GE FMP Questions

Hey guys,

I'm opening another thread to discuss GE's FMP program. I have read everything on the forum I could using the search and still have questions. So here they are.

What kind of pay can an FMP expect? (Before and after program)
Possible career path in GE (Incl. salary ranges and yr to get there)?
Will GE pay for MBA if you remain with them after FMP?
How hard is it to get into FMP?
Exit opportunities?
Hours?
Locations in chicago/suburbs?

I am mostly interested in GE Capital. They have their own PE group it seems.

Thanks a lot guys! I appreciate your help. I'm thinking about trying to get an intern position in the GE FMP program, more specifically GE Capital.

 

From talking with former GE FMP employees, GE values their FMP program more than an MBA, so I doubt that they would pay for your MBA. I've applied to, and had first round interviews with GE Capital for SA but did not advance further. Locations were for primarilty Stamford CT office....

 

Starting all in is like 55-60k I think, they recruit on a wide variety of campuses but are sticklers with gpa. On my campus a lot of people who had unusually high gpa's but were otherwise very mediocre individuals (shitty work experience, terrible at networking, etc.) went into the FMP program (though these were the "top students" at my school so thats not a put down to the FMP program). Exit ops would be a great MBA program but GE is not supportive of this and I really doubt they will pay for it.

 
Severus:
Starting all in is like 55-60k I think, they recruit on a wide variety of campuses but are sticklers with gpa. On my campus a lot of people who had unusually high gpa's but were otherwise very mediocre individuals (shitty work experience, terrible at networking, etc.) went into the FMP program (though these were the "top students" at my school so thats not a put down to the FMP program). Exit ops would be a great MBA program but GE is not supportive of this and I really doubt they will pay for it.

Will GPA matter only during the resume screen or will it still matter after you get an interview?

 

Starting salary currently is 57k from what I have heard, and goes up 5-10% every rotation based on performance reviews. In my opinion, its the best position to be in if you don't want to take the Wall St. route. After FMP, many go into Corporate Audit Staff, which is essentially the best of FMP in four month rotations doing internal audits of the GE businesses. From what I have heard, salary is around 85k there with all your living expenses paid (since you are traveling nearly 100% of the time) Most stay for 3-5 years, then find themselves in a nice little executive position 7 years out of their undergrad. If you don't do CAS after FMP, you can take an off rotation role as a staff financial analyst where the salary is probably right around 85-90k.

 
winning8159:
Starting salary currently is 57k from what I have heard, and goes up 5-10% every rotation based on performance reviews. In my opinion, its the best position to be in if you don't want to take the Wall St. route. After FMP, many go into Corporate Audit Staff, which is essentially the best of FMP in four month rotations doing internal audits of the GE businesses. From what I have heard, salary is around 85k there with all your living expenses paid (since you are traveling nearly 100% of the time) Most stay for 3-5 years, then find themselves in a nice little executive position 7 years out of their undergrad. If you don't do CAS after FMP, you can take an off rotation role as a staff financial analyst where the salary is probably right around 85-90k.

Thanks man. The FMP program sounds like a good gig. If anyone here can help me out with talking to the right people please shoot me a PM.

I've read up on the CAS program and it doesn't sound like something I would want to do after FMP, but things could change. I think FMP alone would help me to make management. Would love to hear stories of people who have actually gone through the FMP program.

 

Although the entire CAS program 5 years, most people do not do it for the entire period. There are only so many people that can move on to the next level each time. The most common is 2 years from the people I've talked to.

 
winning8159:
I was an FMP intern last year and loved it, definitely a great program. It amazed me to see how young the execs were, our CFO was under 40, and the other execs were 30-40 as well, all pulling down some big money. Certainly not millions, but they were definitely comfortable.

Good to hear man. I'm hoping to get an internship with them in the chicagoland this fall.

 

What kind of pay can an FMP expect? (Before and after program) - $57k start, $5k sign on - Post FMP can be around $65k to $80k

Possible career path in GE (Incl. salary ranges and yr to get there)? - CAS.. $83k, all expenses paid for, next ladder after FMP - Staff financial analyst... pay posted above - Post CAS... leadership role, senior analyst roles, >$90k

Will GE pay for MBA if you remain with them after FMP? - In some businesses, they MIGHT pay for a part time MBA... full time MBA no...

How hard is it to get into FMP? - Pretty challenging, interview itself isn't hard, up against lot of high GPA'ers

Exit opportunities? - Other corp finance roles, consulting, few have gotten into banking and/or research

Hours? - Depends on business unit.. FPA expect ~70-80 during quarter close, other non FPA expect avg 50...dont expect 40

 
alphaSledge:
What kind of pay can an FMP expect? (Before and after program) - $57k start, $5k sign on - Post FMP can be around $65k to $80k

Possible career path in GE (Incl. salary ranges and yr to get there)? - CAS.. $83k, all expenses paid for, next ladder after FMP - Staff financial analyst... pay posted above - Post CAS... leadership role, senior analyst roles, >$90k

Will GE pay for MBA if you remain with them after FMP? - In some businesses, they MIGHT pay for a part time MBA... full time MBA no...

How hard is it to get into FMP? - Pretty challenging, interview itself isn't hard, up against lot of high GPA'ers

Exit opportunities? - Other corp finance roles, consulting, few have gotten into banking and/or research

Hours? - Depends on business unit.. FPA expect ~70-80 during quarter close, other non FPA expect avg 50...dont expect 40

Thanks a lot man. I appreciate your answers.

 

I'm currently interning with FMP. I like the program and am considering it heavily but I'm also from the W Coast and that's obviously not a choice with GE. I am pretty well networked with a couple consulting firms at home (Deloitte, Accenture) and am torn between what's the best choice. The ultimate deciding factor would be what will get me into a top 5 MBA? Grad school is also paid for, I'm a USAF veteran, and don't want to do CAS post FMP. Thoughts?

 

Interned with FMP and everything said here so far is accurate.

A point that sort of needs making though is that if you really are looking to move up quickly with GE then you HAVE to do Corporate Audit Staff- at least that was my impression. Basically all of their execs come from the program.

The shitty part about it (and subsequently the reason I do not work for GE) is that you have to move every 6 months in FMP, then travel constantly in CAS. Personally, I'd rather work a lot of hours in one place than live out of a suitcase, but to each his own I suppose.

And leaving for an MBA is frowned upon.

BTW as an FMP you have to take night classes as part of the program.

 
FreeWeezy:
Interned with FMP and everything said here so far is accurate.

A point that sort of needs making though is that if you really are looking to move up quickly with GE then you HAVE to do Corporate Audit Staff- at least that was my impression. Basically all of their execs come from the program.

The shitty part about it (and subsequently the reason I do not work for GE) is that you have to move every 6 months in FMP, then travel constantly in CAS. Personally, I'd rather work a lot of hours in one place than live out of a suitcase, but to each his own I suppose.

And leaving for an MBA is frowned upon.

BTW as an FMP you have to take night classes as part of the program.

Classes on what? And how many hours worth?

 
GoIllini:
FreeWeezy:
Interned with FMP and everything said here so far is accurate.

A point that sort of needs making though is that if you really are looking to move up quickly with GE then you HAVE to do Corporate Audit Staff- at least that was my impression. Basically all of their execs come from the program.

The shitty part about it (and subsequently the reason I do not work for GE) is that you have to move every 6 months in FMP, then travel constantly in CAS. Personally, I'd rather work a lot of hours in one place than live out of a suitcase, but to each his own I suppose.

And leaving for an MBA is frowned upon.

BTW as an FMP you have to take night classes as part of the program.

Classes on what? And how many hours worth?

