I Can't Believe 6 Months Have Passed By Already

Mikey B. - 2nd Rotation IMLP - GE AviationI recently completed my first rotation and cannot believe 6 months have passed by already. Looking back, I can see that I have made a great deal of progress within this small period of time.  Coming into GE on the IMLP program, I had very little knowledge about GE Aviation, the IT environment, and the overall business itself.  I struggled, at first, getting a grasp on everything but that is generally expected with new hires into a large company.

During my first rotation, I worked with the Oracle Purchasing, which I previously had no experience working with. By the end of the rotation I had learned enough to help administer the application and train our end users on various purchasing functions.  I am looking forward to continuing into my second rotation and expanding on my knowledge base.

Fortunately, I found support wherever I turned and I recognized everyone at GE was willing to help me out.  I was able to interact with IT leadership and gain advice on future career goals, which has been very beneficial on deciding which rotations I want to experience in the future. With the consistent feedback I received from managers and leaders, I can apply this knowledge to make my second rotation an even better experience.

A First Rotation Comes to a Close

Two weeks ago, NBCU held their final pitchouts for rotations.

For many of the LP's this was nothing new as they were finishing their 3rd Rotation and moving to thier 4th/final rotation. However for myself, and a few others, this was a first.

For those who are new to the term "pitchouts," let me elaborate.

At the end of each rotation, LP's are required to sum up everything they worked on into a 3-4 minute pitch. Not too extreme right? Well I quickly found out that cramming the 4 different projects I was working on into 3 slides while still getting my points accross is a skill that took weeks of refining.

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Mentoring @ GE

http://www.flickr.com/photos/llawliet/ / CC BY 2.0

One of the things I've loved about working at GE for the past 18 months has been how friendly and helpful everyone around me has been. I've heard that the culture at some companies is very competitive and employees are encouraged to be very independent... at GE, I feel like we're all on the same team.

Throughout IMLP, I've encountered numerous sources of advice and support. First, there are multiple IMLP program managers within GE who focus on making the program (and its members) a success. We hold feedback/review sessions with these managers at "midterm" time and at the end of each rotation to discuss how things are going.

Second, my fellow program members. Rather than competing against everyone else in the program, there is a lot of cooperation and support that goes on in IMLP. Chances are good that we'll work with fellow IMLP members throughout our careers, so the program is a great way to start building that network early.

Finally, every six months we start working for a new assignment leader, who really wants to see us succeed with our rotation. But even after we move on to the next rotation, that person can still be a valuable mentor. I'm halfway through my 3rd rotation, but just starting a formal mentor relationship with my assignment leader from 1st rotation. It'll be nice to catch up over lunch - and get some useful career advice too!

Halfway Point: Mid-Rotation Review

November marks the halfway point for my first Rotation, which also means Mid-Rotational Review. At the beginning of the rotation we are required to compile a list of goals that we will be evaluated on three times over the course of the rotation.

The first review, is primarily to make sure you have clear, measurable goals regarding your project so you can easily tell whether or not you are doing well. The second, which I will go into depth a little later, is where your program manager for the business you work for will evaluated you on your goals thus far. And finally, around the time when you pitch your projects out to senior management at the end of your rotation, you are put through a final review.

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Rotation Spotlight: Matthew Bellezza

Many wonder what it is we IMLP's actually do on program each rotation. And in light of that curiosity, I'd like to share some top secret information regarding what I currently do at NBCU for my first rotation.

Well, its not actually top secret per se, however what I am working on does deal with security, which is a very important part of every business. I'm not actually working on one project either - technically I have four, all of which fall within the Information Security and Governance category.

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