexible schedule and working with other students in the Atlanta University Center. As an individual interested in corporate law, the program gave me a lot of insights in the corporate world.”
"As someone interested in the business industry but still unclear about the sector I want to pursue, I was excited to participate in The Paragon One Home Depot Business Externship Program. I gained valuable insights into the business sector and built meaningful relationships with my managers and cohort. I also gained knowledge and skills in business marketing that I can transfer to my future career."
Paragon One co-creates externship experiences with each hosting company – the outcomes, the training, the meeting agendas – it’s carefully crafted by both companies. The Paragon One team will manage your Weekly Meetings, Company Meetings, and additional support and feedback.
All externships take 10-15 hours each week to be successful in the program. This encompasses the time spent learning and completing training, researching, and attending meetings. All externships are 6-8 weeks long. Be sure to check each program for its duration.
Like in professional roles, all your interactions with a company are networking. Networking is about building relationships and trust. Each Company Meeting is an opportunity to impress them and increase their perception of you as an extern. After you complete the program, we compile all the information about you and your work and share it with Host Companies so they can review students and reach out, respectively. Top students get additional opportunities to present their work and have follow-up discussions with company leads.
Yes, you can. Remember that credit-bearing policies vary from institution to institution, so while we can support you to receive credit, you will want to check with your advisor or dean for approval first.