My bad, epic fail on just tossing that in at the end there. Tbh I can't exactly recall how often or for how long you have to attend class, but my gut is saying it was once a week for the length of your rotation. I remember a few full times talking about taking tests and the whole nine yards.

Like I said I only interned so I don't have much insight into the classes, but I know that they are part of FMP.

 

I'm really interested in GE but my GPA is definitely under a 3.50 but above 3.0 do you think I have a chance? they're coming to my school a few times this semester

 

GE, from my understanding, is a lot closer to the Big 4 in terms of recruiting. That is, they really want to see a 3.5 GPA. They'll likely still look at you if you've got a 3.3 or 3.4 from a school they recruit at.

Your chance depends on your extracurricular activities (hopefully you did something meaningful you can talk about), your network (can you meet someone that can get you into an interview where you'll blow them away), and whether your GPA is a 3.01 or a 3.49.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Have a family member in the program who I recently spoke with about this.  ~$60K starting salary plus $3K signing bonus and a 0-5% raise every six months based upon classroom and rotation performance.  They will also pay for your move and provide an extra ~$2K lump sum to cover incremental costs of traveling to your new location.  GE also gives FMPs a tax-adjusted housing stipend every quarter to cover a portion of rent which varies depending upon where you are living...he said that this about $1,000 in the Northeast where he lives.

Impossible is nothing
 
alphaSledge:

What kind of pay can an FMP expect? (Before and after program)
- $57k start, $5k sign on
- Post FMP can be around $65k to $80k

Possible career path in GE (Incl. salary ranges and yr to get there)?
- CAS.. $83k, all expenses paid for, next ladder after FMP
- Staff financial analyst... pay posted above
- Post CAS... leadership role, senior analyst roles, >$90k

Will GE pay for MBA if you remain with them after FMP?
- In some businesses, they MIGHT pay for a part time MBA... full time MBA no...

How hard is it to get into FMP?
- Pretty challenging, interview itself isn't hard, up against lot of high GPA'ers

Exit opportunities?
- Other corp finance roles, consulting, few have gotten into banking and/or research

Hours?
- Depends on business unit.. FPA expect ~70-80 during quarter close, other non FPA expect avg 50...dont expect 40

This is right. 85-90k is too high off program. Also, getting MBA recs is extremely difficult. Schools going to 2 recs is a good thing for kids at GE. But the experience you get is perfect for bschool or for just exiting to a post-MBA job after 4-5 years if you do it right.

 
kote:
alphaSledge:

What kind of pay can an FMP expect? (Before and after program)
- $57k start, $5k sign on
- Post FMP can be around $65k to $80k

Possible career path in GE (Incl. salary ranges and yr to get there)?
- CAS.. $83k, all expenses paid for, next ladder after FMP
- Staff financial analyst... pay posted above
- Post CAS... leadership role, senior analyst roles, >$90k

Will GE pay for MBA if you remain with them after FMP?
- In some businesses, they MIGHT pay for a part time MBA... full time MBA no...

How hard is it to get into FMP?
- Pretty challenging, interview itself isn't hard, up against lot of high GPA'ers

Exit opportunities?
- Other corp finance roles, consulting, few have gotten into banking and/or research

Hours?
- Depends on business unit.. FPA expect ~70-80 during quarter close, other non FPA expect avg 50...dont expect 40

This is right. 85-90k is too high off program. Also, getting MBA recs is extremely difficult. Schools going to 2 recs is a good thing for kids at GE. But the experience you get is perfect for bschool or for just exiting to a post-MBA job after 4-5 years if you do it right.

FMP+and 2 years of CAS exits you into a Post MBA role in GE? Or do you mean to other companies?

 
DoctorAndre:
kote:
alphaSledge:

What kind of pay can an FMP expect? (Before and after program)
- $57k start, $5k sign on
- Post FMP can be around $65k to $80k

Possible career path in GE (Incl. salary ranges and yr to get there)?
- CAS.. $83k, all expenses paid for, next ladder after FMP
- Staff financial analyst... pay posted above
- Post CAS... leadership role, senior analyst roles, >$90k

Will GE pay for MBA if you remain with them after FMP?
- In some businesses, they MIGHT pay for a part time MBA... full time MBA no...

How hard is it to get into FMP?
- Pretty challenging, interview itself isn't hard, up against lot of high GPA'ers

Exit opportunities?
- Other corp finance roles, consulting, few have gotten into banking and/or research

Hours?
- Depends on business unit.. FPA expect ~70-80 during quarter close, other non FPA expect avg 50...dont expect 40

This is right. 85-90k is too high off program. Also, getting MBA recs is extremely difficult. Schools going to 2 recs is a good thing for kids at GE. But the experience you get is perfect for bschool or for just exiting to a post-MBA job after 4-5 years if you do it right.

FMP+and 2 years of CAS exits you into a Post MBA role in GE? Or do you mean to other companies?

Both. But the pay will be better if you leave. It's always a balance between pay and opportunity / experience though. Also, the CAS part probably helps you more in GE than it does it you leave. A GE leadership program plus 1.5+ years of a real job after program and you can get post-MBA level jobs in other F500s.

You may also be close to a manager role at that point, and F500s don't hire MBAs directly into manager positions. In the short term you'd actually be ahead of the game.

 

Thanks for posting this. Care to share some of the questions (if you remember) so we have something specific to go off of?

Also, if the next round involves technical questions I will shower you with SBs for posting them :)

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
Best Response

Past FMP intern. Questions I got during the interview process...

Walk me through your resume/tell me about yourself. Tell me about your past internship and what did you learn from it? Why GE? Why FMP? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? (asked for 3 of each) Where do you see your career 5 years from now? Tell me about a challenge you have faced in the past and what did you do to overcome it? Tell me about an obstacle you have faced in a team situation and what did you do to overcome it? What is the toughest decision you have ever had to make? Tell me about a time you have handled competing priorities?

The interviewer will have a list of preselected questions that they will ask all of the interviewees (see above questions). Rest of interview will be conversation based. GE looks for people they can groom for leadership positions, and thus aren't focused on technicals but rather are focused on fit. Only technical I got was focused on a journal entry... if we buy a product on account and pay that back three months from now using cash, what will the journal entry for each transaction look like.

 

Island posted some below and are very similar to the questions I got. But the ones I remember were, - Name a time when you utilized your analytical skills at work? Communication skills? - Explain to me a time at work when you failed? - Strengths/Weaknesses - What's your ideal role in 5/10 years time? - Talk about how your past experience relates to this role - Of course the obvious..why GE? why FMP?

Like Island said about GE looking for leadership qualities in candidates, showcase and talk a lot about your extracurriculars around the school.

Almost no technical questions for me but mind you I only made it to the first round. I am from a non target and had mediocre grades but above average experience and somehow got an interview for the program. If you have good experience/good grades, you have a good chance even if you're from a non target.

I also suggest you check out the GE Risk Management Program (RMP) as well. Its a good alternative.

 

These programs are fantastic.  I did a bit of digging on behalf of someone close to me and if you want to stay and work in a corporate capacity, these will do it for you.  Placement can be top notch out of the right programs if you want to get your MBA.  All said and done, you can't go wrong with a strong FMP if you want to maintain a work/life balance and still move up the ladder.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

would you agree with your statement about transfering to banking from corp finance with trying to get a full time banking job with a corp fin internhsip (which is my case this summer). I wanted to get into banking but couldnt find an internship in it so Im working for a pretty large corporation. Could elaborate on the skill-set (major) differences or what kind of skills I could pick-up in the mean time to try to get into a banking role.

 

Is there any place I could find a list of these FMP type programs?? I am very interested. Google failed me.

Cash, Rules, Everything, Around, Me C.R.E.A.M. Get the money Dollar, dollar bill y'all

"There is only one bottom line -- how much money you make."
 

