What General Electric Seeks In MBA Hires

GE's culture is becoming more-and-more informal

GE’s culture is becoming more-and-more informal

What are your expectations for entry level MBAs? What are your most successful new hires doing to hit the ground running and quickly add value?

We expect people to come in and hit the ground running. We, as I mentioned earlier, provide work that is extremely challenging. So they will need to leverage their network, develop relationships, ask a lot of questions, be curious, be driven, and ask for feedback along the way.

I think self-awareness is one of the key differentiators. In my former role, I was managing one of our leadership accelerator programs. We looked at members of the leadership program and found that their self-awareness really differentiated those who were excelling. What we have found across all levels of the organization is that those who are truly aware of where strengths are and how they can continue to develop themselves accelerated their careers much faster than those who are not self-aware.

[Another] important thing we offer to candidates is the value of the initial job with GE, but it’s also that long-term growth prospect for them. They can think about who they want to be and follow their passion here. We will provide opportunities for them to develop, whether it is through a program or an accelerator or learning and development experiences, or on the job. They can go wherever they want to go over the long haul and I think that’s pretty compelling.

What excites you personally about working for General Electric?

I truly, truly love what I do. When I graduated from graduate school, I wanted to work for the best company in the world, but wasn’t sure I wanted to do that after I had children. And I certainly couldn’t see myself there 15 years from then.

What has kept me here are the amazing people I get to work with. And I mean that in the most sincere way. I have made more friendships and learned more from the people around me than I ever could have imagined. The people are, first-and-foremost, what excites me and what energizes me to get up in the morning. And I also love the challenge. As far as the number of jobs I’ve done over the last 13 years, it’s probably [8-10] jobs. I’ve never been bored. I’ve always been excited about the work that I’ve been doing.

Wind power is one of GE's  innovations

Wind power is one of GE’s innovations

The moment I get antsy about doing something different, someone will knock on the door or I would stumble across something that would again provide me with additional challenge. Frankly, I believe with all of my heart that, as a company, we are able to imagine things others don’t and build things others can’t. For that reason, we are making a difference around this world, where many other companies simply can’t play. I think that opportunity to be part of an organization that is truly changing society and have the opportunity to change our world is amazing.

I love telling my kids about what I do. I love telling anyone about the work that I get to do…GE hires amazing people who care about each other. [As] our chairman says, ‘if you’re a jerk, you really won’t excel.”

Give me an example of a student who really impressed you in the process?

I’ll give you one recent example. I was recruiting at the graduate level on campus and had concluded the information session where I talked about GE and the opportunities. After I finished the session, a student came up and he relayed to me that he didn’t want to be at the session, but was required to attend by his professor taking roll call. But there were a few things that I said that made a difference to him. He proceeded to tell me about his background and what he was looking for. He told me that he had started his own company where he had fixed bicycles. He had published a number of articles in the health care industry. He had an incredibly high GPA. Obviously, very, very bright, but he said, ‘I don’t want to work for a company where I’m caught up in process and bureaucracy and don’t have an opportunity to make difference.’

GE staffer in an R&D facility

GE staffer in an R&D facility

As I talked about the cultural transformation that GE is in the midst of right now — how we want people with an entrepreneurial mindset, who can think quickly, adapt, be agile, and help us with creating this type of culture –he was intrigued. This is particularly relevant because this candidate was in the HR field; the HR leaders we are hiring are setting the standard and driving this culture for us. He was really intrigued after hearing where we were and what we were looking for.

We interviewed him on the spot and ended up making him an offer. He will be working for us this summer. My sense is that he’s one of the best students who has come through that graduate program in the last few years.  Time will tell, but we’re really excited. And that’s the kind of person we want: In some cases, it’s people who don’t quite know the true GE. Those are the kind of people that we need to figure out how to attract since they may not be the ones who initially apply or attend a GE event.

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