Building Inspiring Careers: A Chat With Judith Rudge ’05
Judith Rudge '05, a former English major, is a talent-acquisition pro who rose up the ranks in household-name corporations like Nike and Comcast and now leads talent acquisition at Inspire Brands. Photo by Dan Loh.
Talent-acquisition pro offers internship, career advice
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Just a year out of college, Judith Rudge ’05 transitioned from working in higher education to the corporate sphere. A few months back, she transitioned again—this time, from one of the world’s pinnacle brands to a nimble global startup. As before, she weighed her options carefully, looking for employer qualities that include transparency, dynamism and commitment to diversity. And then, with full faith in her abilities to learn and adapt, she took the leap.
“You have to believe in yourself,” she said. “Dickinson made me fearless.”
Rudge shared her professional insights and advice during a March 5 “Career Convo” session at the John M. Paz ’78 Alumni & Family Center. It was the second such session sponsored by Dickinson’s Advising, Internships & Career Center at the brand-new Paz Center, which opens officially in May.
“She was in our shoes at one point, so hearing about her success is inspiring,” said Nick Potter ’26 (international business & management), who attended the Career Convo to learn more about possible professional opportunities for students with his interests and academic foci. “It gives you ideas of what you can do after graduation.”
Rudge was an English major and Posse Scholar at Dickinson who ran women’s track and field. Days after her Commencement, she began her career as a Dickinson admissions counselor. She moved on to corporate recruiting, working at household-name corporations that include Comcast and, most recently, Nike, where she was senior director of talent acquisition & management. In December, Rudge moved to Inspire Brands, a restaurant company with a portfolio of more than 32,000 restaurants worldwide (familiar brands Arby’s, Baskin-Robins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy Johns and Sonic among them). She leads Inspire’s global talent acquisition team.
During her March 5 talk at Dickinson, Rudge asked students what they were interested in, discussed possible career paths, explained her work and delivered general career advice.
“The world we live in today is really dynamic. You want to be as agile as possible,” Rudge said. “That’s why companies aren’t looking so much at your exact major. As long as you have the mindset, as long as you are process-driven and get things done, you have what it takes to succeed.”
Rudge spoke to students about potential internships with Inspire during her Career Convo in the John M Paz '78 Alumni & Family Center. Photo by Dan Loh.
Rudge also advocated for multiple, immersive internships that provide opportunities to innovate and outlined internship and employment opportunities at Inspire, where interns give a final presentation to the C-suite, including the CEO. These included opportunities for students in data analytics who may offer ideas on maximizing the success of the first Jimmy Johns restaurant in India, based on available data. Another example: an internship for students fluent in French to assist in Inspire’s work as an exclusive coffee supplier for the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
The Paris internship piqued the interest of Molly Gun ’24 (French & Francophone studies) who’s had several internships related to her creative writing minor and has been eager to find a French-focused opportunity with the company’s summer Olympics team. “I came to this presentation expecting to explore more internships in writing, so I’m excited to learn about this opportunity,” she said.
Tony Trandafir ’24 (law & policy, political science) was interested in a different internship experience, after completing several law-related projects. He decided to throw his hat in the ring too. “I’ve really enjoyed meeting people and making connections through events like these,” said Trandafir, who also attended the first Career Convo in the Paz Center and also the recent Cogan lecture. “It’s great to talk to alumni and learn about different opportunities.”
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published March 7, 2024