GE, Raytheon, J&J, Boeing (I think) come to mind.

I can only speak about GE FMP, as I've worked with a bunch of them. The skillset and projects are obviously different from banking, but is definitely a solid career path if those roles interest you. Work/lifestyle is like a normal job, probably 9-6/7 each night, but you will pull late nights, and I've definitley seen them in on weekends.

The FMP program is pretty competitive, and is a really messed up recruiting process IMO, but this only comes from some friend's experiences.

 

I am actually interested in the GE FMP program as well. What is the comp like for first years (including bonus, if any)? More than likely I will be applying for GE this coming fall. Thanks for the support.

 

it was 50+5 for GE Money...dont know about healtcare though.

Their rotations are in Stamford, atlanta, cali(might have shut down now) and somewhere else...also something about a housing reimbursement. try the GE vault messageboards

 

Sorry to bring up an old post, but I have a related question...

If I want to eventually try to get into corp dev, would it help at all to get into a development program at the company? Or do they only look for people with IB experience for those types of roles?

After completing one of these rotational programs, what are your options other than moving higher up in something like FP&A division?

 

Most FMP graduates have three choices after they go off program they either find out GE isn't for them and go off to business school/join another company, they move into a senior analyst role within GE or move into CAS (Corporate Audit Staff). The corporate audit staff is a 1-5 year program where employees travel around the world to each and every business to conduct internal audit on them. Most executives within GE have gone through the CAS program. Once you are off CAS you are already on the executive band at GE. FMP is not a direct route to IB/HF/PE but an excellent route to business school or any F500 corporate job.

 

When does applying usually start with these programs? Not necessarily GE's FMP, just Leadership Development programs in general. And am I pretty much out of the running as an Econ major going against Finance/Accounting majors for these Financial programs?

 
MessedUp:
When does applying usually start with these programs? Not necessarily GE's FMP, just Leadership Development programs in general. And am I pretty much out of the running as an Econ major going against Finance/Accounting majors for these Financial programs?

Companies with these rotational programs are ususally on campus during your job fair. I graduated in 2007 so met a GE recruiter at the job fair in Sept 2006. Had an on campus interview the next day and then the final round in mid October 2007 on site in CT.

I even applied to Raytheon (similar to GE) and I belive P&G also has some sort of a rotation program though it's not as good as GE's.

 
oasising:
I know that for GE, they actually prefer engineers for their program.

What program at GE? Everyone in my GE FMP final round was an econ/finance/bus major. GE has a different rotation program for engineers. I did a final round for GE Money(consumer finance) but my friend who had final rounds at Industrial also said that everyone at the final round was pretty much a bus major.

 

i received the second round for GE's FMP. overall, the interview wasn't difficult and was mainly fit-based. from the interview, the program sounds top-notch (obviously not i-banking of course).

 

Utilize the search function - numerous threads on FMP-like gigs.

Competitiveness: GPA isn't that big of a deal. Anything above a 3.0 will let be enough to get considered, but if you're at the low end then your ECs better make your resume. Interviews are pretty much all behavioral, they are simply looking for who is going to be the most hardcore GE lifer. Good company, but if you want a career there you absolutely need to chug the Kool-aid by the gallon.

In my opinion, they are the best alternative to banking and consulting. You'll get exposure to different areas and eventually be able to direct your career in the route that best suits you. I'd be curious to see how others view these, but I think they are a solid start, especially for students at non-targets.

 

I have interviewed with GE for their FMP program. They came to campus to recruit and invited about 12 people for interviews. After that, I was one of three to go on to the second round which was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, all expenses paid. They gave me a job offer about two or three weeks later.

I agree with the guy above, GPA is 3.0 or better, but would help if it's in the 3.4 range. Interview is all behavior and really are looking for someone that's enthusiastic and passionate about what they'll be doing. It is a 2 year program consisting of 6-month rotational assignments in financial planning and analysis, general accounting, operations analysis, cash management, leadership development, so you'll be exposed to a variety of areas. It's a very respected program and I would recommend it if you can't get IB. Salary I believe is around 55K.

 
RKBanker:
I have interviewed with GE for their FMP program. They came to campus to recruit and invited about 12 people for interviews. After that, I was one of three to go on to the second round which was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, all expenses paid. They gave me a job offer about two or three weeks later.

I agree with the guy above, GPA is 3.0 or better, but would help if it's in the 3.4 range. Interview is all behavior and really are looking for someone that's enthusiastic and passionate about what they'll be doing. It is a 2 year program consisting of 6-month rotational assignments in financial planning and analysis, general accounting, operations analysis, cash management, leadership development, so you'll be exposed to a variety of areas. It's a very respected program and I would recommend it if you can't get IB. Salary I believe is around 55K.

Are you taking the offer from Healthcare?

 

I know a girl who finished the GE program and she loved it. As said above, if you want the inside track of being in GE corp than the FMP program is probably your best bet. A guy came to speak at Villanova and he was head of GE finance with only a BS and the FMP program. Pretty impressive if you as me (really nice guy btw). Similar programs are all over. I have another friend in Lockheed Martin's financial leadership program and he is doing his MBA now. Has great things to say about the program also. In my opinion, if you want to do corporate finance then this is probably the best way to start out. Well rounded experience, opportunity to interact with management, etc. Vanguard has a program like this also.

 

So basically you just need a 3.4 with internships during the summer? I should get a good GPA (I'm considering grad schools as well where a 3.7+ is basically the minimum), but I'm more worried about the ECs. I've had summer internships, but I haven't really enjoyed anything on campus besides attending networking events. So how much would not having ECs (besides internships during the summer hurt me) or not having leadership positions in those ECs? Also, would majoring in finance or accounting be better, or is it just better to major in whatever = higher gpa?

Also, it seems like a lot of you guys got interviews on campus, but my school doesn't have on campus recruiting for htat, so when is the deadline/when do people start applying for those programs?

Finally, I tried doing a search, and the only other programs similar to FMP are J&J, Raytheon and Abbott Labs, but no one has really commented on how good those programs are, so any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions btw.

 
RLpurplelabel:
So basically you just need a 3.4 with internships during the summer? I should get a good GPA (I'm considering grad schools as well where a 3.7+ is basically the minimum), but I'm more worried about the ECs. I've had summer internships, but I haven't really enjoyed anything on campus besides attending networking events. So how much would not having ECs (besides internships during the summer hurt me) or not having leadership positions in those ECs? Also, would majoring in finance or accounting be better, or is it just better to major in whatever = higher gpa?

Also, it seems like a lot of you guys got interviews on campus, but my school doesn't have on campus recruiting for htat, so when is the deadline/when do people start applying for those programs?

Finally, I tried doing a search, and the only other programs similar to FMP are J&J, Raytheon and Abbott Labs, but no one has really commented on how good those programs are, so any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions btw.

Bump

 
RLpurplelabel:
So basically you just need a 3.4 with internships during the summer? I should get a good GPA (I'm considering grad schools as well where a 3.7+ is basically the minimum), but I'm more worried about the ECs. I've had summer internships, but I haven't really enjoyed anything on campus besides attending networking events. So how much would not having ECs (besides internships during the summer hurt me) or not having leadership positions in those ECs? Also, would majoring in finance or accounting be better, or is it just better to major in whatever = higher gpa?

Also, it seems like a lot of you guys got interviews on campus, but my school doesn't have on campus recruiting for htat, so when is the deadline/when do people start applying for those programs?

Finally, I tried doing a search, and the only other programs similar to FMP are J&J, Raytheon and Abbott Labs, but no one has really commented on how good those programs are, so any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions btw.

