| Topic Name: |
ECLP vs. FMP |
| Message Name: |
RE: ECLP 2 |
| Date Posted: |
03/09/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
I will try to answer both subliminal and mn1??s questions. First and foremost you must remember that this is a rotational program through a huge company. Even though you will be assigned to do your rotations through 1 of GE??s 6 business units, each one of those units is itself enormous. The rotations and the rotation descriptions change with the changing business needs of each unit, so the rotations that I had available to me will not necessarily be the same as the ones available to you. This is neither good or bad, it??s just how it is. Because of the size of the company and fluctuations of the assignments, the type of work that you will be doing; the size and the scopes of the projects you will be working on; and, dare I say, the ??managerial quality?? of the people you will work for will be different across each business and in each rotation. That being said, this is a sales & marketing program so your rotations will fall somewhere in that realm. Some of the businesses have more advanced marketing functions than others (for example consumer finance??s marketing department is much more sophisticated than commercial finance??s) meaning that some of the projects have the potential to be more impactful than they might be in commercial finance. On the marketing side your responsibilities could range anywhere from heading an NPI team to providing market analysis to building marketing plans around an existing campaign. On the sales side your responsibilities could range from providing sales support on anything from selling airtime on Telemundo, to jet engines to DIP loans ?? it totally depends on the business. You will have the potential to influence your rotations through a bidding system, based on rotation descriptions you get before hand. You will learn from the class before you which ones are in demand and which ones to avoid (because of job scope, assignment leader or location). You can also try and create your own next rotation by contacting groups and people you would like to work for and pitching your services to them ahead of time ?? but this is harder. As for formal development ?? there is a ton. There is probably 6-7 weeks of marketing, sales, leadership, pricing and quality training throughout the 2-year program. Most of this is classroom based either at Crotonville or at another location, and some of it is online. There is also business specific training during each rotation. As for financial and career gains ?? the program does help you out, but you won??t be running a business 2 years off program, that should be clear. In all honesty the types of positions available off program differ among the businesses. The industrial businesses, which are less sexy and pay a bit less off program have less MBA level talent and therefore there is the potential to roll off into a higher position from a VP up to (on rare occasions) a Regional Manager (on the sales side) if you wow them. On the finance side, where there are more MBA??s and where depth within that financial niche is more important, your opportunities to roll off are probably capped at the associate or AVP level ?? but the pay is better for a person at that level than it is on the industrial side. All in all, having a GE management-training program on your resume helps you out in the long run very much, both internally and externally. Additionally, the network of contacts you build throughout GE because of this program is not to be rivaled by any other GE management program and is extremely valuable in a long term GE career. |
| Message: |
Finally to Subliminal??s question as to the unknown. If you want absolute certainty this is not the program for you. You need to be flexible in both location and rotation, as you might not get your first choice for each rotation (although all in all people usually get their 2nd if not their first). And, you won??t know where you will be living for certain or what business you will be working for until about 2 months before your next rotation. (While there have been instances of ECLP??s not having to change geographic locations ?? especially in the finance segment, this happens only maybe 10% of the time.) And finally when you rotate through a business you want to return to for your 4th rotation and off program, you have to prove yourself even more, so that they ask you back. I won??t lie, it IS challenging and stressful, and it??s not for everybody. Lots of people do it with kids (or have kids along the way). The upside is, if you don??t end up in the business you want (which happens on the rare occasion), and you decide to leave the company, the GE management-training program on your resume makes you EXTREMELY marketable externally. Hope this helps.
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