Late Night with Kenneth Parcell

Kenneth Parcell, on NBC's 30 Rock, is one of my favorite characters on the show. I especially like this clip of Kenneth from season 1, pretending to be a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. (Click the screenshot on the right to watch the clip on Hulu, a joint venture of NBC that provides streaming content of popular shows and movies from various networks and studios.)

During Junior Bootcamp, part of our IMLP class got a behind-the-scenes tour of the NBC studios at 30 Rockefeller Center from our fellow IMLPs who were working there.

Here's a fun photo of some of us having our own "Kenneth moment" on the set of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

If you're not familiar with 30 Rock, Kenneth Parcell is a fictional member of NBC's page program, which isn't fictional at all. The page program has been around for over 75 years at NBC, and many famous personalities have gone through the program (including Ted Koppel, Regis Philbin, and Willard Scott).

In some respects, the NBC page program is similar to the IMLP program. Pages rotate through different areas of the NBC business (including public relations, marketing, and production), just like IMLPs rotate through different areas within IT.

The page program recruits competitively from a pool of college graduates that demonstrate "leadership, strong work ethic, and outgoing personality" - add a strong technical background and you've got the characteristics of an IMLP candidate.

Introducing... Our Newest Blogger (He's from NBC)

A little background about me... I'm Matt, a soon-tobe- first rotationer with  the IMLP program with NBC Universal in July.

I first heard of the IMLP Program when GE came to visit Syracuse University (where I got my degree in Information Management and Technology) for a Career Fair.  At first,I didn't realize that NBC Universal was even a part of the IMLP Program until I met a recruiter for my first interview.

Following the first interview, came a phone call about a 2nd interview that would be held over the phone, and if NBC liked what they heard, I would be eligable for  final round of interviews.

Shortly thereafter, I was flown out to Burbank, California to do a series of on location interviews at NBC Universal's HQ in Universal City, California. The interview consisted of 5 different 30 minute interviews (don't worry, I had a break in between).

After learning of my acceptance into the program a few weeks later, I was paired up with an IMLP "buddy" who is already on program.

On top of this, we have one full week for "orientation" at 30 Rock in the Big Apple, followed by the Junior bootcamp, whereall GE and NBC Universal IMLP's train for a month in Connecticut.

Despite being more then a month away from starting, I am preparing for my move out to California (I'm from New York) for my first two rotations. Packing, finding living arrangements, and getting my things out there, has really been keeping me busy.

Posted by: Matthew Bellezza, SU '09 Grad, NBC IMLP and the newest member of the blogging team!

Nicole Paolini: IMLP turned Movie Star.

GE IMLP Featured on BusinessWeek

Within a few days of returning from junior bootcamp, Corporate IMLP Nicole Paolini found herself working not from her home office in Fairfield, but from the Corporate offices in New York City, across the street from 30 Rock.

Although Nicole loves New York, she was not there to visit the Statue of Liberty or catch a film on Broadway- but to be interviewed for BusinessWeek (and it just so happened to be in the building where the elevator scenes for the Devil Wears Prada was filmed!). 

BusinessWeek researches the Best Places to Launch a Career, and GE is featured in this special report. This year, BW has included additional media on the page- and one of our own IMLPs is now featured on the website.

When asked how she felt before the interview, Nicole said,
"It was wild, I was sitting outside of radio city music hall. I was excited when I sat down- you know that feeling right before you give a presentation? It kinda felt like that- it was an adrenaline rush.  I felt like I was going to ski down a mountain."

A graduate of the University of Florida, Nicole has finished both her undergraduate degree in Marketing and CSE and her masters degree in Decision and Information Sciences, with a focus in IT.

Her friends and family have started to find the video and once her Grandmother found it, "the whole WORLD knew," Nicole said.

"My brother and sister have posted it on Facebook," she laughed. "I think my parents are still in shock though. I haven't told many people about it yet." [Author's note: Sorry Nicole, now it's up on the IMLP blog- no hiding!]

However, when asked if she plans to leave the IT field for Hollywood, Nicole politely declined. I think she's more interested in "on budget" and "on time" project delivery rather than "on screen" time.
Congratulations Nicole! Click here to watch the BusinessWeek video.

From light bulbs ... to the Olympics?

At this point, I'm sure you are just as confused as I was two years ago. I had just been invited to interview for the GE IMLP program. As I began to research the program, I became more interested in it. However, even as a 20 year old Junior at the University of Notre Dame, I asked myself the question, "How can I, as a computer engineer, be a good fit for a company that makes light bulbs?". As I have since found out, this is an extremely common question that many people have about General Electric. Through my research for my on campus interview, I discovered that GE does much more than light bulbs. In fact, if you consult the 2007 GE Annual Report, the divison of GE responsible for manufacturing light bulbs accounted for less than 11% of GE revenues for 2007.



As I began to research more, I began to realize that GE has a vast portfolio of companies. Since that day, GE has continued to grow, both in the United States and throughout the world. Today, GE CEO and Chairman of the Board, Jeff Immelt, separates the businesses into three categories: infrastructure, media and financial services.

Never has GE's vast portfolio been more apparent than with the 2008 Summer Olympics. Not only will GE's own television network, NBC, and its cable affiliates broadcast more than 2,200 hours of coverage by the conclusion of the Olympics, but GE is also the exclusive provider of many essential infrastructure services such as power, lighting, water treatment, security, and transportation. In addition, GE also provided much of the medical equipment used to treat the athletes, including MRI and ultrasound machines.  If you would like to check out more of what GE is doing in China during the Olympic games, you can find some information here.

In addition to the products on display at the Olympics, GE offers many other products such as credit cards, commercial financing, aircraft engines, wind turbines, locomotives, and enterprise security solutions through its many divisions.

If you still don’t have a sense of the breadth of GE products and services, feel free to check out a complete list of GE’s products and services.

Ultimately, it is the breadth of products and the global reach of the company that make General Electric, Inc. an exciting place to work. As part of the IMLP program and throughout your GE career, you will have the opportunity to work with some of the latest and greatest technology throughout the many GE businesses around the world.