Bump

 

It's good if you have previous internships, but they're also looking for someone that has leadership skills. Someone that they think can come out of the FMP and rise through the ranks. I am a finance/accounting major, so I think that helped a lot. Most of the people they took were finance/accounting majors.

If you don't have on campus recruiting, you should contact career service about that, I'm guessing you're at a non-target then, which means interviews will be harder to come by.

J&J also came to our school for their FLDP. I got invited to the first round, but not second. I heard their program is pretty legit. Comparable to GE.

 

I am a senior Finance Major in the Philadelphia area and GE did not recruit at all at my school. This is when the power of networking is crucial. I received offers from GE's FMP, J&J's FLDP and Vanguard's AFP. I'm pretty sure General Mills, GSK, and Boeing have similar programs. All of these are pretty similar corporate finance rotational programs. I took the offer with GE because it seemed like they had the most established program with proven results (the current CFO of all of Keith Sherin went through the same program). At J&J the program is only a few years old and they told me they modeled it after the one at GE. The Vanguard program was the shortest (only 18 months). The pay also matched the 'corporate culture' of low cost for the customer.

I reached out to as many people as I could that I knew were at GE. They put me in touch with HR reps who helped me talk to the right people and make sure my resume got through the pile. I'm not sure what grade you're in but I was finished with this entire process in October. My first two rounds of interviews were over the phone because they don't recruit at my school and then I was flown out for a sight visit with about 12 other people where I had 3 rounds of interviews. As everyone said above it was all behavioral stuff... Tell me about a time when.... and they were looking for leadership experiences: classroom group work, extracurriculars, internships, whatever; just evidence that you went above and beyond the call of duty.

Hope that helps.

 

Can't speak to GE's FMP specifically, but from my experience in a similar program, it's just like having a regular job in finance, but you know you're moving on every 6 months. The rotations can include FP&A, general accounting, financial reporting, operations finance, business development, tax, etc...

If you have specific questions you can ask here and I will do my best to answer them.

 
j-rad:
Can't speak to GE's FMP specifically, but from my experience in a similar program, it's just like having a regular job in finance, but you know you're moving on every 6 months. The rotations can include FP&A, general accounting, financial reporting, operations finance, business development, tax, etc...

If you have specific questions you can ask here and I will do my best to answer them.

I guess I'm most curious about FP&A. I was wondering what the work involves, what you like/dislike about it, etc.

Thanks for the help!

Pretty women make us BUY beer. Ugly women make us DRINK beer.
 
MrDouche:
love the "non-target" language. whoop-de-doo. I went to Stanford and worked at a BB. Neither are impressive achievements unless you're 22 and myopic.

If you are referring to my post I fail to see what you are getting at. GE FMP recruits at many good schools that are generally non/semi targets for BB IBD. This presents a great alternative to BB IBD/MBB for students who may not have an equal chance at obtaining such positions as their target peers. In no way am I implying GE FMP is "worse" than a BB job. Just more obtainable for some students due to its recruiting methods.

 

I did a similar program at BAML- I believe the general consensus on these boards is that these programs are attractive to top MBA ad-coms, and provide diversified exposure to F-100 companies.

There are various exit options after these types of programs- You can choose to stay in house and gain some more experience (finance, FP&A, treasury, strategy), or try and get into a top MBA program. My recommendation would be to complete FMP, and get a year of more senior experience in house (since you are usually guaranteed a spot to stay if you perform well), and then apply.

 

Mostly behavioral interview with one case interview when I did it back in the day. I have a handful of friends who are on their last rotation and who have graduated from it. What really gets the interviewers going is if you talk about doing CAS after fmp and the exposure you get through the program. Its a great program overall and you'll be competitive if you decide to pursue an MBA after your 2 year stint though I recommend staying 3 years so you get that promotional bump.

 

Thank you very much sks144 & bearing. Appreciate all of your replies.

I'm currently doing my CA, which started after my graduation and isn't completed yet. I'm halfway through. I have 3 papers more to go. Do you think it'd be rude to ask the interviewer if they have any later intakes so i could finish up my CA first before joining the program? I would prefer to do one thing at a time but i'm just not sure which to do first - CA or FMP ?

Wq
 

In terms of why it's well regarded, it's got the GE Brand which is obviously world-wide-recognized. Furthermore, comparative to some others, I think it has a more proven track record of being the fast track within the company to a leadership role, as the majority of senior level people there started in FMP and worked their way up. While the tangible work may be no different than any other FDLP, it's the name that carries it into it's own echelon.. in my humble opinion.

Any specific FMP questions, PM me.

 

Note: I do not work at GE myself but a close family member does. I think people like it on this site because it presents a clear career progression as opposed to other companies' programs. And this progression is not just false promises. Numerous corporate VPs, including the corporate CFO, and an even greater number of business execs came from FMP/CAS. GE is all about growing its own talent all the way up to the highest level. They actually WANT their middle managers to progress upwards. Not many huge international corporations can say that. There are not guarantees if you're an FMP but you are certainly on the fast track to management within GE if you figure out how to play the game.

 

The real value of the program comes from the well-developed network of former FMPs within the company. Throughout the 4 rotations, your managers and classroom instructors are mostly likely former FMPs who are now middle management. Many of these managers may only be 3-5 year out of the program. The CFO or GM of the division may also be a former FMP.

Even better...as of now, the CFO of GE and the CEO of GE Capital are both former FMPs. You are pretty much given "golden child" status but with it comes high expectations. The opportunity to make an impression can pay off tremendously career-wise (if you stay). Those who do well will have supporters across the company for the rest of their career...again, if they stay.

-Former FMP at GE Capital

 

GE started (or was one of the first to do it well) the whole concept of the finance rotational/development program. A lot of other companies (J&J comes to mind) readily admit they modeled their programs after GE. So if you're looking to go into a typical F500 Accounting/Finance position, GE FMP is the top of the heap. If you're not interested in a corporate F500 career, then it probably won't serve as much utility to you. Depends on your goals, everything is contextual.

 
mt_FTW:

The real value of the program comes from the well-developed network of former FMPs within the company. Throughout the 4 rotations, your managers and classroom instructors are mostly likely former FMPs who are now middle management. Many of these managers may only be 3-5 year out of the program. The CFO or GM of the division may also be a former FMP.

Even better...as of now, the CFO of GE and the CEO of GE Capital are both former FMPs. You are pretty much given "golden child" status but with it comes high expectations. The opportunity to make an impression can pay off tremendously career-wise (if you stay). Those who do well will have supporters across the company for the rest of their career...again, if they stay.

-Former FMP at GE Capital

Would you say that because there are so many former FMP's / new FMP's every year, there is tougher competition and limited room to move up the company? It's great that so many finance executives are young, and in their 40s, but wouldn't that mean that new FMP's have to wait longer for these people to retire, thus losing the value of the "fast-track" program?

Maybe I'm wrong and there are just huge amount of finance executive spots at GE, but I wonder if joining a newer program at a F500 where they hire fewer people, and many executives are retiring relatively soon, maybe provide a better career advancement. Would love to hear your thoughts.

 
DoctorAndre:

Would you say that because there are so many former FMP's / new FMP's every year, there is tougher competition and limited room to move up the company? It's great that so many finance executives are young, and in their 40s, but wouldn't that mean that new FMP's have to wait longer for these people to retire, thus losing the value of the "fast-track" program?

Maybe I'm wrong and there are just huge amount of finance executive spots at GE, but I wonder if joining a newer program at a F500 where they hire fewer people, and many executives are retiring relatively soon, maybe provide a better career advancement. Would love to hear your thoughts.

I've made this post before, but here goes:

1) The "fast-track" doesn't necessarily mean CFO by 40. It DOES mean you have the opportunity to be fast-tracked if you perform well and network.

2) Not everyone's going to be cut out for this work. Some will stop being promoted at senior FA, some at Manager, etc.

3) Not everyone's going to stay with GE. Some will leave the industry, some will go to a similar company.

I'm going to use random numbers here, call it an educated guess. Let's say you start with a class of 100. -bottom 10% is gone after 2 years because they can't perform -next 20% isn't going to make it past Senior FA at GE, whether performance-based or other factors. -next 40% is okay, but nothing spectacular. Probably make manager at GE or jump to a different or smaller company -next 20% are strong performers. They have definite management potential. -top 10% are CFO's in-the-making, but they still have plenty of time to screw up their careers.

Out of these 100, how many do you think will stay? Lost 10 to performance. The next 20 might hang around as a senior FA, or they might go to a smaller company for a pay bump. The next 40 are where it gets interesting. They have options. If they aren't making it to the Manager level, they're likely jumping ship and taking great positions at smaller companies. The next 20 are even more interesting. They're going to make it to the manager level, but do they want to? Not all of them. You know some are going to get an MBA and learn about strat or ops and make a move. Some will likely get awesome offers for higher-level positions elsewhere. And lastly is the top 10 performers. I'd venture that most of them stick around, at least for 5-10 years.

This doesn't even cover senior people leaving and why. Lots of factors to take into account, but their FMP has been going for 80 years. If you're good at what you do, upward mobility exists. The best don't generally stick around if they're not promoted.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
D M:
DoctorAndre:

Would you say that because there are so many former FMP's / new FMP's every year, there is tougher competition and limited room to move up the company? It's great that so many finance executives are young, and in their 40s, but wouldn't that mean that new FMP's have to wait longer for these people to retire, thus losing the value of the "fast-track" program?

Maybe I'm wrong and there are just huge amount of finance executive spots at GE, but I wonder if joining a newer program at a F500 where they hire fewer people, and many executives are retiring relatively soon, maybe provide a better career advancement. Would love to hear your thoughts.

I've made this post before, but here goes:

1) The "fast-track" doesn't necessarily mean CFO by 40. It DOES mean you have the opportunity to be fast-tracked if you perform well and network.

2) Not everyone's going to be cut out for this work. Some will stop being promoted at senior FA, some at Manager, etc.

3) Not everyone's going to stay with GE. Some will leave the industry, some will go to a similar company.

I'm going to use random numbers here, call it an educated guess. Let's say you start with a class of 100.
-bottom 10% is gone after 2 years because they can't perform
-next 20% isn't going to make it past Senior FA at GE, whether performance-based or other factors.
-next 40% is okay, but nothing spectacular. Probably make manager at GE or jump to a different or smaller company
-next 20% are strong performers. They have definite management potential.
-top 10% are CFO's in-the-making, but they still have plenty of time to screw up their careers.

Out of these 100, how many do you think will stay? Lost 10 to performance. The next 20 might hang around as a senior FA, or they might go to a smaller company for a pay bump. The next 40 are where it gets interesting. They have options. If they aren't making it to the Manager level, they're likely jumping ship and taking great positions at smaller companies. The next 20 are even more interesting. They're going to make it to the manager level, but do they want to? Not all of them. You know some are going to get an MBA and learn about strat or ops and make a move. Some will likely get awesome offers for higher-level positions elsewhere. And lastly is the top 10 performers. I'd venture that most of them stick around, at least for 5-10 years.

This doesn't even cover senior people leaving and why. Lots of factors to take into account, but their FMP has been going for 80 years. If you're good at what you do, upward mobility exists. The best don't generally stick around if they're not promoted.

I've read somewhere that GE hires ~300 FMP's in the US. So with your logic, 30 new people every year are "CFO's in-the-making." What I'm saying is that wouldn't it be better to go to a new F500 FLDP that hires ~30 FT (I know at least 4 f500 companies that only hires around 20~30 FLDP) in order to move up faster within the org...thus diminishing GE FMP's rep as the best FLDP.

 
DoctorAndre:

I've read somewhere that GE hires ~300 FMP's in the US. So with your logic, 30 new people every year are "CFO's in-the-making." What I'm saying is that wouldn't it be better to go to a new F500 FLDP that hires ~30 FT (I know at least 4 f500 companies that only hires around 20~30 FLDP) in order to move up faster within the org...thus diminishing GE FMP's rep as the best FLDP.

It depends, the difference is most companies don't have an established FDP with a track record of promoting people. Like I said, GE's been doing this for 80 years. They've been the best at it for 80 years. It's highly doubtful that will change anytime soon. If they hired 300 FMPs, they must have positions for a good number of them in the long run.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
D M:
DoctorAndre:

I've read somewhere that GE hires ~300 FMP's in the US. So with your logic, 30 new people every year are "CFO's in-the-making." What I'm saying is that wouldn't it be better to go to a new F500 FLDP that hires ~30 FT (I know at least 4 f500 companies that only hires around 20~30 FLDP) in order to move up faster within the org...thus diminishing GE FMP's rep as the best FLDP.

It depends, the difference is most companies don't have an established FDP with a track record of promoting people. Like I said, GE's been doing this for 80 years. They've been the best at it for 80 years. It's highly doubtful that will change anytime soon. If they hired 300 FMPs, they must have positions for a good number of them in the long run.

Good point DM.

 

DM made some great points, especially about the performance - you have the opportunity to be remembered by some very high level business leaders. Whether they remember you fondly depends on your work product and networking skills. Since many managers and business leaders rotate positions after 2-3 years, you can be sure that you'll cross paths with these people again (directly or through reference checking). Its quite hard to escape a bad rep.

On the topic of having enough room for all of the talent, one should note the size and complexity of GE, which is a huge advantage in this regard. One can become CFO at several levels of a business. Even "small-time" CFOs at a GE Capital business could be managing over 100MM in assets. Typically, as one moves up in size, they may take a cut in title (CFO of a smaller unit gets promoted to Manager of Finance at a larger unit) but internally, this is understood to be a promotion and behind the title, employees are placed in "bands". E-Band (executive level) is E-band regardless of the actual title.

Its interesting to note that FMPs can "fail" a rotation. This is determined by your coursework and job performance. The first two rotations can challenging in terms of coursework and it is very possible to fail - ~10% failed the coursework in my class. Its probably slightly harder to fail through performance but I saw it happen. If you fail, you have to do a fifth rotation. This is highly embarrassing since everyone knows who failed - they also usually don't get a coveted role off rotation... if they get one at all. Fail twice and you are out (I saw that happen to someone who was one class lower than me).

 

Can somebody please give ' A day in the life of an FMP guy' or somebody give a detailed description of the nature of work , somebody who has been at GE through a couple of rotations.

Cause i still cannot digest the fact that a pre dominantly BO programme can attract hordes of people.Maybe factors like work environment,pay,prospects,challenging work are the deal breakers.I have been an auditor and believe me BO accounting work is probably the most drab,uninspiring and boring work with equally boring colleagues and less chances at promotion.

Ive heard that FLDP programmes at the following places are very good Shell Unilever P&G Could anybody enlighten the FLDP experience at the above mentioned companies if they have had one

 

How can you not understand that some people enjoy accounting? Or working in a finance capacity that doesn't require you to be in the office for 80+ hours per week? Seriously, it's not rocket science. Not everyone wants the same thing.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

One huge consideration in choosing your company is HQ location. You have to remember that the money tree will always lead there. While they may have smaller locations in areas that you would like to/wouldn't mind living in, the HQ location is the most important assuming you plan to make a career there.

For example, I have no interest in living on the east coast, therefore, there's a lot of fldps I didn't even consider because of it. Right now I plan on staying in the Midwest (Chicago) so I chose a company with its HQ in the area. That way regardless of where some of the jobs I may hold could be located, I know I'll eventually end up back in my ideal location. If you're just using it as a a path to business school obviously this doesn't apply.

 

hey guys, I'm a 3rd year undergrad in a finance program at a target school in Toronto Canada. I recently accepted an internship offer with GE's FMP program for the summer . I'll be working at GE Healthcare. I'm still not 100% sure of what i want to do long term - I switched over from the accounting program at my school, and more recently have developed a strong interest with big 4's advisory/corp finance divisions. Should I focus on getting into the 2 year FMP rotation? Or is there a way to leverage my summer and break into the Big 4 (preferably advisory, hopefully not audit). I want a career where I'm constantly analyzing businesses/industries/markets/decisions. Would I be able to get that with GE? Any thoughts?

 

There's a solid amount of information on the boards about the FMP. Go to the search function, type in searches like "GE FMP" or "General Electric", and select Corporate Corral (also, The Other Road), to filter topics.

In short, most "corporate finance" positions at F500 companies are largely accounting based (including at the FMP). That's not to say there aren't finance opportunities, because there are. Just don't be surprised if you end up doing accounting-type work for 2 years.

Leveraging into Big 4 is possible, but tough, especially Advisory. Of course, I'm assuming you mean TAS and not IT/Risk Advisory. From what I understand, Advisory is the most difficult to break into. It'll help to have the FMP on your resume, but an Advisory internship would have been much better.

This is all second hand information. There are some Big 4 guys on here, they might weigh in. Here's an article from GoingConcern: http://goingconcern.com/post/lets-discuss-switching-your-firms-audit-pr…

GoingConcern:
The odds are simply not in your favor if you are a budding college grad hoping to get straight into a TS group. First of all, you better plan to be in a major city -- New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, LA, San Francisco. And, odds are you are not enrolled at one of the universities that the TS group likes to recruit from. Because their on-campus hiring numbers are limited (this is undergrad and MBA level), the recruiters focus on a handful of schools. How many is a handful? Less than 10. A Big 4 recruiter told me their TS practice focused on four schools. FOUR. Unfortunately for some of you, Southwest State College is not one of them.

Note that all the above is US-specific. No idea if any of it applies to Canada.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Hello all. I've got a question for GE CAPITAL specifically.

I am interested in working for GE CAPITAL in commercial finance. Here is an overview of what they do: http://www.gecapital.co.uk/en/financial-solutions/commercial-financing-…

I am particularely interested in "corporate structured finance" http://www.gecapital.co.uk/en/financial-solutions/commercial-financing/…

I am interested in being the guy who structures these transactions. My questions: - What department at GE CAPITAL structures these transactions? Am I correct in thinking the RISK department are the guys who structure these transactions for clients? Do they also ORIGINATE those transactions? Who does?

Am I correct in thinking working in finance dept has nothing to do with this and bad move with my goals?

  • What would be good starting point to aim for if I want to go into this? BONUS QUESTION: Can you help me understand further: A. How corporate structured finance works B. How deals are originated (who gets the client) and how deals are structured C. What risk department structures the deals? What other risk depts are there?
 

I'm from a top LAC that GE recruits at have networked with some alums so I can try and answer some of your questions.

  1. I believe you're correct on this 1st round behavioral 2nd round is like a superday. You get flown to whatever location is the HQ for the division you want to work in. For example if you designate Energy as the division you like then you would most likely be in Atlanta. Make sure to do research on the divisions and why you like them.

2.Heard that these are situational, none of the alums from my school had to do either. Then again, we're a liberal arts school with few accounting classes offered so I can't give too much insight into that. 3. Mediocrely selective, good grades from a semi target is solid. Internship experience will really help too. 4.First rounds are happening now, I believe a lot of it is done on campus, but I'm not positive. 5. GE FMP is regarded as the gold standard, but J+J is really similar, Lockheed, Raytheon uhh Capital One, basically just look at a fortune 500 list and see if they have a rotational program. More places have programs like this than you think.

Hopefully that was moderately helpful.

 

GE -> J&J -> hot sector in F100 -> F100 or hot company -> etc

The thing is, you should find a program you like in a sector you like. Almost every industry has a major company with an FLDP. There's no point going to the "best" program unless you're just looking for MBA admits. The point of an FLDP is to build your rep at a company. If you do the program and then move somewhere else, you've lost a lot of the value of doing the FLDP in the first place.

Of course if your ultimate goal is an MBA, then going for the best program possible is a good idea.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Thanks mrharvey and D M. Both are very helpful, and good to hear.

It doesn't appear that GE recruits on our campus, as it's not on the career site. He'll look for some alumni, but there doesn't appear to be many. He doesn't mind staying at GE for the long run, but MBA is definitely on his mind. I think he wants to consider his options, and it looks like GE places extremely well to b-school. On top of your heads, are there any comparable rotational programs that top MBA schools really like?

I have a few follow up questions.

  1. How many students total does GE recruit for their FMP program every year?
  2. Going through LinkedIn, it appears most of them come from heavy non-targets, and very few semi-targets, and almost no targets. What is their rationale for this? And would it hurt coming from a big public/private school and the like?
  3. I've read a lot on this site about tech companies and their financial programs. The compensation is a lot more, but how selective are they? Any noticeable ones that compare favorably to GE FMP?

Thanks again guys. Appreciate all the insight.

 

I can only speak for the Energy division, but the typical class size is ~25 (would say it is around the same number for Capital and gets fewer as you progress into the smaller divisions). Some of the schools GE focuses on for FMP includes UConn, Boston College, Davidson, UNC, Notre Dame, Florida, Hamilton College, Holy Cross, Northeastern, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Fairfield University, Boston University, Cornell, and Dartmouth (seen one from here).

In terms of why they only focus on theses schools, it is because they have had a lot of success recruiting from them. Also, most of the senior executives come from these universities... so it only makes sense.

 

Can't remember exact numbers, but I'm pretty sure I read that GE has around 600 people in the 2-year program at any one time

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Hi all, I know this is really late and this thread is old but I am very interested in the FMP program at GE. I am a junior who currently attends one of the target schools listed above, and have secured a finance internship at a F100 company for this upcoming summer in addition to having another finance internship. The only thing I am worried about is that my GPA is right around 3.4. Would that impact me very much during the recruitment process next fall? Thanks!

 
yankees532:

Hi all, I know this is really late and this thread is old but I am very interested in the FMP program at GE. I am a junior who currently attends one of the target schools listed above, and have secured a finance internship at a F100 company for this upcoming summer in addition to having another finance internship. The only thing I am worried about is that my GPA is right around 3.4. Would that impact me very much during the recruitment process next fall?
Thanks!

While GE is more of a stickler for high GPAs, a 3.4/3.5 won't really hurt your chances if you have good experience. Nice job with getting the F100 internship - this will make it easier to demonstrate your interest in corpfin when you apply to GE's FMP in the early fall. Use LinkedIn now to find your school's alumni who have gone through FMP/are in FMP/work at GE and reach out to them in order to express your interest. Down the road, these contacts can be leveraged for an internal referral. Somewhere around half of full time US FMP positions are filled by summer interns and the majority of others are from GE's target schools, so keep an eye out for the listing on your school's career site. Good luck!
Impossible is nothing
 

Now would be a great time to reach out and establish a relationship...ask to set up a brief call for an informational interview about the program. Given the rotational nature of the program, yes, you could do an role in treasury depending upon which GE business you are placed in. Your treasury internship experience will look good when applying. By "close to home," do are you referring to location? Keep in mind that FMP is a rotational program and you will likely move to different locations for each of your four 6-month rotations (except if you are placed in GE Capital, since most of that business' roles are in CT).

Impossible is nothing
 

GE's FMP is the most well respected FDLP program out there. The pay is less than corporate banking and is around 57-60k which is my understanding however they give you a small housing stipend if you rotate to a more expensive city. Pay is less than most fortune 200 FDLP (60-70k), but is more prestigious by far.

One of my mentors works for a fortune 100 company, and said that not one of the CFOs, Directors of Finance, or CEOs of the divisions of the company are from IB or Big4, a lot of them have come out of fortune 100 companies.

 

I am trying to get into a FMP type program at another F50 company. The roles are based in several cities throughout the northeast - however, I would like to work in NYC, at least for my first rotation or first year.

How can I negotiate that I get NYC and not some remote location?

Also, getting certified will increase your credibility.

 
krypton:

I am trying to get into a FMP type program at another F50 company. The roles are based in several cities throughout the northeast - however, I would like to work in NYC, at least for my first rotation or first year.

How can I negotiate that I get NYC and not some remote location?

Also, getting certified will increase your credibility.

Personally, I would let the FMP lead (typically, there is a rotational lead who schedules rotations for FMPs) know that due to family circumstances it requires you to stay in NYC for the first rotation. This should work as it did for me.

 
CaR:

How long is the program, and what was your favorite area? What do you do now?

The GE FMP program specifically is 2 years long with 4 different rotations. My personal favorite area was in Commercial Finance as Finance Manager; was pretty cool to look at contract deals, speak with PMs, and manage an entire P&L myself. I'm currently at a different company doing corporate strategy now, but will say my GE experience helped me land the position.

 

Hi Alphaedge and thanks! - Can you summarize the rotations you did and the responsibilities? - Would you say that most of FMP is accounting and for those who want to become accountants (qualified)?

I am pretty impressed by the fact you ended in corporate strategy... Its quite a non-finance function isn't it? How did you make the move?

Basically, your whole post makes me re-think what I thought about FMP in the past and in general finance grad programs!

And finally...At GE what would you say is the main difference with risk? Maybe this does not apply because risk is more central at GE CAPITAL, but if you know...How would you compare risk and finance for a potential graduate (which type of person would prefer risk over finance)?

Thanks and congrats on new job!

 
euinvestor11:

Hi Alphaedge and thanks!
- Can you summarize the rotations you did and the responsibilities?
- Would you say that most of FMP is accounting and for those who want to become accountants (qualified)?

I am pretty impressed by the fact you ended in corporate strategy...
Its quite a non-finance function isn't it? How did you make the move?

Basically, your whole post makes me re-think what I thought about FMP in the past and in general finance grad programs!

And finally...At GE what would you say is the main difference with risk?
Maybe this does not apply because risk is more central at GE CAPITAL, but if you know...How would you compare risk and finance for a potential graduate (which type of person would prefer risk over finance)?

Thanks and congrats on new job!

1) Rotation 1 was in supply chain in a remote manufacturing site doing mainly accounting related work. Not the most exciting type of work tbh. Rotation was in FP&A working with CFO and GM, got to initiate a new role and completely revamped processes and built models to help understand business decisions. Rotation 3 was in commercial finance as finance manager, great exposure to the topline side of the business. Rotation 4 was in Global FP&A working with CFO, CEO and senior leaders of the business.

2) This is highly dependent on who you ask, but yes, there is a lot of accounting. However, end of day its what you make of it. Either you can sit there and crunch numbers like an accountant or be proactive and actively seek out bigger and better projects. I was on the latter part of that.

3) With corporate strategy, I first got hired in at my current company to perform FP&A. But within less than a year, I was bumped into corporate strategy as result of being proactive and taking more responsibilities (also helps not being an a$$ to people).

4) Risk program over the finance program? Hard to say since I wasn't familiar with that program as its more on the Capital side. But if anything, risk would help position candidates to more Capital related roles vs. business programs like Energy and Healthcare.

 

Some of these will be repeated questions, but since it's an AMA it'll probably get more visibility than one of the other random threads:

1) Can you list the positions/groups available as an FMPer?

2) You said you were a Manager during your Commercial Finance rotation, but normally it takes years to get to that level. Is this normal in the FMP? Or is the Manager position you held something different than what I'm probably thinking of?

3) What are your immediate exit ops out of the FMP within GE? Could you give a rough guess as to how likely it is you'll be able to get the spot you're interested in? For example, chances of getting into Corp Strat or Dev vs FP&A or Global Audit.

4) What are your exit ops at other companies? Mostly corpfin or is moving to corpstrat a definite possibility?

5) What do you remember about the interviews (technical/behavioral) / what advice would you give for interviewing?

6) Stats for getting an interview. Is it possible to get an interview from a school that's not being recruited at? Is it possible to get a position within a GE division that doesn't recruit at your school (ie- healthcare recruits on campus, but you want to work in Capital)?

Look forward to hearing the responses. As one of the above said, getting the Certified User status would help us be able to add weight to your responses. Patrick and the WSO staff have an exceptional track record of maintaining people's anonymity.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
D M:

Some of these will be repeated questions, but since it's an AMA it'll probably get more visibility than one of the other random threads:

1) Can you list the positions/groups available as an FMPer?

2) You said you were a Manager during your Commercial Finance rotation, but normally it takes years to get to that level. Is this normal in the FMP? Or is the Manager position you held something different than what I'm probably thinking of?

3) What are your immediate exit ops out of the FMP within GE? Could you give a rough guess as to how likely it is you'll be able to get the spot you're interested in? For example, chances of getting into Corp Strat or Dev vs FP&A or Global Audit.

4) What are your exit ops at other companies? Mostly corpfin or is moving to corpstrat a definite possibility?

5) What do you remember about the interviews (technical/behavioral) / what advice would you give for interviewing?

6) Stats for getting an interview. Is it possible to get an interview from a school that's not being recruited at? Is it possible to get a position within a GE division that doesn't recruit at your school (ie- healthcare recruits on campus, but you want to work in Capital)?

Look forward to hearing the responses. As one of the above said, getting the Certified User status would help us be able to add weight to your responses. Patrick and the WSO staff have an exceptional track record of maintaining people's anonymity.

1) Outside of Capital, one can have roles in supply chain, FP&A, commercial, and mfg to name a few. Most positions will be related to FP&A in one shape, way or form however. In addition, you have choices in a myriad of GE business, from Water down to Aviation.

2) The commercial finance manager role was an interesting one. I managed a small P&L (generated around $20MM annually), so it wasn't generally a large P&L by any means. But it was great exposure to manage team of sales managers and sales contracts. And yes, this is normal in GE, especially with smaller sites. You would still report to a Sr. Finance Manager of course.

3) Immediately coming off of GE, you have three choices: CAS (they really push this...), jump into a business, or leave. I would say that 50% will go off to CAS, another 40% will jump into a GE business, and the remainder will leave for external oppty or MBA. I've had colleagues go right into consulting, investment banks and top MBA programs right after FMP. The likelihood of one receiving their first choice business coming out of FMP is highly dependent on how well one performed during the program (aka if you did really well, you will have first choice); you still have to interview with that particular group however.

4) Your exit ops are dependent on how you transition yourself at said companies. But traditionally, it will be corpfin-related roles as corp strategy is highly contingent upon on an individual being proactive and proving they can make the transition. It's not easy, but not impossible.

5) I'm assuming this is for GE FMP? The interviews were 3 rounds if not on campus, 2 if on campus. The interviews depended on who you met with, but it was almost entirely fit/behavioral based. I cant speak for Capital, but Id imagine there might be some light technical questions, if any at all. Overall, it was an easy interview process.

6) Yes, you can receive an interview if you're not from a target school but requires some persistence. If you have a connection, I highly recommend going through that channel as it will be much easier. If not, you can still resume drop but your chances go down significantly. In terms of recruitment with either Capital or Healthcare of any of the other programs, yes this is possible but you need to express interest to the recruiters and explain your reasoning. Once again, not easy but not difficult. I tried to move to Capital but unfortunately, this was back when the market collapsed....

 

Thank you AlphaSledge for these great answers. The reason for the accountant question is about the exit opps. I initially imagined the finance dept at F500 to be exit opp for freshly qualified accountants coming out of Big 4/other. So I imagined that FMP would be mostly an alternative to Big 4 for prospective accountants who would like to be qualified.

But obviously as per your case, you can do FMP completely independantly of all that and just have it as a great experience on your CV to move forward elsewhere. I was just a bit scared that you "categorize" yourself as a back-office accountant and then could not end up in strategy or such other area.

One final question about your favorite rotation as commercial finance manager. So you basically managed an entire P&L which sounds great. - What were the main responsibilities within that or initiatives which you undertook? Im just trying to encompass the scope of what "managing a P&L of 20mil" means in non-academic terms.

  • Are commercial finance managers and others all qualified accountants? (meaning if you wanted to get to such a position after FMP you'd have to have taken the exams/tests beforehand)

The reason I am asking all this is I am really trying to steer my career for my next move...I am looking into banking but a more "normal life" in a F500 looks good too.

 
euinvestor11:

Thank you AlphaSledge for these great answers.
The reason for the accountant question is about the exit opps. I initially imagined the finance dept at F500 to be exit opp for freshly qualified accountants coming out of Big 4/other. So I imagined that FMP would be mostly an alternative to Big 4 for prospective accountants who would like to be qualified.

But obviously as per your case, you can do FMP completely independantly of all that and just have it as a great experience on your CV to move forward elsewhere. I was just a bit scared that you "categorize" yourself as a back-office accountant and then could not end up in strategy or such other area.

One final question about your favorite rotation as commercial finance manager.
So you basically managed an entire P&L which sounds great.
- What were the main responsibilities within that or initiatives which you undertook? Im just trying to encompass the scope of what "managing a P&L of 20mil" means in non-academic terms.

- Are commercial finance managers and others all qualified accountants? (meaning if you wanted to get to such a position after FMP you'd have to have taken the exams/tests beforehand)

The reason I am asking all this is I am really trying to steer my career for my next move...I am looking into banking but a more "normal life" in a F500 looks good too.

1) FMP is what you make of it. Sure, if you want to cruise along and do the bare minimum performing accounting tasks, please feel free. But for others, including myself, I wanted to eventually leverage my experiences for bigger and better things, one of which is to go back to a top MBA program. If you work hard and smart and network with teams, you WILL receive interesting assignments that can help you with future exit ops in consulting, banking, etc.

2) The commercial role was interesting to me as I alluded to earlier due to the fact I had autonomy in managing a P&L. But in non-academic terms in a nutshell, it means managing both top side and bottom line - revenues down to operating income. In addition to managing the P&L, I also created the annual budget as well as the 5YR forecasts. I worked with the sales managers on a weekly basis, understanding the # of contracts we were working on at the time, how much we anticipated bringing in from said contracts, risks and opptys and obviously managing their opex. It definitely stood on my resume and was a great talking point during interviews.

3) Not quite sure what you mean by qualified accountants (i.e. CPA?). But no, you don't need any sort of designation to be a manager or even an FMP. GE is not like a public accounting firm, therefore no exams or tests required.

4) Prior to joining GE FMP, I too wanted to become an investment banker with the hopes of eventually landing in venture capital. Unfortunately, the market collapsed and everything disappeared (I'm from a nontarget). I also was extremely close to receiving a research analyst role as well which also fell through. But in hindsight, I think it worked out for the best as I hated working the long hours at GE (pulled multiple all nighters); I prefer a balanced lifestyle where i can actually still go out and have some fun.

 

Thanks for this post! I am debating FMP and a few other fortune 100 fldps before graduation, but I am leaning toward GE. I have a great connection with a CFO there that said he would go to bat for me come full time recruiting.

Which groups would you avoid completely? I hear GE Corporate sucks. Also, on average what were your hours? Did they fluctuate or did you just pull all nighters because it was month end?

 
ishouldbstudying:

Thanks for this post! I am debating FMP and a few other fortune 100 fldps before graduation, but I am leaning toward GE. I have a great connection with a CFO there that said he would go to bat for me come full time recruiting.

Which groups would you avoid completely? I hear GE Corporate sucks. Also, on average what were your hours? Did they fluctuate or did you just pull all nighters because it was month end?

1) Groups to avoid.... Really is hard to say since each group is unique in its own ways (i.e. business you'll learn, culture, hours). Most people in my class tried to avoid mfg roles, which I think is a huge mistake. Because without mfg experience, how else can you truly add value at the FP&A level without gaining some form of understanding of how the business runs at the bottom line.

2) Average again depends on which group. If you're in a HQ role, expect 55-60 hrs on average (more during qtr close and annual budgeting cycles). Non HQ roles can be around 40-50 hrs.

3) I pulled all nighters in my last role because we had to lay off people...which meant I had to take over their responsibilities. It...sucked. But great for the resume!

 

You mentioned you pulled multiple all-nighters, which is something I hadn't heard before. What are the hours generally in the FMP? Is that rare or are you working close to banking hours regularly?

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
D M:

You mentioned you pulled multiple all-nighters, which is something I hadn't heard before. What are the hours generally in the FMP? Is that rare or are you working close to banking hours regularly?

It's definitely not the norm to pull allnighters (not sure about this in Capital however), but because there were layoffs, I had to pick up the tab. Saying no to this doesn't look too good on an FMP.... But I managed and survived, and can live to tell the story.

 

@alphaSledge That's funny, we had to lay off a ton of people during my 2nd rotation at a F500 FLDP, and my workload was pretty nuts too. Worked weekends and multiple nights until 1-2:00am. I like the program and its exposed me to a lot, your entire experience is really based on the rotation though. You can "reach out" and find projects at some places, others not so much.

 
CorpFinanceGuy:

@alphaSledge That's funny, we had to lay off a ton of people during my 2nd rotation at a F500 FLDP, and my workload was pretty nuts too. Worked weekends and multiple nights until 1-2:00am. I like the program and its exposed me to a lot, your entire experience is really based on the rotation though. You can "reach out" and find projects at some places, others not so much.

Agree completely man. It sucks at the time, but in hindsight, adds a ton of value. Glad im not the only one who went thru it.

 
BlueShirt:

You mentioned that some people went to MBA programs after GE FMP. Just to clarify- was that after 2 years of FMP, or did they take an off-rotation job before heading to B-School? Also, were they mainly M7 business schools?

Yes, this was directly after the FMP program. And yes, this was with MBA business schools ">M7 programs (think Harvard, Stanford and Wharton).

 

Hey Everybody-This is my first post.

Thanks for sharing! I landed a finance internship with Kellogg this summer and I'm hoping to get recruited into their FMP program when I graduate. I have been looking for a forum for awhile that shed some light as far as how the rotations are structured and this helped a lot.

 
andonianalex:

Hey Everybody-This is my first post.

Thanks for sharing! I landed a finance internship with Kellogg this summer and I'm hoping to get recruited into their FMP program when I graduate. I have been looking for a forum for awhile that shed some light as far as how the rotations are structured and this helped a lot.

Congrats man! Just work hard, ask good questions, and network.

 

If you are being rotated to different locations how does housing work? Is that something GE helps with or do they expect you to fend for yourself?

The last act is tragic, however happy all the rest of the play is; at the last a little earth is thrown upon our head, and that is the end for ever.
 

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